CHAPTER 7 WHAT IS SALVATION?

The Power of Jesus
The Great Salvation
God’s Way for our Salvation
Becoming Right with God
Saved by Trusting God
Becoming Right with God only by Faith
Becoming a Brand New Person in Christ
New Lives from Christ Jesus
Salvation
The Salvation of our Souls
Salvation, the Law and Faith
Entering into the Holy Presence of God in Heaven
Heaven

The Power of Jesus
ACTS 4:8-12
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Honorable leaders and elders of our nation, if you mean the good deed done to the cripple, and how he was healed, let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that it was done in the name and power of Jesus from Nazareth, the Messiah, the man you crucified – but whom God brought back to life again. It is by his authority that this man stands here healed. For Jesus the Messiah is (the one referred to in the Scriptures when they speak of) a ‘stone discarded by the builders which became the capstone (the top stone) of the arch.’ There is salvation in no one else! Under all heaven there is no other name for men to call upon to save them.”

The Great Salvation
HEBREWS 2:1-18
So we must listen very carefully to the truths we have heard, or we may drift away from them. For since the messages from angels have always proved true and people have always been punished for disobeying them, what makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation announced by the Lord Jesus himself, and passed on to us by those who heard him speak?
God always has shown us that these messages are true by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving certain special abilities from the Holy Spirit to those who believe;
Yes, God has assigned such gifts to each of us.
And the future world we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. No, for in the book of Psalms David says to God, “What is mere man that you are so concerned about him? And who is this Son of Man you honor so highly? For though you made him lower than the angels for a little while, now you have crowned him with glory and honor. And you have put him in complete charge of everything there is. Nothing is left out.”
We have not yet seen all of this take place, but we do see Jesus – who for a while was a little lower than the angels – crowned now by God with glory and honor because he suffered death for us. Yes, because of God’s great kindness, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the entire world. And it was right and proper that God, who made everything for his own glory, should allow Jesus to suffer, for in doing this he was bringing vast multitudes of God’s people to heaven; for his suffering made Jesus a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation.
We, who have been made holy by Jesus, now have the same Father as he has. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers. For he says in the book of Psalms, “I will talk to my brothers about God my Father, and together we will sing his praises.” At another time he said, “I will put my trust in God along with my brothers.” And at still another time, “See, here am I and the children God gave me.”
Since we, God’s children, are human beings – made of flesh and blood – he became flesh and blood too by being born in human form; for only as a human being could he die and in dying break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only in that way could he deliver those who through fear of death have been living all their lives as slaves to constant dread.
We all know he did not come as an angel but as a human being – yes, a Jew. And it was necessary for Jesus to be like us, his brothers, so that he could be our merciful and faithful high priest before God, a priest who would be both merciful to us and faithful to God in dealing with the sins of the people. For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us.

God’s Way for our Salvation
(Paul)
ROMANS 3:21-31
But now God has shown us a different way to heaven – not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us – declare us “not guilty” – if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we can all be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.
For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath (his anger). In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way, because Jesus took away their sins.
But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins.
Then what can we boast about doing, to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
And does God save only the Jews in this way? No, the Gentiles, too, may come to him in this same manner. God treats us all the same; all, whether Jews or Gentiles, are acquitted if they have faith. Well then, if we are saved by faith, does this mean that we no longer need obey God’s laws? Just the opposite! In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we truly obey him.

Becoming Right with God
(Paul)
ROMANS 10:1-13
Dear brothers, the longing of my heart and my prayer is that the Jewish people might be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for the honor of God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they do not understand that Christ has died to make them right with God. Instead they are trying to make themselves good enough to gain God’s favor by keeping the Jewish laws and customs, but that is not God’s way of salvation. They don’t understand that Christ gives to those who trust in him everything they are trying to get by keeping his laws. He ends all that.
For Moses wrote that if a person could be perfectly good and hold out against temptation all his life and never sin (disobey God’s laws) once, only then could he be pardoned and saved. But the salvation that comes through faith says, “You don’t need to search the heavens to find Christ and bring him down to help you,” and “You don’t need to go among the dead to bring Christ back to life again.”
For salvation that comes from trusting Christ – which is what we preach – is already within easy reach of every one of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths.
For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation. For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Saved by Trusting God
(Paul)
ROMANS 8:24-30
We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have – for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.
And in the same way – by our faith – the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how to pray as we should; but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows, of course, what the Spirit is saying as he pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.
For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him – and all along he knew who would – should become like his Son, so that his Son would be the first-born with many brothers. And having chosen us he called us to come to him; and when we came, he declared us “not guilty,” filled us with Christ’s goodness, gave us a right standing with himself, and promised us his glory.

Becoming Right with God only by Faith
(Paul)
GALATIANS 2:5 and 2:15-16 and 2:19-21
For we did not want to confuse you into thinking that salvation can be earned by being circumcised and by obeying Jewish laws.
GALATIANS 2:15-16
“You and I are Jews by birth, not mere Gentile sinners, and yet we Jewish Christians know very well that we cannot become right with God by obeying our Jewish laws, but only by faith in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And so we, too, have trusted Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted by God because of faith – and not because we have obeyed the Jewish laws. For no one will ever be saved by obeying them.”
GALATIANS 2:19-21
For it was through reading the Scriptures that I came to realize that I could never find God’s favor by trying – and failing – to obey the laws. I came to realize that acceptance with God comes by believing in Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not one of those who treats Christ’s death as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping Jewish laws, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Becoming a Brand New Person in Christ
(Paul)
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-21 and 6:1-2
Since we believe that Christ died for all of us, we should also believe that we have died to the old life we used to live. Christ died for all so that all who live – having received eternal life from him – might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them. So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the outside. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now! When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!
All these new things are from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ Jesus did. And God has given us the privilege of urging everyone to come into his favor and be reconciled to him. For God was in Christ, restoring the world to himself, no longer counting men’s sins against them but blotting them out. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you – be reconciled to God. For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us!
2 CORINTHIANS6:1-2
As God’s partners we beg you not to let slip this marvelous message of God’s great kindness. For God says, “Your cry came to me at a favorable time, when the doors of welcome were wide open. I helped you on a day when salvation was being offered.” At this moment God is ready to welcome you. Today he is ready to save you.

New Lives from Christ Jesus
(Paul)
EPHESIANS 2:1-10
Once you were under God’s curse, doomed for ever for your sins. You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin (full of thoughts, speech and actions against the laws of God), obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God’s anger just like everyone else.
But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead – only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved – and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in heavenly realms – all because of what Christ Jesus did. And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.
Because of his kindness you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

Salvation
(Paul)
TITUS 2:11-14 and 3:4-7
For the free gift of eternal salvation is now being offered to everyone; and along with this gift comes the realization that God wants us to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures and to live good, God fearing lives day after day, looking forward to that time when his glory shall be seen – the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who died under God’s judgment against our sins, so that he could rescue us from constant falling into sin and make us his very own people, with cleansed hearts and real enthusiasm for doing kind things for others.
TITUS 3:4-7
But when the time came for the kindness and love of God our Savior to appear, then he saved us – not because we were good enough to be saved, but because of his kindness and pity – by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He poured him out upon us with wonderful fullness – and all because of what Jesus Christ our Savior did so that he could declare us good in God’s eyes – all because of his great kindness; and now we can share in the wealth of the eternal life he gives us, and we are eagerly looking forward to receiving it.

The Salvation of our Souls
1 PETER 1:8-13
You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible joy that comes from heaven itself. And your further reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
This salvation was something the prophets did not fully understand. Though they wrote about it, they had many questions as to what it all could mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about, for he told them to write down the events which, since then, have happened to Christ: his suffering and his great glory afterwards. And they wondered when and to whom all this would happen.
They were finally told that these things would not occur during their lifetime, but long years later, during yours. And now at last this Good News has been plainly announced to all of us. It was preached to us in the power of the same heaven-sent Holy Spirit who spoke to them; and it is all so strange and wonderful that even the angels in heaven would give a great deal to know more about it. So now you can look forward soberly and intelligently to more of God’s kindness to you when Christ returns.

Salvation, the Law and Faith
(Paul)
PHILIPPIANS 3:2-21
Watch out for those wicked men – dangerous dogs, I call them – who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For it isn’t the cutting of our bodies that makes us children of God; it is worshipping him with our spirits. That is the only true “circumcision.” We Christians glory in what Christ Jesus has done for us and realize that we are helpless to save ourselves.
Yet if anyone ever had reason to hope that he could save himself, it would be I. If others could be saved by what they are, certainly I could! For I went through the Jewish initiation ceremony when I was eight days old, having been born into a pure-blooded Jewish home that was a branch of the old original Benjamin family. So I was a real Jew if there ever was one! What’s more, I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to every Jewish law and custom. And sincere? Yes, so much so that I greatly persecuted the church; and tried to obey every Jewish rule and regulation right down to the very last point.
But all these things that I once thought very worthwhile – now I’ve thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, and become one with him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith – counting on Christ alone. Now I have given up everything else – I have found it to be the only way really to know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and die with him. So, whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.
I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working towards that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.
No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.
I hope all of you who are mature Christians will see eye-to-eye with me on these things, and if you disagree on some point I believe that God will make it plain to you – if you fully obey the truth you have.
Dear brothers, pattern your lives after mine and notice who else lives up to my example. For I have told you often before, and I say it again now with tears in my eyes, there are many who walk along the Christian road who are really enemies of the cross of Christ. Their future is eternal loss, for their God is their appetite: they are proud of what they should be ashamed of; and all they think about is this life here on earth. But our homeland is in heaven, with our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven: and we are looking forward to his return from there. When he comes back he will take these dying bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer all else everywhere.

Entering into the Holy Presence of God in Heaven
HEBREWS 10:19-31
And so, dear brothers, now we may walk right into the very Holy of Holies where God is, because of the blood of Jesus. This is the fresh, new, life-giving way which Christ has opened up for us by tearing the curtain – his human body – to let us into the holy presence of God.
And since this great high priest of ours rules over God’s household, let us go right in, to God himself, with true hearts fully trusting him to receive us, because we have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and because our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Now we can look forward to the salvation God has promised us. There is no longer any room for doubt, and we can tell others that salvation is ours, for there is no question that he will do what he says.
In response to all he has done for us, let us outdo each other in being helpful and kind to each other and in doing good.
Let us not neglect our church duties and meetings, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back is drawing near.
If anyone sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by Christ’s death; there is no way to get rid of it. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God’s awful anger which will consume all his enemies. A man who refused to obey the laws given by Moses was killed without mercy if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated his cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed (dishonored), and insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people.
For we know him who said, “Justice belongs to me; I will repay them”; who also said, “The Lord himself will handle these cases.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Heaven
(Paul)
2 TIMOTHY 4:8
In heaven a crown is waiting for me which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And not just to me, but to all those whose lives show that they are eagerly looking forward to his coming back again.