What is Salvation?

Salvation happens when the Holy Spirit gives life which enables us to see the glory of Christ and what He did for us on the cross. It is a supernatural experience that changes a person forever. We cannot earn it. It is a free gift from God.

John 3:16 is no doubt one of the most famous verses in the Bible. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Yet most readers don't understand the full implications of this verse because most readers don't fully understand the holiness and justice of God, the magnitude of sin, and what Jesus accomplished for them on the cross.

Holiness is the total absence of sin. God is the pinnacle of existence. No creature in existence can fully understand His divine greatness. Sin is disobedience and to disobey the Most High means instant death yet we as sinners still live.

God is not an indifferent force. He is a personal God. He feels emotion such as anger, regret, pity, hate, love, and joy. He is moral. He is the standard by which all righteousness is measured.

Why would such a righteous, holy God give thought to such sinful creatures as us? Because He created us in his own image. But man disobeyed the creator through the deception of Satan which plunged the entire human race into sin and rebellion. The earth came under a curse, man was driven from the presence of God, and Satan has been accusing us ever since.

God loved the world so much that He broke into history and entered His creation to settle the sin problem once and for all. Jesus Christ was God incarnate. And though we were yet sinners He died so that we might have life.

Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world and three days later He rose from the dead. Now, if people believe this they will be saved, right? ...Wrong. The devil believes it and he's not saved.

However, the devil knows that Christ didn't die for him. Salvation is a personal thing. Jesus bore the sins of each and every one of us. Our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus and He took the punishment we deserved so that we could enter the kingdom of God.

We are still sinners so we can't approach a holy God. When Jesus rose from the grave He wrapped his righteousness around all who believe in Him so all who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ can approach God. We have no righteousness of our own therefore we cannot approach God on our own.

In other words, when we die and God asks us why He should let us enter His kingdom there is only one right answer and that is that Jesus Christ paid it all and on His merit alone we are considered righteous. R. C. Sproul said that he confronted his young son with this issue and asked him, "Son, if you were to die and God asked you why He should let you into His kingdom, what would you say?"

He said his son looked at him like he was crazy and replied, "Duh! 'cause I'm dead!"

Coming from a child this is cute ignorance but sadly, many adults still carry this kind of ignorance and believe that since God is love He will save everyone. They fail to realize that God has given us the way to approach Him which is through His Son Jesus Christ. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

There has to be spiritual regeneration which is what Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3. "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God... I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8)

Jesus Christ is not a mere stepping stone to the Father. He is the second member of the Holy Trinity and therefore fully God. Those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit begin to develop a hatred for their own sin and turn from it. They become new creatures in Christ and the result is a changed life. The old nature begins to fade as Christ is being formed in them.

God does love the world. He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world. Therefore, those who hear the Gospel (faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God) are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and see the magnificence of Christ, they are the ones who receive salvation.

However, salvation is a very personal thing between an individual and God. If anyone doubts his or her salvation, God is just a prayer away. It's healthy to doubt your salvation. The Bible says we should test ourselves to be sure we are in the faith. "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith." (2Cor. 13:5)

In summary, salvation is a supernatural event where a person is drawn by the Father to Christ, quickened by the Holy Spirit to see the glory of Christ, and accepted into the kingdom of God by Christ. Therefore, salvation is about Jesus Christ and the atonement He made on the cross for sin which allows anyone who accepts it to have eternal life.