Salvation in Christianity is based on the fact that Jesus Christ, a God incarnate, came to the earth to die for the sins of humanity. He was raised on the third day and became the giver of God’s life to anyone who believes.
It is the central message of true faith everyone named a Christian must understand.
Though this forms the foundation of any true Christian faith, it marks the beginning of God’s plan of eternal Salvation for humanity.
Let us look at the concept of Salvation in Christianity and what God designed it to accomplish in the life of a Christian.
The Meaning Of Salvation in Christianity
Salvation in Christianity implies that a person has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, received it, and become a saint or believer.
The salvation process involves that a person hears of God’s love for humanity through the gospel of Jesus Christ, believes the gospel, and repents to have their sins forgiven.
The gospel is a significant part of Salvation because it communicates the condition of man before God that’s deserving of Salvation.
The Concept of Salvation In Christianity
The concept of Salvation answers the question, why the need for Salvation? The answer lies in that man has fallen from grace because he chose to disobey God.
When man chose to live by the knowledge of good and evil; he disobeyed God and the consequence of his actions was sin leading to death.
The Bible tells us that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). This means that all men are sinners by nature and cannot save themselves from their sin. The only way we can be saved from our sins is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which brought salvation.
This is where the concept of Salvation comes into play. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, He paid the penalty for our sins. Therefore, if you believe in Him as your Savior, then you will receive His forgiveness and become a new creation in Christ.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3-16)
Salvation And The New Covenant
To understand the importance of Salvation in the context of the New Testament, we should first examine the New Testament covenant. We know that the Old Testament was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross and rose again.
Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah and established the new covenant in His blood. He showed how He could fulfill every promise made to Israel. In doing so, He established a new covenant with mankind, which included fulfilling all of the promises made to Israel.
In addition, He also provided an example of obedience to the law with His own life. As a result, He gave believers a new law, which is the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2).
The law of the Spirit of life is the basis of the Christian life. It is Christ in the spirit of the believer who teaches how to live righteously before God. When the Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” (Mark 12:30)
We see that these commands include everything required to please God. If we genuinely follow the law of the spirit of life, we will find ourselves living a righteous life before God.
When we read the book of Hebrews, we learn about the blessings that come from being a part of the new covenant. It tells us that those who belong to the new covenant will inherit eternal life. It says, “For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away.
Popular Beliefs About Salvation In Christianity
There are many popular beliefs about Salvation even among Christians today that negate the true purpose of Salvation. Here are some common ones:
- Salvation is not free. You have to earn it or work hard enough to get it.
- Salvation is something you do for yourself. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to accept it.
- Salvation is about getting rid of your past mistakes.
- Salvation is just a matter of believing in Jesus’ sacrifice.
- Salvation is about accepting Jesus as your personal Savior.
- Salvation is about changing your behavior.
- Salvation is about having faith in God.
- Salvation is about receiving forgiveness from God.
- Salvation is about feeling better about yourself.
- Salvation is about making things easier for yourself.
- Salvation is about being good enough to deserve to go to heaven.
The Gift of Salvation in Christianity
Contrary to what most people believe that Salvation has to be earned, it is a gift from God.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
When we were born into sin, we were separated from God and deserving of eternal death. However, through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, we were reconciled back to God.
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)
This verse shows us that God did not give us Salvation because we deserved it. Rather, He did it because He is merciful. If someone believes that they cannot enter heaven unless they change their lives, they are wrong.
Just like Adam and Eve disobeyed God and rejected His offer of eternal life, we can choose to reject God’s grace and turn away from Him.
But if we repent and ask for His help, He will forgive our sins and save us. Salvation is more than just the forgiveness of our sins.
We need to understand that Salvation includes the gift of eternal life, which empowers the believer on earth to live a life that glorifies God. This gift comes when we receive Jesus as our Savior. Salvation means that we have become the children of God.
We no longer have to fear death because we know that we will spend eternity with God forever. Jesus came to the earth as a human being so that He could deliver the gift and benefits of Salvation to man.
He was crucified on a cross so that we would not have to suffer anymore. He died so that we could be forgiven and resurrected again. Our bodies will die one day, but our spirits will live forever.
Steps To Salvation
There are steps to Salvation that anyone who wants it must take. They include repentance, baptism, and following Jesus.
Repentance involves a change of mind and turning away from your old way of living.
Baptism is the act of identifying with the death and resurrection of Christ and embracing a newness of life. Following Jesus is learning of Him and obeying his commands to live a life well-pleasing to God.
Repentance
We must recognize that we have sinned against God and made ourselves unworthy of His love. The Bible teaches that everyone needs to repent before they can be saved. Repentance should follow when a person receives the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel reveals that inherited the sinful nature from Adam and is not worthy of God’s glory.
Baptism
Baptism is a physical representation of what has happened within anyone who has accepted Jesus as Lord.
It identifies that you have been buried with Jesus Christ, and just as Christ was raised from the dead, you also are raised from the water to walk in the newness of life.
Baptism means your old man, that is, the human life has been crucified with Him so that the body that causes you to sin might be made inoperative. (Romans 6:3-8)
Following Jesus
Once you have repented and been baptized, it is important to follow Jesus by carrying our cross daily to do His will. Following Jesus requires that Christians renew their minds to know God’s will, which is good, well-pleasing, and perfect.
This is crucial because even though the spirit of the Christian is saved, the soul (mind, will & emotion) remains the old one needing renewal and transformation. At this point, the soul is the same as that of an unbeliever. An unrenewed mind will have little or no experience of the new life.
The Significance of Salvation
You may ask, why is Salvation significant? Why should I care about my relationship with God?
This is an important question because, without the saving faith in Jesus, there is nothing else to believe. Without believing in God, you will never see the light of day.
You will never have a purpose in life, nor will you ever find genuine Salvation.
God created everything in the universe for a purpose. However, if you don’t receive God’s divine grace, you will miss out on your true purpose for living.
The benefits of Salvation
It is worrisome how Christians who have received Salvation suffer because they are yet to understand that Salvation is for their enjoyment.
The benefits of Salvation are in all things Christ has availed for anyone who follows Him. However, these benefits cannot be accessed except you receive God’s total package of Salvation. Salvation is more than just receiving forgiveness.
It includes eternal life where you will enjoy the presence of God. You will no longer feel pain or sorrow because you will be entirely at peace. You will experience joy every moment of your life.
You will live in complete freedom and become a child of God. You will not fear death because you will be secure in knowing that you will spend eternity with God.
You will have access to the best resources in heaven.
You will have a place where you will meet a new family of God’s people. Your relationship with God will be better than anything you’ve experienced here on earth.
