What Does The Bible Say About Salvation?
Today we’re starting a new series titled “What does the Bible say about…” Throughout this series, we’re going to touch on topics ranging from Salvation, to witchcraft, to women in ministry, to the churches role in the political realm, to mental health, and specific problems within the church. So let’s kick it off strong with a solid topic. “What does the Bible say about Salvation?”
Intro to Salvation
What is Salvation?
This may seem like a simple answer, but take the time to write down your thoughts based on your current understanding of what salvation is and the specific Bible passages that talk about salvation.
Today, we’re going to talk about the basics of what salvation is, What the Bible says about Salvation, and how we can obtain Salvation in the most basic sense.
יְשׁוּעָה (Noun); יֶשַׁע (Verb): “Salvation, deliverance, Help, Victory”
Within the OT, this word often refers to deliverance from an enemy (Like the Philistines or Babylon) either by God or by God’s agent of deliverance.
God as Deliverer from danger in the OT
Exodus 15: 2; Isaiah 12: 2; 2 Sam 22:3
God’s Agent that brings salvation in the OT
Check out Judges 13:5
σωτηρία (Noun); σῴζω (Verb): (n) “salvation, deliverance, preservation” / (v)“I save, heal, preserve, rescue”
Within the NT, this word reflects an emphasis on deliverance from sin and its consequences, brought about by faith in Jesus Christ.
This is what we most commonly understand salvation to mean for us today. This is what we normally thing of when you hear the word "salvation" in churches today. Most of our basic understanding of salvation is based primarily upon the New Testament.
Why do we need salvation?
Why do you think we need salvation?
Again, this may seem like a simple answer, but think critically about the answer. Yes, the obvious answer is sin, but think about what sin has done with our relationship with God, our standing before him, God's holiness, and what this all means for us and why God took steps to fix this sin problem.
What has sin done with our relationship with God?
What has God done to take steps towards solving this issue?
Why? Why would God do all this? (Try not to give a Sunday School answer). Why would God do what he did in the way that He did it? Could there have been another way? Is the answer more than just "He loves us?" Why go through all the trouble to fix this sin problem?
Plan of Salvation
So if the answers you've thought about are some of the reasons why we need salvation, what do we need to do to accept God’s gift of salvation?
All have sinned and are separated from God
Romans 3:10, 23; Isaiah 64:6
The price for sin is death and eternal separation from a righteous and holy God
Rom 6:23a; Rev 21:8
Jesus resolved the sin issue for those who trust him as the Savior
Romans 6:23 (all); 10:9-10
What do we need to do?
- Hear the Gospel/Good news
Read Romans 10:17
- Believe in Jesus Christ
Read John 3:16
- Repent of our sins
Acts 3:19
- Confess faith in Jesus Christ
Romans 10:9-10
- Be baptized
Acts 2:38
- To maintain salvation (more next week) one must live like Jesus is their savior.
Revelation 2:10
Assurance and growth in Salvation
So, if these are the steps we need to take just to obtain salvation, how do you know if you are still saved?We will talk next week about if/how we can lose our salvation, but assuming you’ve been baptized… how can you really know?
Check out the following verses...
1 John 5:13: “… and that you may continue to believe…”
2 Peter 3:18: “but grow in the grace…”
But what does “continuing” and “Growing” look like for us today?
For Cornerstone Christian Church, we understand "continuing" and "growing" involves:
Being disciples and Making disciples
Noticing, Naming, and Knowing
Our Definition of Discipleship: Someone who is following Jesus, being formed by Jesus, and is on mission with Jesus.
1 John 2:5-6- Whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked
To abide means to “accept or act in accordance with.” Generally speaking, it often refers to a rule or a decision or a recommendation. To abide means to accept and obey a standard that we’ve been given or placed under. Christ followers willingly accept the standards that Jesus gives us. We willingly accept His leadership, His way of living, and His rules. Therefore, we’ve been called to submit to them, live by them, and encourage others to do the same. If you are obeying His commands – found in His Word – then you are walking the path of a disciple.
Now when you look at someone who claims to be a Jesus follower, are we able to determine if that person is living in accordance to Jesus’ teachings? Or is it always a complete mystery?
We can tell someone follows Jesus because they are living their lives in accordance to Jesus’ model for us.
What does living like Jesus look like. What are some qualifiers we can use to at least help us better gauge if a person calls Jesus Lord and Savior?
Fruit of the spirit
Gal 5:22-23
Can people fake it?
Matthew 7:21-22
So following Jesus requires obedience, but just words right? It requires an alignment of Head, Heart, and Hands.
Obviously God is the final judge on our relationship with him. However, we can at least get a glimpse/hints/ visuals if a person is living like Jesus or of they are not people who belong to Him.
Take away
How can this discussion help us Be disciples and make disciples?
What does salvation mean for you personally?
How can we share the message of salvation with others?