Salvation

Christian Salvation is about being delivered or saved from God’s fair punishment of sin. God is love and an important component of love is justice. God’s justice means He must punish sin; it means He punishes evil. Of course we all want God to punish evil, just not our own particular evil and sin. Why? Because we rarely view our own sin as corrupt as other people’s sin. But without Jesus, our entire existence here on earth is corrupted by sin. In fact, we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” according to Ephesians 2:1, which means our very nature is sinful. And whether we like it or not, the consequences of sin are death, resulting in complete separation from God.

How can we be saved from this pre-determined death sentence? God provides a way. His Son, Jesus, was willing to take on the punishment for us. On an old rugged cross just outside of Jerusalem 2000 years ago, Jesus died for our sins, and then rose from the dead three days later defeating death, hell, and the grave.

Does that mean everyone is saved then? Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” A gift only becomes ours once we have accepted it from the giver. Therefore, we must accept the gift to be saved.

Receiving salvation is a product of faith in that we call on the name of Lord Jesus proclaiming that we believe Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred, and that we trust Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient payment for our sin, saving us from God’s punishment. This faith results in repentance, which is a change of mind about ones sin—a turning away from our old sin nature to a nature that is conforming to Christ Jesus more and more every day. Therefore, to be “saved” means you have turned to Jesus in faith and turned away from sin in repentance.