I remember many years ago seeing a “street preacher” standing on a corner, holding a Bible, and shouting to passers by about being lost in sin, trusting in Jesus, and the salvation of their souls. That manner of communication seemed a bit embarrassing to me, and even then I sensed the incongruity between the religious words being shouted aloud and what I suspected was the common parlance of most of the hearers. I admired the man’s courage, but I wondered if he was truly being heard.
I think many churches have come a long way in their attempts to put the message of Jesus into terms that modern man and woman can understand, but . . . I think we still have a long way to go. After all, it’s hard to rename, retitle, or translate a term(s) we don’t fully understand ourselves.
And that has led me to ask through the intervening years: when we talk about SALVATION . . . what exactly is a believer saved FROM? And is there a word (or words) that could more accurately communicate the salvation of Jesus to a modern man or woman?
Part of the difficulty is that when someone is LOST . . . in a maze of city streets, for instance, they usually KNOW they’re lost; no one has to tell them. If someone, trying to be helpful, tells someone who is local that in fact they are lost . . . . well, the response is not usually a positive one. Often this is what happens when a Christian tries to share his/her faith (i.e. world view) with someone they don’t know very well.
It makes sense for us to ask ourselves: “What is salvation? And what exactly are we saved from?”
As a young man I was taught that I needed to be saved from hellfire, and that belief in Jesus (and going to church regularly) would accomplish that for me, so that when I died (a reality that was foreign to me in the extreme) I would be SAVED. People used to call this getting fire insurance (in a spiritual sense). But is that all it is?
If you study the Greek words σωτηρία (salvation) and σῴζω (save) you find that from their earliest usage they meant “to make safe and sound,” “to deliver from a direct threat,” “to bring safely out of a difficult situation.” They were used to describe pardon, protection, preservation, and escape. This applied to perilous situations, judicial condemnation, illness, and even death.
Like numberless expressions these words were used in multiple ways. In the Septuagint (LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), the most commonly used Scripture in the New Testament era, these words were used to describe general safety and security (see Genesis 28:21), victory for a nation (Proverbs 11:14), peace for a family of brothers (Genesis 44:17), and escape that will not be available for the wicked (Job 11:20). It was this same “deliverance” that became the essential story for the Israelites (Exodus 14:13), and it would also be the description given for their “salvation” in the future (Isaiah 45:17).
Salvation in the New Testament is both physical (Matthew 8:25; 9:21; 14:30; John 11:12; Acts 4:9; 14:9), and eternal (Matthew 1:21; Romans 5:9). There is even a layer of protection from what some writer has called “life’s infection” (Acts 2:40).
There is clearly an aspect of salvation that is set in the future (Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5; Revelation 12:10), and this is what Christians are most familiar with.
But all of this is so nebulous to most of us. We know some of what it implies in the future for us, but . . . what about right now? Does it have any meaning NOW? Indeed, there is a present aspect of salvation, too:
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions; it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ . . . .”
Ephesians 2:4-6 (NIV)
Implicit in their earliest usage these expressions describe BENEFIT and PRESERVATION. But how does that work in the here-and-now world?
Recently I have been reminded of the damage being endured by countless friends and family: damage caused by physical and/or mental maladies and death, the destructive and agonizing pain caused by divorces, the unspeakable crimes committed by individuals, the defeating and demoralizing experience of depression, and the hopelessness that seems to pervade our society. How does “salvation” bring any benefit to these situations? How does it preserve persons enduring this type of agony?
Or is it all just “pie in the sky” (as they used to say).
It is clear from the New Testament documents that God’s intent for mankind is a positive one, not a negative one; He wants to give this σωτηρία (salvation) to everyone (John 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:15) and it is his alone to give (Revelation 7:10; 19:1). It is found only in Jesus (Acts 4:12). And yes, the intended recipient can say, “No thank you!” (But would they, if they knew?)
It is eventually an escape from death and judgment (James 4:12; 5:20), but it is also a present benefit for the believer just as it was for the woman in Luke 7:50 to whom Jesus says, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There are new verbal expressions we might consider using to communicate this concept:
- RESCUE
- FREE
- LIBERATE
- COME TO THE AID OF
- FULFILL
To illustrate: not everyone with cancer knows it is present in his/her body; eventually he/she will discover unmistakably that something is wrong and seek to correct it. Many in our society are already at that place (stage 4, spiritual cancer); that is, they KNOW something is badly wrong spiritually, morally, etc. and they have experienced the pain that will make them open to listen to the offer of RESCUE, or LIBERATION. Others are not at that stage yet, so they might ask, “rescued from WHAT?”
If those persons do not share your Christian world view (see 1 John 5:19-20) there is still hope, of course. No one who lives long on this earth can avoid the pain, disappointment, and crushing disaster this world has to offer; at the least, they know and care about someone(s) who has experienced it.
The RESCUE and LIBERATION offered by Jesus’s good news is an umbrella of amazingly good things, not just the necessary fire insurance to avoid hellfire after you die. It comes with the assurance that no matter what disaster or defeat may come your way YOU ARE PROTECTED; it is an insurance policy that can only be revoked by the insured.
Does possessing this writ of liberation mean you will not experience suffering? NO! But it assures that the suffering you endure will not be for naught. It promises that you will be given the means to deal with the pain.
Does possessing this decree of rescue mean you will never experience anything again from which you wish to be rescued? NO! But it assures that you will not be drowned in the waters that seek to pull you under.
Although the word for “salvation” does not occur in the following verses, the umbrella of salvation encompasses ALL our life struggles, and makes it possible for us to embrace this assurance:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35, 37-39 (NIV)
Salvation is absolute protection in the here-and-now (the bullet proof vest of the Christian), liberation from the fear of adversity (not the absence of it), rescue from the debilitating damage of trouble in the world, palpable aid when you need it most, and finally . . . freedom from any judgment you might deserve at the end of your life. Not a bad package.
Listen as Paul wrestled with this concept, and see what he concluded: “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength . . . and I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:16-18 NIV)
Look at the world around you and tell me you or someone you love doesn’t need liberation? Do you know anyone who doesn’t need to be set free from some trouble, some addiction, some malady? It’s time we thought of salvation as a means to protect, an opportunity to aid someone, a life preserver to provide rescue from life’s waves. Because THAT . . . is what it IS!
The God Story 
Recent Comments