Gospel Words: Salvation
You can also watch a video that deals with this topic: Salvation.
When we talk about the word salvation, we are talking about something that is incredibly important and also something that is fairly common. The word itself does not indicate what is being saved, how it is saved, or who is saving it. In the New Testament, salvation is translated from the Greek word: σωτηρίας (sōtērias) or variations on that word such as σῴζω (sózó) which means “to save” according to Strong’s Concordance.
I want to take a look at how these words are used in the scriptures just to get a better understanding of what we mean when we talk about salvation. First, I would like to look at the word being used outside of a spiritual context.
Healing
When someone has a problem that they cannot fix, and someone fixes it for them, that is a way of saving someone. This is commonly used when referring to healing–they are being saved from their sickness.
Matthew 9:20-22 (sōthēsomai, sesōken, esōthē)
And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
This idea of salvation from physical problems is seen very clearly here. It could just as well have been translated, “I shall be saved…your faith has saved you…the woman was saved from that hour.” But because of the context, it is translated here as being made well because it is clearly talking about her physical healing, not spiritual healing.
When we talk about spiritual salvation, we are talking about a problem we have that nobody can fix except for Jesus. We need to have the faith to come to Him and call upon His name for that salvation just like this woman had faith to come to Him for physical salvation.
Mark 10:52 (sesōken)
Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
Here is the end of the story of blind Bartimaeus. Again, this could have easily been translated, “your faith has saved you.” But it is in reference to receiving physical sight. When we talk about spiritual salvation, we are in need of sight as well. In John 9 Jesus healed another blind man. At the end of that story where we find the Pharisees giving this man a hard time over being healed by Jesus, we read in John 9:39-41:
And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
The idea here is that only those who recognize their blindness come to Jesus for healing. Those who believe they can see remain in their sins. We must recognize our need to be saved from spiritual blindness.
Saved from Death
While healing may bring salvation from death if it is a terminal illness, there are other ways of saving from death. When someone is about to be killed and someone stops that from happening, they have saved the person from death.
Matthew 14:30 (sōson)
But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
In the record of Peter walking on the water out to Jesus, we find that when he began to sink in water that he would surely drown in, he called on the Lord to save him. He was not talking about spiritual salvation here, but rather salvation from drowning. But this is certainly a picture of our condition without Christ. We are sinking in sin and hopeless unless the Lord saves us. We must call on His name to be saved.
Matthew 27:39-40 (sōson)
And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
When these blasphemers were mocking Jesus and telling Him to save Himself, they were not talking about spiritual salvation here either. They were telling Him to come down from the cross. The amazing thing is that He had the ability to do just that and yet He refused to do so in order to save us from our sins. He refused to save Himself so that He could save us.
Spiritual Salvation
These same words are used to talk about what Jesus does for us in a spiritual sense. The spiritual salvation we receive is a healing and a deliverance from death.
Matthew 1:21 (sōsei)
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Right at the beginning where Jesus was being conceived, His purpose for coming into the world was stated–to save His people from their sins. His purpose was not to save His people from an oppressive government, from poverty, sickness, or anything else. It was specifically to save His people from their sins.
Luke 1:77 (sōtērias)
To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins
In Zechariah’s prophecy at John’s naming, we find Him talking about John’s work in preparing the way for Jesus. His job was to give knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins. This spiritual salvation is what Jesus came to bring and is what John focused on to prepare people for Jesus. Focusing on physical salvation of any sort is completely missing the point of why Jesus came. He demonstrated His ability to save spiritually by saving people physically. But physical salvation was never His purpose.
Hebrews 5:9 (sōtērias)
And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
This spiritual salvation is eternal salvation. Physical salvation can never be eternal because physical things are not eternal. But this eternal salvation only comes to those who obey Christ. God may give physical blessings to the wicked as well as the righteous (Matthew 5:45) but the eternal spiritual salvation will never come to those who do not obey Christ.
Current Salvation
There is a sense in which the spiritual salvation we have in Christ is immediate–we are now saved. If I ask you, “Are you saved?” I hope you will answer “yes”–unless you have not obeyed the gospel of Christ. Here are some passages that talk about the current salvation that we have in Him.
Titus 3:5 (esōsen)
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
This salvation is something that has already happened for those that are in Christ and have been regenerated or born again. If your old man has been crucified with Christ in baptism, and you were raised to walk in newness of life, you have been saved. It has already happened.
Luke 7:48-50 (sesōken)
Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Again, here salvation is spoken of as something that has already happened. Her sins were forgiven. This is the same word used for healing the blind man in Mark 10:52. What I want us to see is that these same words are used to talk about physical salvation as well as spiritual salvation. If we understand the impact of the physical salvation Jesus brought to people, we can start to understand better the greatness of the spiritual salvation we have in Him.
Romans 8:23-35 (esōthēmen)
Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Here Paul talks about being saved as something that has already happened. However, he also talks about it being something that we are hoping for and have not yet seen. The resurrection and final adoption as sons is something we are still hoping for and so persevere while we wait for it.
Ongoing or Future Salvation
There is also a sense in which salvation is still in process or is in the future even for those who “have been saved.” An illustration I like to use is this:
Situation: Someone is drowning at sea.
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A ship comes along and throws them a rope.
Are they saved? They can have such confidence in their salvation now that they can joyfully say, “I’m saved!”
There is a sense in which Jesus has thrown a rope to everyone. 1 Timothy 4:10 says:
For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
If they do not grab the rope, are they really saved? No. If we do not believe, repent, and call on the name of the Lord, being baptized into His death, are we really saved? No. That is why he says, “especially of those who believe.”
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They grab the rope and are pulled on board the ship.
Are they saved? Yes! They have been pulled from the water and have no fear of drowning anymore.
But what if they decide to jump overboard on the way back to shore? Are they saved? No.
If we have been saved from our sins but return to the depths of sin, we will not be saved. In fact, it will be worse for us than before. 2 Peter 2:20-22 says:
For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
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They arrive at shore and are brought onto land.
Are they saved? Yes! They have received the final salvation and there is no longer any chance of them drowning.
In the same way, when we reach heaven, there will be no chance of ever being lost from God or going back to sin. There will be no temptation to sin in heaven. We will be saved eternally.
Romans 13:11 (sōtēria)
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
How can salvation be nearer if we have already been saved? While we have been forgiven of our sins, we are not completely or finally saved until the very end. We must persevere. Forgiveness of sins does not mean that we can never sin again or fall from grace so as to be lost.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (sōtērian)
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Who is Paul talking about repententing here? He is talking about the Christians repenting of not disciplining the brother who had taken his father’s wife. The repentance of those who have been saved is to salvation. This shows that salvation is an ongoing process.
Philippians 2:12 (sōtērian)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling
Why must they work out their own salvation if their salvation is already accomplished? Because the salvation that is already accomplished is only for those who persevere until the end.
1 Timothy 4:16 (sōseis)
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
Here Paul is talking to Timothy about his preaching to Christians. He says that in taking heed to himself and the doctrine, he will save himself and those Christians who hear him. Once we are saved through obedience to the gospel, we must continue following Christ to be saved.
1 Peter 1:5 (sōtērian)
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
While we are saved now in a sense, the final salvation will be revealed in the last time. The sense in which we are saved now is because of the certainty of the salvation Christ will give in the end. This salvation however will only be to those who remain faithful so as to be kept by the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18 (sōzomenois)
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Here Paul talks about salvation as an ongoing process worked out by the message of the cross. We can be confident of our salvation because of our confidence in the message. We believe the promises of Christ. But we also know that we are still being saved as we continue to stumble through this life and continue to need forgiveness of our sins.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (sōzesthe)
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
Are you saved? If you hold fast to the word of the gospel, you are. If you do not hold fast to the word, you are not saved. You have jumped overboard. You have returned to wallowing in the mire. Repent. Your salvation does not have to end there for you. You can be saved. Christ is powerful enough to save all who call on Him. Believe Him. Turn to Him.