Salvation: Who, What, When, Where, Why
Salvation is the best gift you could possibly receive as it is truly the gift that keeps on giving. The benefits to you are covered in the “Only Way to have Lasting Joy” article, here we just want to explain the who, what, when, where, and why of what this word means to you.
Definition & some background
The word comes from a Latin word salvatio meaning “safe”, “saved”. When Jesus and later church fathers were proclaiming Jesus’ purpose, they specified the meaning of salvation as saving or delivering a person from the consequences of sin (acts against the nature of God), which would lead to permanent separation from God and heaven and loss of all that entails, instead of being safe in restored relationship with God.
WHO
There are two important “who’s” here. The first is God, who sets a standard of behavior (holiness), and lets us know the natural consequences of sin is separation from God and heaven. Sin and heaven are like oil and water, they cannot mix, so anything stained by sin will be permanently separated from heaven.
The second “who” is you. The first step on this road is to recognize you are not innocent, we have all done things that are against God’s nature or character (sin). If someone put all our words, thoughts, and actions up on a movie screen, likely every one of us would go running out of that theater. And, it is your choice to accept a restoration of relationship with God, or not. Jesus’ salvation is for anyone who recognizes they have fallen short of God’s standard,
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
and accepts the sacrifice and pardon from sin Jesus offers. If you choose to accept the relationship Jesus offers you, then you will be saved from the inherent consequences of sin.
WHAT
Salvation is deliverance or being saved from ruin or loss; the consequences naturally attaching to sin is death (here the Bible refers to spiritual death, being eternally separated from God and all that comes with his nature). This is the bad news, the good news (Gospel means “good news”) is where the Romans’ Road now carries you.
WHEN
Salvation occurs the moment you choose it, but the results are never-ending. Unlike most gifts, for this gift you must choose to ask for it, and then are guaranteed to receive it.
Roman 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 5:1, 8:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
This article utilizes what is referred to as the “Roman’s Road” to salvation as it is spelled out in these verses all from the book of Romans. But, the Bible, of course, confirms this message throughout the Bible, here is a quick summary in one verse: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” This is repeated in other places to ensure we get it, for example, Romans 10:13, “for, ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Let’s make this simple, it doesn’t matter what words you say or how you say them, just let God know that you know you have sinned, don’t want to be separated from him and heaven, and so you accept what Jesus did for you at the cross and accept the salvation you offer.
The apostle John, in the following statement, uses the present imperative of the verb “know” for a reason. We are being told that we can know right now. We can have certainty right now guaranteed by God. 1 John 5:9-13 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Some people worry they don’t believe enough, or have doubts, or believe there is no way God would save me, but this is where trust comes in, because the Bible gives redundant assurances, as in the verse above. The Bible also provides examples of people with these exact same concerns, and gives reassurances. If you have doubts, these are natural, ask for help, continue to seek, and trust God is telling the truth that you will find him. (Matthew 7:7-8, Mark 9:24)
Life on Earth provides not only the opportunity to observe and even experience both people and situations following God’s way, and people and situations going all other alternative ways, but also the free will to choose which way you will follow. This life is your chance to observe, learn, and choose the salvation God offers, or face the judgment of sin without the accounting of Jesus for you. Hebrews 9:27 makes this clear, “And just as it is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment.”
You may have many chances throughout your life to recognize and accept Jesus, but you never know when the last chance is, and we are all moving every moment closer to the end of our time to choose another road. Considering what is at stake, far and away the best WHEN for salvation is ASAP.
WHERE
It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter whether you are in church or in a bar, it doesn’t matter if you are already living better than most people or are in slavery to some forms of sin. Unlike every other religion where you have to earn your salvation, where it is a bottom-up journey of you yourself reaching towards divinity, in Christianity, the process is reversed.
Christianity is top-down, divinity reaches down, wherever you are at, to pull you up. You do not perfect yourself and then seek God, you get a relationship with God so you now have what it takes to develop yourself beyond yourself. You will find limits in your own individual attempts, and limitless potential with the coordinated support of a limitless God.
WHY
There is not anything more important or of greater impact on you than getting right your relationship with God. This is covered in the article mentioned in the beginning of this article, and will be covered in other places on the website, but more significantly, if you do not agree, then why? Why do you think you do not need salvation, and what evidence, from all applicable fields of knowledge supports your belief?
The Bible also provides examples of people with these exact same concerns, and gives reassurances. If you have doubts, these are natural, ask for help, continue to seek, and trust God is telling the truth that you will find him. (Matthew 7:7-8, Mark 9:24)
Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Many focus on being saved from permanent separation from God, which is Hell. The real focus should be on what you are saved for.
Once you decide to place yourself in God’s family, there is nothing separating you from God now, and nothing is capable of keeping you from all the good following from relationship with God extending from this life into the next. You now have a Father in Heaven, who demonstrated Authority unlike any other, this is the Author of reality, and you move from only having purpose, happiness, security and hope to the extent you can secure them, which is uncertain at best, and for many this world brings unexpected, even complete loss, to having objectively verified purpose, eternal security, and reliable hope.
A lasting joy is the natural result, as regardless of what this world brings, your big picture just got infinitely bigger, and your purpose, security, and hope have been ensured by the Author who came to the cross for us.
HOW
A good way to start is by eliminating HOW salvation is not done. Some belief systems, especially Eastern religions and New Age beliefs, claim a person gains special knowledge, such as realizing your individual “self” is just an illusion, and upon this special enlightenment can release all worldly desires and go back to what you really are, one with the Universe. But the question one must always answer before accepting any belief system (living life as though a belief system were true is, by default and for all practical purposes, accepting that belief system) is: Why would you believe this, what supports this belief system over all others, making it safe to live by?
Has the Buddha, Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Devī, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Rhonda Byrne, or any of these other sources of these claims provided verification of accurate knowledge, not just nice-sounding claims? Have they done anything to establish themselves as a reliable source and their claim as unique and supported by reality on a level all contradicting beliefs cannot reach? If you believe so enough to base your thoughts, choices, goals and direction, and therefore life upon it, in addition to the potential never-ending existence after this life, please email your evidence to us, we would be interested.
And, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This was written by the apostle Paul, who historians accept as the author, honest and a scholar himself, and one in a position to know for certain whether Jesus was who he claimed or not.
As far as I am aware, every other belief system throughout history, not based on the Bible, claims salvation depends on our works, the good and bad we do, and what we must do to save oursleves. Most claim it is by doing more “good” than “bad,” kind of a “good-personism” religion. As was true with the “special enlightenment” beliefs, it is all based on us. Seems reasonable, which may explain why every other belief system goes there, but what evidence supports we control salvation?
In a taxi ride to the airport after a physics conference, the driver and I had an interesting conversation about God. He said he was an engineer, and his education led him to believe there is no God. It took only twenty minutes of going over some of the scientific evidence he was already familiar with from his education, and he said, “Okay, God probably exists, but it wouldn’t change my life much because although I am not perfect, I am a good person overall, and I believe good people will make it to Heaven.” I responded, “That sounds nice, and makes sense to me too, but what do you base your new belief system on? What evidence supports your version of what makes a person ‘good’, or that is how salvation must work?”
So God is irrelevant, because it is all about you, doing some amount more good thn bad, walking that one more old lady across the street gets you in, and reality is forced to bring you in to Heaven? I have not found any evidence to support a God like that exists, who is a bystander and has nothing to say about who is in Heaven and who is not. On the other hand, the comprehensive case of evidence from all pllicable fields of study, some of which is explained in this website, and much more, supports the biblical God does exist, and this Authority claims this is not how reality works.
Christianity stands apart in that it is not self-centered, it is Savior-centered, not about what you do, but about what has been done for you, not earned, but accepted as a gracious gift from a Father you trust to carry it out.
The way sin works is like a disease, and we, like a patient needing a transplant, cannot save ourselves by gaining special insight or by our good works, only by another one with a pure organ, or pure life in this case, can offer this pure life to transplant into us, if we accept the gracious gift. If we do not accept the doctor’s orders and this saving procedure then we die. If we do, then afterward, while good works won’t make God love you more, or bad choices won’t make him love you less, good works and changes in you are the natural healthy outcome from your trusting in the loving relationship you are given.
Islam is actually works-based with a twist, noting even if you submit and follow their Five Pillars perfectly, Allah may decide on a whim to send you to either Heaven or Hell.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).
If you recognize you have sin in your life, then you just want to declare to God you want to rely on Jesus for your salvation. It doesn’t matter what you say, no special words, but if you want a simple way to ask for this, think of this Father in Heaven waiting for you to come home (the Prodigal Son provides a good image), and say (aloud. or in your head it is a prayer to God):
“God, I know I have sinned against you and judgment will keep me from you and Heaven. But Jesus Christ took the punishment I deserve so through me trusting in Him I could be forgiven. I do, and please help me as I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful love and grace, and hold me in your family for everlasting life when I leave this one. Amen.”
Bottom-line: if you recognize what Jesus did for you, confess you need what he offers, and ask him for his salvation, then you got it. Salvation, the forgiveness of your past, present and future wrongdoings, and restoration of relationship with God, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as the only one in the position to save them.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”