Salvation
SALVATION (sal VA shun) n. deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption; the result of being saved; being able to live eternally with God in a perfect place, Heaven, instead of living apart from God in Hell.
When asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus affirmed that a person must love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul and mind, and love his neighbor as himself. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28). The requirement for eternal life in Heaven is perfect love for God and our neighbor (fellow human beings). The problem we all face is that none of us has a perfect love for God or our neighbor.
Some believe and teach that the kind of perfection God demands can be achieved through hard work and discipline on our part. However, the Bible addresses this faulty thinking in James 2:10. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” One sin disqualifies us from heaven, since it is a perfect place. The Bible being bluntly honest simply says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And the result for humanity??? The Bible again states it bluntly, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Based upon the words of Jesus and the apostle Paul, absolute perfection (holiness) is required for salvation. Since no one is guiltless, salvation is beyond the reach of humanity. But here is where Jesus comes into the picture. The Bible says, “God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (1Timothy 2:2). God himself in the person of his Son, Jesus, took our sins upon himself, suffered for them and died with them on a cross. In exchange for our sins, Jesus gives up his perfection as a gift, that is, salvation. The passage that says “the wages of sin is death” goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23). Imagine it. It cost God the very life of his Son to pay for our sin, but as a result, he gives us the gift of salvation – something that cost us nothing and something we did not earn.
The guilt of our sin has been paid in full by Christ. The gift of God is his forgiveness to us by that payment and we receive the full benefit of salvation simply by trusting what God has done for us.
When asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus affirmed that a person must love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul and mind, and love his neighbor as himself. Jesus said, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28). The requirement for eternal life in Heaven is perfect love for God and our neighbor (fellow human beings). The problem we all face is that none of us has a perfect love for God or our neighbor.
Some believe and teach that the kind of perfection God demands can be achieved through hard work and discipline on our part. However, the Bible addresses this faulty thinking in James 2:10. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” One sin disqualifies us from heaven, since it is a perfect place. The Bible being bluntly honest simply says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And the result for humanity??? The Bible again states it bluntly, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Based upon the words of Jesus and the apostle Paul, absolute perfection (holiness) is required for salvation. Since no one is guiltless, salvation is beyond the reach of humanity. But here is where Jesus comes into the picture. The Bible says, “God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (1Timothy 2:2). God himself in the person of his Son, Jesus, took our sins upon himself, suffered for them and died with them on a cross. In exchange for our sins, Jesus gives up his perfection as a gift, that is, salvation. The passage that says “the wages of sin is death” goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23). Imagine it. It cost God the very life of his Son to pay for our sin, but as a result, he gives us the gift of salvation – something that cost us nothing and something we did not earn.
The guilt of our sin has been paid in full by Christ. The gift of God is his forgiveness to us by that payment and we receive the full benefit of salvation simply by trusting what God has done for us.