CHAPTER 8

SALVATION
A. SO GREAT SALVATION
There is nothing that man can do to save himself from his lost state of sin and separation from God.
God's answer to the problem of sin and its consequent punishment of death, is Jesus Christ. "The wages of
sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) The whole message
of the Bible is built around Jesus Christ, through whom God has provided Salvation.

We read in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life". The reason God has provided salvation for us is
because He loves us. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us." (Romans 5:8)

Salvation is God's free gift to us. We do not pay for it, we do not work for it; we give nothing in
exchange for it. God offers to us His gift of salvation in Christ, not because we were good or deserving, but
without money and without price. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

God loves us and offers us salvation as a free gift in spite of the fact that we do not deserve it. We
cannot be saved by good works or trying to earn our salvation. No man can be saved unless he is willing to
accept it as a free gift from God. This salvation is in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. "Salvation is found in no
one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

B. THIS SALVATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE DEATH OF JESUS

In the Old Testament times, before the coming of Christ, God's appointed way of approaching Him
was by means of the blood of animal sacrifices. The person offering the sacrifice would place his hand on
the head of the animal, confessing his sins and acknowledging his guilt. The animal would then be killed and
its blood sprinkled on the altar before the Lord. The animal would thus die instead of, or in place of, the
person who wanted to approach God. This was done to signify what Jesus would do when He came to fulfil
all that was typified by the Old Testament sacrifices. That is why, when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he
proclaimed, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) Jesus was the sacrifice
chosen and appointed by God who would take away the sin of the world. The Old Testament sacrifices were
only a shadow of Christ. "The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities
themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make
perfect those who draw near to worship." (Hebrews 10:1) "Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls
and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 10:4)

The blood of the Old Testament sacrifices only provided a covering for the sins of those who offered
them. The sins were not taken away. God, in His mercy, allowed them to be covered by the blood of animal
sacrifices until Christ the "Lamb of God" should come to take them away. "For this reason Christ is the
mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now
that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews
9:15)

When Jesus died on the cross, His death was an actual sacrifice for our sins. He "offered for all time,
one sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:12) thus fulfilling all that the animal sacrifices were merely illustrating,
and doing away with the need for any further sacrifice. "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and
calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal
redemption." (Hebrews 9:12) Christ has dealt once and for all with the matter of sin through His own blood
by His death. "But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice
of himself." (Hebrews 9:26b)

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C. JESUS DIED IN OUR PLACE
Christ's death was a sacrifice for our sin. He died in our place, or instead of us. He had no sin and did
not have to die, because death is the consequence of sin. Jesus therefore gave Himself up to die in our place,
bearing our sin. God foretold this in the Old Testament through the prophet Isaiah, "But he was pierced for
our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6) The writers of the New Testament also
clearly taught this truth. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God." (II Corinthians 5:21) "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God." (I Peter 3:18) "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming
a curse for us." (Galatians 3:13a)

Christ himself bore our sins in His body when He died on the cross. His blood was shed instead of
our blood. His body was tortured and broken in place of ours. We are the ones who should be punished and
die for our sins, but He took our place. He paid the price for our sins, took our punishment and died the death
we should have died. This, then, is the great salvation God has prepared for us.

D. SALVATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY FAITH

Salvation is provided by the free grace of God, but it must be received by faith. Although God has
provided salvation for all, it only becomes the possession of those who are willing to accept or receive it.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God." (John 1:12) The way we accept this salvation is by faith. In answer to the question, "What must I do
to be saved?" Paul in Acts 16:31 gave the answer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved". Faith
is the soul's laying hold of Christ as its only source of life, pardon and salvation. By accepting Christ by faith
we become united to Him. We become one with Him in His life, His death and His resurrection as explained
in Romans 6:3-5. "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
His death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with
him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." The Apostle Paul
teaches that those who are united together with Christ by faith are one with Christ in the great acts of His life,
namely His death and resurrection. In his letter to the Ephesians he speaks of them as also having ascended
with Christ into glory. He says God has "made us alive with Christ…" "And God raised us up with Christ
and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus". (Ephesians 2:5-6) Union with Christ means
that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. God does this for us by His mercy when we, by faith, receive Christ
and become one with Him. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
How do we get this faith? "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard
through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) Faith then, is accepting God's word, that which God has said
and made known, and relying entirely on Him to save us through Christ. This is what Jesus said, "I tell you
the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24) We hear the word of God and receive the salvation God
has provided for us by faith, surrendering to Him and relying wholly upon Jesus Christ as the only one who
can save us from sin and all its consequences. Jesus desires to enter into every life that He might deliver from
sin and Satan, and give life, and peace, and hope and power. In Revelation 3:20 we have the picture of Jesus
standing at the door of each heart, knocking, seeking admission. "If anyone hears my voice and opens the
door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." It is the one who hears his voice and responds by
opening the door, inviting Jesus to enter, who is brought into fellowship with Him. Opening the door is the
response of faith to hearing the Word of God.

E. THE RESULTS OF TRUSTING IN CHRIST FOR SALVATION

In our study of Man and Sin, we came to see that the entrance of sin had devastating consequences
on mankind. We recognise this as a terrible picture of the state of man. But we have now seen that into this
world God sent Jesus to redeem us from our sin and His judgment. (Galatians 4:4-5) We can summarize the
results of the sin of Adam on mankind and the results of what Jesus did on the cross as follows:

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 As a result of the sin of Adam and On the Cross, Jesus:
Eve, they and their descendants:
1. was banished from the presence of God because He bore our
1. were banished from the presence of sins. As we trust in Jesus to take away our sins, He takes them
God and lost fellowship with Him. away from us as far “as the East is from the West” and God
(Genesis 3:23) remembers them no more. (Acts 13:38; Psalm 103:12) As it is
sin that separates us from God, and Jesus has dealt with sin on
the cross, we are restored to fellowship with God. God forsook
Jesus on the cross when He bore our sin, in order that we should
never be separated from Him. (Romans 8:35-39)

2. came under the judgment and anger 2. bore the anger and judgment of God in our place, rescuing us
of God. (Romans 1:18ff) from the judgment to come. (I Thessalonians1:10) The one who
believes in Jesus “will not be condemned; he has crossed over
from death to life”. (John 5:24b)

3. no longer lived in harmony with one 3. enabled man’s relationship with his fellow man to be
another. (Genesis 3:12; Genesis 4:8) restored across all barriers that exist. (Ephesians 2:14)

4. became wicked and their hearts 4. opened the way for us to receive “new hearts”, hearts that
were filled with evil. (Genesis 6:5; would serve and follow after God. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Jeremiah 17:9)

As a result of the sin of Adam and On the Cross, Jesus:

Eve, they and their descendants:
5. Took away the “sting of death” (I Corinthians 15:55-57;
5. Faced physical death. Hebrews 2:14-15). “He has crossed over from death to life.”
(Romans 5:12) (John 5:24) “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his
Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12)

In all of this we see a great demonstration of the wonderful truth taught us in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore
if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

F. SALVATION IMPLIES REPENTANCE

The true meaning of the word "repentance" is "to change your mind about a matter", and implies a
change in actions. When a person receives Jesus and becomes a child of God, as part of that, they are called
to "repent", to change their mind about their sinful way of life and to walk in a new way - God's way. (I John
2:3-6)

1. Jesus preached repentance. Read Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:1-5; 24:47

2. The Apostles preached repentance. Read Acts 2:38; 3:19; 20:21; Romans 2:4; I John 1:9

The Bible rightly says, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did". (I John 2:6) No one can claim
to be a Christian, and yet willingly continue in sin. (I John 3:9)

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G. ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
Can a person know that he has eternal life and that when he dies, he will go to heaven? Yes! God has
given assurance in His Word that all those who truly believe on Jesus Christ have eternal life. God cannot lie;
therefore we can depend fully on His Word. "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have
eternal life." (I John 5:11-13)

Genuine love for others is one indication that a person has eternal life. "We know that we have passed from
death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." (I John 3:14)

The evidence of a changed life also indicates that one has been born again. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (II Corinthians 5:17)

For good testimonies of salvation in the life of an individual and of a church, read Acts 9 and I Thessalonians
1:1-10.

VERSES FOR MEDITATION

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our
sins." (I John 4:10)

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans
5:8)

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was
raised again." (II Corinthians 5:14-15)

HAVE YOU RESPONDED TO HIS WORD BY INVITING HIM INTO YOUR LIFE?

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