What Does the Bible Say about Salvation?
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Many years ago, while speaking to a young lady about the things of the Lord, she made a statement that I have never forgotten. She said that the Bible was an outdated and archaic book. She also mentioned that it was a book full of fairy tales. Aside from the obvious folly and fallaciousness of her statement, I was startled and concerned that such a statement was spoken by someone so young. Before our discussion she had related to me that she had just graduated from high school and was going to enjoy her summer before going to college. How had someone so young come to this conclusion and formed this erroneous view of the Bible? Who had she been speaking to? What had she been reading? I have long since wondered what ever happened to this person and what direction her life took.
The fact is that this young lady’s view is shared by many, along with several other flawed and misleading views. The truth of the matter is that the entirety of Scripture concerns God’s love for man. The ultimate expression of His love is found in His Son Jesus Christ, who is at the very center of Scripture. Through Him, and Him alone there is salvation.
Just as there are varying opinions about the Bible itself, there are also many opinions on salvation. Just what exactly do we mean by salvation, in biblical terms?
What Is Salvation?
In the simplest terms, salvation is the deliverance of one from impending danger. As stated, this salvation is prompted by His love, but it is given to us by grace. We read from the book of Ephesians:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
As we read here, Scripture is also very clear that salvation is a gift. The words ‘grace’ and ‘gift’ are normally two forms of the same Greek word, charis, and charisma, respectively. But here in verse 8, the word ‘gift’ is the Greek word, doron, which denotes a present, or an offering. It is the apostle Paul, in the book of Romans, who uses the word charisma for ‘gift’, and by doing so tells us the nature of this gift: it is free.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
What Does the Bible Say We Need Salvation From?
The verse above begins to tell us the reason that we need salvation – the reason why we need deliverance from impending danger. The danger is eternal death, and the reason for this verdict is because of sin. To this, there are three verses that I would like to submit:
“But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22).
“For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalms 53:2-3).
These verses state unequivocally the universal sinfulness of man. The fact of our sin is traced back to the very beginning. After God created man, He made it very clear when He spoke these simple words to Adam:
“And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
When God’s command was disobeyed, Adam – being the representative of humanity, i.e., the federal head of the human race – affected man’s legal standing before God. This is imputed sin, or sin that has been charged to our account.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—“ (Romans 5:12).
The question inevitably always arises as to why should their sin be counted against us? We weren’t there, were we? The answer to that question is yes. As God sees it – and it is His view that matters – when Adam sinned, He considered it our sin as well. This is because we were in Adam. We read:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
When we see all of the corruption, degradation, and violence in the world, we know that sin is the cause. Men and women bent on having their own way, the lust for wealth and power, completely independent of God – all of it has brought the world to its current state. The fact remains that sin dominates the world because sin dominates man.
Examples of Salvation in the Bible
The Bible is full of examples of salvation. The book of Genesis, which we have already referred to, is literally the book of beginnings, and it is here that we read the first references to salvation.
In Genesis chapter 3, we read of ‘the first gospel’. It speaks prophetically of the great work that Christ would accomplish on the cross on our behalf to bring us this great salvation. We read:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
As vague as it may sound, here we see the power and the victory of the cross of Jesus Christ, which in effect paid the price that sin incurred, by stripping Satan of his power over all who believe. Salvation says, I love you and I forgive you; this forgiveness happens when we confess and repent of our sins.
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
We also find in Genesis chapter 15 the powerful calling of Abraham. Chosen by God’s grace out of a life surrounded by idolatry, he is told by God to take himself away from his father’s house to a place that God would show him. Scripture then states that he departed as God told him. But it was in chapter 15 that we read these words:
“Then the word of the LORD came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:4-6).
What Abraham does here set the standard as to how everyone receives salvation. It is by faith; Abraham here believes what God has spoken concerning His promise.
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26-29).
Why Can We Only Have Salvation through Christ?
Salvation requires a sinless sacrifice, and only Christ met that criterion. From 1 Peter:
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
The elaborate sacrificial system, which constitutes the old covenant which God put in place, was merely a temporary ‘stop gap measure’, until the ‘fulness of time’ when Christ would come. God would accept the blood of bulls and goats, which God received as a covering for sin. But the writer of Hebrews makes this statement:
“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
You will note the words ‘take away.’ Only the blood of Christ is sufficient to remove sin, not just cover it.
“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:13-14).
In conclusion, receiving salvation remains the single most important thing a person must do. I’m reminded of Christ as He stood before His accusers, who were shouting for His death, and Herod asks a question that has resounded through the ages; a question that must be answered:
“’What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’” (Matthew 27:22).
What have you done with Jesus? What have I done with Jesus? Have you received Him into your life by faith, or turned Him away? He offers His great salvation to all who will believe.
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