What Does Salvation Mean?
Lets read a text from Isaiah chapter 53, it is a prophetic, contemplative text about what Jesus has done for us.
Salvation – Isaiah 53:10-11, KJV
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
The root word to “salvation” is “save”, according to Mariam-websters dictionary “save” means, among other things:
- to rescue or deliver from danger or harm
- to preserve or guard from injury, destruction, or loss
- to avoid unnecessary waste
This comes from the consequences of sin. A sinner will according to the bible, be judged and punished with eternal flames of fire. Thereby salvation results in; being preserved, delivered or avoid having their soul being wasted.
The meaning of “being saved” in the bible is very wide. Salvation includes being redeemed from sin, but also to be healed, restored and liberated in all areas. Salvation is total.
Salvation of God Revealed
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. Titus 2:11, NET©
God has revealed the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, by his grace. The salvation that can set all people free from the devil’s oppression and the slavery to sin.
It is by the grace of God that salvation is available. In no way by ourselves or our own accomplishment. Only through the mercy of God.
Jesus Is the Source of Salvation
9 And by being perfected in this way, he (Jesus) became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, Hebrews 5:9, NET©
That Jesus was perfected, points to the work performed on the cross of calvary. When Jesus was crucified, died and resurrected from the dead. It is Jesus who is the sacrifice for all the sin in the world.
As it was stated in the contemplative text, “when you shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” It is Jesus who is the sacrifice, and it is by his work that we can be saved.
The Glad News
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16, NET©
The gospel is “the glad news”. The message that everyone can be saved by grace, for those who believe in Jesus and obey his will. The gospel and everything related thereto, is the teaching of salvation as the power of God.
Grace and salvation have no limits, it applies to jews as well as anyone else, regardless of sex, nationality or ethnicity.