Psalm
139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my
thoughts: And see if there
be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
What is Salvation?
You may have an idea of what salvation is
but to really make it solid I’m going to have to use not only a dictionary but
also God’s Word to really help us understand what salvation is. Read Isaiah 60:18
to understand that salvation is safety.
Salvation: rescue (literally or
figuratively, personal, national or spiritual): - deliverance, help, safety,
victory.
So, how do we get this help and
victory? Who is it that delivers us to
safety?
Exodus 15:2 “The
LORD is my strength
and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's
God, and I will exalt him.”
Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is
my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become
my salvation.
From these verses, we understand that it
is God who is our salvation. What else
do we know about salvation?
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Isaiah 45:17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting
salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
So not only can we saved (or sealed, as
Paul said in Ephesians) but we can saved for eternity!
Now, from the next two verses, we get a
bit of a different perspective of salvation.
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the
Sunday before His crucifixion, he rode in on a donkey, or an ass as the Bible
calls it. That is how we know that
Zechariah is talking about Jesus. So,
yes, it is Christ, through His sinless life, that is meant to be our
salvation.
Also look at Ephesians 4:30 which talks about redemption.
To be saved, we need to come to the
Lord. How do we get to God?
So now we know that salvation is God. Then, logically, to get salvation we need to
get to God. How do we do that?
John
14:6-7 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my
Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
We
get to know God by accepting Jesus and His death for us. Jesus says this in other places in the Bible,
as well.
John 10:1,9 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Also
read Matthew 1:21 to learn more about Jesus mission
on Earth.
Is there any other way to be saved?
Jesus
is the one and only way to be saved. If
you don’t believe me, read the following verses.
Acts
4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
John
3:15,16,36 That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him.
By
believing and following Jesus is the only way to receive His salvation. Is there more to it that just believing in
Him?
How do we get a relationship with Jesus?
To
receive salvation, we need to do more than just faith that God exists. If you read James 2:19, you’ll see that even fallen angels believe in God and tremble,
that doesn’t mean that they’re going to be saved. One of the first steps to getting salvation
is by having a relationship with Christ.
But how do we do that?
John
5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
To
show Christ that we truly love and accept Him, we must hear His Words and obey
them.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
Is
it fair to say that when this verse is talking about calling upon the name of
the Lord it means that we should bring our humble supplications and prayers to
Him. Yes, prayer is a very important way
of getting a relationship with God.
What are some things that we are required
to do?
Now
that we know what salvation is and who gives it to us, what is our part to play
in gaining salvation? God has some very
simple requirements and expectations for us to live up to.
John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of
God abideth on him.
As
we’ve talked about before, God requires us to have faith in Him. But this is only the first step to acquiring
salvation.
1 John
5:2 By this we know that we love the children of
God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Just
as the verse says, we are expected to keep God’s commandments! Where can we find some of God’s commandments? Read Exodus 20:1-17
to get the Ten Commandments.
How did Christ provide salvation?
All
of the things we have learned so far come down to this: how did Christ provide
salvation for us?
Romans
5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Isaiah
53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
1 Peter
3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
Hebrews
9:26 For then must he often have suffered since
the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
For
our sins, Christ suffered, bled and died so that we might receive salvation. He loved us so much that He was willing to
die for us on the cross and carry the weight of our sins on His shoulders. He suffered the separation from the Father
just to allow us the opportunity to grow closer to Him and come closer to
Heaven.
Note: If you click on the verse references that are red and underline, it will bring you to the Bible gateway webpage already on that verse in the King James version.
