What Does Salvation Mean?

The meaning of salvation outside of the Bible means “to be delivered from harm, ruin, or loss.”

However, according to the Bible, salvation is a much deeper definition.

Salvation, according to historical Christianity, is realized in the saving grace of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. It is the reconciliation that we can have with God through the death, burial and bodily resurrection of Christ. It is the gift of being rescued from death to eternal life.

What’s required of you to receive salvation? Genuine faith aka complete trust in the Jesus’ work on the cross… Nothing more, nothing less.

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10

For Christians, we are saved by grace through faith and by nothing of our own accord. This is a unique proposition because every other major world religion will tell you that obedience is also required for salvation. (We’ll come back to obedience in a second…)

It’s a subtle reordering of operations that makes a world of difference. If you could save yourself, you would have. And if you need to add your own obedience to the equation of your salvation, your also saying that the sacrifice that Jesus made wasn’t enough. Your essentially fighting against the words of Jesus, eye witness testimony found in the Gospels, and historical Christianity over the last 2,000 years.

“He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” – Acts 16:30-31

Now that we know what salvation is, how does it play out in your life once you have made your confession of faith?

“…you will know them by their fruit…”

First, get baptized as soon as you possibly can. I can’t tell you enough how much my life was flipped right side up once I decided to be obedient by getting baptized.

I was raised in the church my entire life but not once did I think I needed to be baptized. Then someone put a rock in my shoe in a Facebook thread about salvation by grace vs works. I took the position that baptism is NOT required for salvation and yet there was one response that hit me like a ton of bricks:

“So you’ve put your faith in Christ and your first move is disobedience. Got it…”

Fast forward a few years…

My wife, kids and I finally made the move to Texas…

We had been attending Watermark in Fort Worth for a few months, and one of the services we attended was a baptism. The sermon moved me to the point of tears, and the baptisms were absolutely beautiful. For the first time in my life I felt the NEEDED to get baptized.

After a few weeks of waiting for the next baptism, the day had finally come. While I was standing in the water waiting my turn, I had realized that I had also NEVER made a public confession of my faith in Christ. This may have in fact been my day of salvation.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:1–10.

Once I came up from the water, I felt a chain lifted from my neck that I have been holding onto since I was 9 years old. I was exposed to pornography at the age of 9 years old and had quickly become addicted to it, even into my late 30’s. I couldn’t break it no matter how hard I tried.

I though getting married would help… Nope.

I thought having kids would help… Nothing.

Going to church? Nice try…

Prayer? Nadda…

Lust ruled my life with triggers everywhere I went. The never ending guilt, grief, and self disappointment was crushing my soul.

In my naivety, my prayer for years was “Lord PLEASE take this from me. This is the only thing I truly struggle with. If you could take this away I will be good enough.”

“When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.” – Isaiah 64:6

Little did I know know that on May 19th, 2024, my public confession of faith and baptism would be the key to my freedom...

I immediately noticed that the desire for pornography was gone. My eyes no longer wandered. And the desire to RUN from sin, at all costs, was now the desire of my heart and mind.

I had been “saved unto good works”, not BY them. My “heart of stone” had been replaced with a “heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

A few other things changed too…

For as long as I can remember, my sense of humor was VERY dark. I quickly found myself turned off by stand up comedians that I loved. I no longer had the desire to be the guy with the unexpected dark jokes that skated the edge of decency and caught people off guard. I no longer wanted to listen to the music I was listening to.

I also noticed that my language patterns were changing. Profanity, for the longest time, was a “tool” that I had used to “get a point across.” Although it may work for pop psychologists, I began to have a foul taste in my mouth at the thought of using these words.

Something was happening and I was changing right before my own eyes…

I had a thirst for the Word and began to have the desire to read my Bible and spend time in prayer as often as I could.

A few weeks later I found myself at a wealth building & real estate seminar that was booked months prior. Building wealth has been a driving force in my life since I was a child, and yet this time, I missed being with God. Kinda like when you meet “the one” and you have that longing feeling when you’re apart…

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God…” – Romans 12:2

Now back to obedience…

Is Obedience Required For Salvation?

Short answer… Nope.

However, obedience is produced FROM salvation. It is the EVIDENCE that you ARE SAVED. It is the fruit that is produced from God’s saving grace. You wont be perfect. None of us will. But repentance and the desire to love what God loves and hate what God hates will always be top of mind. Your beliefs, as usual, will manifest in your behavior…

This is the role of obedience in salvation…

For me, the grief and conviction from my sin has become unbearable.

Whenever I do, I’m reminded of a song my mom used to sing in church when I was a kid:

“Does He still feel the nails
Every time I fail?…
…Can He hear the crowd cry, “Crucify” again?”

This is where so many folks and world religions get it wrong. You cannot EARN salvation from obedience. To think that YOU would EVER be able to live according to God’s righteousness is foolish. You wouldn’t make it one day without sinning in thought, word or deed…

Your attempts would be bold, maybe even admirable, but will always “fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom 3:23)

Salvation is “God’s gift”… All you need to do is believe.