WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT SALVATION:
FOUR QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

  1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE LOST?
  2. To be lost means to be guilty of sin in the sight of God. I John 3:4; James 4:17; Romans 3:23; James 2:10. We all have sinned against God and having sinned against God is man’s greatest problem. A person is lost because God views them as lost since they have fallen short of keeping the standard of righteousness He has set forth in the Bible. This puts us in serious trouble with God. Ephesians 2:1-3.
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  3. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED?
  4. To be saved means to be forgiven of our sin, Acts 2:38. We cannot have a right relationship with God if we are still living in sin, and are affected by our sin. Romans 5:10; Isaiah 59:1, 2. We can only receive the forgiveness of God in the way that He provides it, Hebrews 9:22; John 3:16; Romans 3:23-25; 5:8.
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  5. WHAT OR WHO MAKES FORGIVENESS POSSIBLE?
  6. The death of Jesus (His shed blood on the cross) is what makes forgiveness possible, Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:20. Jesus offered His blood to God to satisfy the wrath of God at sin, Hebrews 9:12. Jesus bore our sin on the cross of calvary, I Peter 2:24. This was all according to the plan of God, Acts 2:22-24; Romans 3:25; 8:1-3. A person cannot be forgiven (saved), unless they come under the blood of Jesus.
  7. Romans 3:21-26 tells us what God did for us through Christ to make forgiveness possible.
    • Verse 21: God has made known His righteousness to us.
    • Verse 22: It comes to all who believe in Jesus.
    • Verse 23: All have sinned.
    • Verse 24: All can be justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ. Ephesians 2:4-7.
    • Verse 25: This is all made possible because God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement (propitiation) for our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:4-5.
    • Verse 26: God did this to demonstrate that He is Just.
  8. Here are a few thoughts about all of this:
    1. Justification is the Divine declaration of righteousness by acquitting us of our sin and its guilt. It equals forgiveness.
    2. God’s grace is His Divine, unearned, undeserved favor for sinful man. It is the very opposite of what we deserve, Ephesians 2:4-7.
    3. Jesus redeemed us by paying the ransom price God required for sin, Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12.
    4. Christ as propitiation means that His death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God at sin. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment that we deserved. Jesus experienced God’s wrath at sin so that we would not have to. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
    5. God is not “Just” simply because He forgives. God is Just in the way He provides for our forgiveness.
    6. God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us that we might be forgiven (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
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  9. WHAT ARE GOD’S TERMS OF PARDON?
  10. God says that we are to respond to His grace by:
    1. Faith; Believing & trusting in Jesus as God’s Son and our Savior, John 3:16, Hebrews 11:6.
    2. Repenting of our sins, Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 2 Peter 3:9.
    3. Confessing Jesus as the Christ, Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9-10.
    4. Being baptized by immersion, in water, for the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:38; 22:16; Mark 16:16; Romans 6:1-4; I Peter 3:21.
  11. We find union with the blood of Jesus, or the death of Jesus, in baptism, when preceded by faith in Christ, repentance towards Christ, and confession of Christ. Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12; Galatians 3:26-27. God does all of the saving. Salvation is His gift to us in Christ, but we must respond properly to His offer.
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