What is Salvation?

Q: I don’t understand “being saved.” How do I know I’m ready? Can you shed some light on this? Can you fall from this and have to be re-saved?

A: "Saved" is one term among several that the New Testament uses to describe the change that occurs in a person's relationship with God after encountering and choosing to follow Jesus Christ. Other terms include...

... "made right with God," "justified," "peace with God," "born again," "converted," "redeemed." The noun is “salvation.” Salvation is deliverance from the power and effects of sin. To be saved is to be forgiven of our sins and placed in a right relationship with God.

We are saved by faith in God’s work in Jesus Christ. God’s just punishment for our sin is...

absorbed by Christ on the cross. To accept Christ’s payment is to be saved. It is what Bob Tuttle calls, the great “I give up.” We give up on our righteousness, on our own efforts to gain God’s approval, on all attempts to justify ourselves. We acknowledge we are sinners in need of God’s grace. We admit we need a Savior.

If you acknowledge you need God, that you can’t atone for your own sin, that your righteousness isn’t sufficient, then you are ready. Make no mistake, it is not a step to take lightly. It is unconditional surrender. With it comes all the benefits of being a child of God: forgiveness, peace with God, the joy of relationship with God, eternal life, a new power to live life as God wants it lived.

You are free to accept or reject this gift. This is true before salvation and after. No one in God’s creation can take God’s salvation from you. But, you can choose to walk away from Christ. Our love for God must be freely given from a willing heart.