Salvation in Christianity

Salvation is an overarching theme in the bible. It is a core tenet of our faith. Without salvation, then there is no such thing as biblical Christianity. What is salvation? Salvation is a spiritual deliverance from sin and it's consequences which includes eternal separation from God. God in his wisdom revealed in part his plan of saving the sinful world to the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David by the One whom he has chosen. Also, the sacrificial system under the law were prophetic symbols which pointed to the salvation that will be brought about by the anticipated One, Jesus Christ. The prophets also prophesied that there was One coming who will provide salvation to his people through the sacrifice of himself. God's word is trustworthy, whatever he said in the bible concerning salvation by Jesus Christ he has fulfilled it. Jesus Christ death and subsequent resurrection accomplished not a transient, but an eternal salvation for us.

 But the question is, what is it that we are to be saved from? 

The main reason why we need salvation is because of sin and it's eternal consequences. Sin in itself is evil and it separated us from God, because God is holy. We all fell in Adam, for through his disobedience we became sinners by nature, see (Romans 5; 19). Sin exercised it's dominating power over us for we were dead spiritually, and the wrath of God rested upon us. We needed to be rescued from sin and it's eternal consequences which includes death, but unfortunately we couldn't rescue ourselves. We needed to be saved from sin and be reconciled to our father, but in our sinful state it was impossible. Without salvation we would have perished eternally, but thanks be to God for the salvific work of his Son in our stead.

Who does the saving work? 

No human has the power in himself to save another human being from sin except God, for salvation is of the Lord. God is presented in the scriptures as the Savior of his people, see (Isaiah 43; 11, Hosea 13; 4). God saw our greatest need and he took on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1; 14). It was for our salvation that he took a human nature in addition to his divine nature. Jesus was in everyway qualified to be our mediator. As God his sacrifice carries eternal value and as a Man he could lay down his life for us. He has made satisfaction for sin and satisfied God's justice through his death and subsequent bodily resurrection. Being the GodMan he has restored the broken relationship between us and our father. Salvation is an act of God by which he saved us unto himself through the substitutionary death of his Son Jesus Christ. The GodMan is the only Savior there is, who is more than qualified to be the author of eternal salvation, for all those who put their faith in him.

How do we receive salvation? 

Salvation is a gratuitous gift which can be received not by works, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. Many still persist in unbelief because of their ignorance of the way of salvation. We are saved by faith in Christ, trusting in him and his finished work as the sole basis for our acceptance with God. No amount of good works could save us from sin and it's eternal penalty, only faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ saved us. The bible says: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast  (Ephesians 2: 8-9). We did nothing to deserve this unmerited favour, nonetheless it pleased the Lord to save us through faith in Jesus Christ. A person can only be saved by grace through faith in the person of Jesus Christ (Romans 10; 13). 

What are some of the benefits of salvation?

There are quite a number of benefits revealed in the bible with respect to the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. One of the benefits of our salvation is justification. Justification is the act of God by which he declares a sinner not guilty, on the basis of the substitutionary work of Christ (Romans 8; 1). We have sinned against God and we deserve to be punished for our many sins. But God looked upon us and justified us, he declared us righteous because Jesus stood as our substitute, and bore our sins and punishment. So, because the debt we owe was paid in full by our substitute, God acquits and discharges us, he declares us not guilty. Today, we stand in God's presence with confidence, because we know we have been freely justified (Romans 5; 1). Another benefit of our salvation is eternal life. Eternal life is a gift we received through faith in Jesus Christ, see (Romans 6; 23b). Eternal life means life without an end. Since this life is eternal, then it means it can never be lost, we cannot lose the life of God in us which is eternal life. If eternal life can be lost, then it was never eternal to begin with.

 Another benefit of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The blood bought gift of the Holy Spirit permanently dwells in the one who has trusted in Jesus alone for salvation (Romans 8; 9). The Holy Spirit in us identifies us as God's children. The person without the Holy Spirit is not a child of God as it is written: However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him  (Romans 8: 9). It is a great blessing to have the third person of the Godhead take perpetual residence in us.

 Another benefit of salvation is sanctification. Salvation is an ongoing process. We are saved, and we are being saved and we shall be saved. This means that our Spirit is saved once and for all time, and our soul is being saved in the sense that the Spirit of God conforms us to the image of Christ. He works on us so we can grow more and more Christlike during the time of our sojourning here on earth. And we shall be saved, and this salvation refers to our bodily salvation, which will take place at the time of the resurrection of the dead. 

The last benefit of our salvation is the forgiveness of our sins. The moment we trusted in Jesus for salvation, instantaneously our sins were forgiven. Forgiveness of sins can only be obtained by faith in the Man Jesus Christ see (Ephesians 1; 7, Colossians 1; 14). Salvation by Jesus Christ is central in the Christian faith, it is essential and non negotiable. God bless you

            A thought to ponder 🤔

Salvation is a gratuitous gift which can be received not by works, but only through faith in Jesus Christ

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