What is salvation

Acts 4:12 (NKJV)

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Amen, thank you LORD.

Today, I wanted to share a simple understanding on the meaning of salvation. If you ask me, salvation is an act of love. The greek meaning of salvation is; soteria, which means to deliver, to save according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. In case you are wondering the reason for Greek as the preferred language, it is because the New Testament is written in Greek. So the Greek language helps to share the original intention and meaning of God's Word.

When God sent Jesus into the world, He did not just send anyone but His beloved Son so that whoever would believe in Him would be saved and rescued from sin and the every power of darkness into His Kingdom. Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV) speaks of salvation as deliverance and says, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." When God delivers you from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of the His beloved Son, your old life is gone and you become a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) puts it best and says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." A new creation is one who has been born of God making them a child of God (John 1:12-13) and this is a work done only by God's grace through faith in Jesus. As a new creation, Jesus not only forgives you from sin but also gives you the power to be dead to sin where sin no longer has control over you.

When you get born again, you now belong to God. God takes care of your life and this is something God takes very seriously especially that you make it to heaven. This ties into the next point which is salvation keeping you safe from every power of the enemy. Not only are you delivered from darkness and the powers of the enemy, but God also makes sure to save and protect you and your soul from all the schemes of the enemy.

This is first seen with the God appointing the Chief Shepherd in addition to the shepherds He blesses you with. Jesus Christ as Chief Shepherd and Overseer of your soul is entrusted by God to watch over you (1 Peter 2:25) and ensures that nothing snatches you out of His hands. Jesus says in John 10:28 (NKJV), "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." Child of God, you are safe in God's hands.

With salvation also comes wholeness and healing. God is interested in a whole and healthy you. Thankfully, He does not want you to do it by yourself and this is the reason we are healed by Jesus' stripes (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus' stripes does not just heal physical wounds but all kinds of wounds be it emotional, psychological, trauma, etc. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV), "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." To sanctify means to purify, to make holy and clean. Sanctification is the work that God does by His power that at work in you during your salvation journey here on earth to make sure that your spirit, soul and body are made whole and blameless until that day when Jesus Christ's return.

This verse also shows us another aspect of salvation which is preservation that is, God heals you not only so you can be made whole but so you can be effective for service in His Kingdom and so that you are preserved from anything that would tarnish the testimony of Jesus Christ upon your life. Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) says, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

This also shows us that salvation is not only limited to being born again and receiving Jesus Christ. After you become born again, the LORD's hand of salvation may still need to prevail in your life maybe from a dangerous or unpleasant situation. In all things, God stays watching over you so be comforted child of God. Psalm 121:3 (NKJV) says, "He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber."

Then there is also the ultimate salvation at the end of the ages which is when the Lord Jesus returns for His bride, the church. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NKJV) says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

Ultimately, you are born of God and you are kept by the power of God. As a loving Father, God will not drop you out of His hands. God is faithful.

I'll end with this Word found in 1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

Amen, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: The best gift that Jesus gave us is receiving salvation and eternal life which is a personal relationship knowing God as our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

If you would like to receive this free gift of God's salvation, please say this prayer with me:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that God sent His One and only Son who died for my sins and was raised from the dead so that I could have eternal life." Amen

If you just said this prayer, GLORY TO GOD, you are now a new creation in Christ Jesus! In case you have not already, please prayerfully consider becoming a member of a church and get WATER BAPTIZED!