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INTRODUCTION
Salvation is the grandest theme of the Bible. It is the heart of the revelation of the Bible. From beginning to the end, the Bible presents one consistent, unified story—the plan of God to save fallen humanity. At the very center of this divine narrative is salvation, the grandest theme of the Bible. It is the heart of the revelation. The Bible in all its divisions, whether it is the prophetic writings, historical writings, poetic writings, or didactic writings, points us to one thing—the redemptive plan and work of God through Jesus Christ.
In this article, and a series of others to follow it, I shall be exploring why salvation is the grandest theme of the Bible, how it unfolded through history, and why it is the most important truth for every human today.
SALVATION: THE BIBLE’S CENTRAL THEME
As I have mentioned earlier, the Bible presents one consistent, unified story from Genesis to Revelation. And, that is the plan of God to save fallen humanity through Jesus Christ.
1. Promised in the Old Testament
Apostle Paul, in Romans 1:1-3, wrote about the gospel as what God promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. From the moment humanity fell from favor with God through Adam, God had begun to foretell the coming of redemption (Genesis 3:15). The entire system under the old covenant with Israel—the law, Temple, sacrificial system, the Passover Lamb, and the prophets’ proclamations, all pointed forward to the coming Savior.
2. Fulfilled in the New Testament
Again, Apostle Paul spoke of the fulfillment of the salvation that God promised in the Old Testament in the person of Christ (Acts 13:32- 33). The Gospels portray Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of that Old Testament promises. His coming to the earth, death, and resurrection are the pinnacle of God’s saving work. The apostles further explained this in their letters, showing how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan for humanity’s salvation.
3. Consummated in Revelation
The final book of the Bible—Revelation, points to the ultimate salvation of humanity, particularly, those who put their trust in Jesus in this life. We shall be rescued from this world and from the wrath of God coming upon this world, and united with God forever in a new earth (Revelation 21:1–4). The story that began in Eden ends in glory, with sin and death completely defeated.
WHAT IS SALVATION IN THE BIBLE?
The Greek term soteria, which was translated into “salvation” in the New Testament, has multiple meanings like deliverance, preservation, restoration, and healing. In Christian theology, soteria is used specially and specifically to describe the entire activities of God in rescuing sinful man from his miserableness in sin. Salvation encapsulates all of the gracious works of God by which He delivers sinful man from the penalties and power of sin, and bestows on him His glorious riches, including eternal life and the provisions for a rich life on the earth.
A Multifaceted Work of God
The Bible consistently portrays salvation as a multifaceted work of God. For long, many people, even Christians, have viewed salvation as a singular, one time work of God. But that is not true, and does not represent the true nature of the salvation that God does. Viewing salvation that way will rob us of understanding the vastness and richness of God’s salvation. And, it is why some think of salvation as what can be lost.
However, the Bible portrays salvation, not as a singular event, but a broad theme that envelops all of God’s actions to rescue man from sin and bring him into His own life, e.g. justification, adoption, and regeneration. At times, each of these is used to represent salvation. Now, that’s okay. Nonetheless, we must properly understand each to be a distinct action of God which addresses a particular problem that sin created for man. For example, while justification addresses the problem of guilt and condemnation of man, adoption addresses the problem of man’s orphanage on account of sin.
A Process
The Bible also portrays salvation as a process. There is a correct way to view God’s salvation. And, this is it! It is a process—a series of God’s actions which start from the point when man comes to Christ by faith (of course by the help of the Holy Spirit), continue through out his lifetime, and is perfected at the return of Christ. In other words, the biblical salvation has three phases.
- Accomplished work: This describes aspects of the work of salvation that God does immediately a person believes the gospel. This phase is described in the past tense in the Bible’s texts, indicating what has been done.
EPHESIANS 2:5:
“Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”
2 TIMOTHY 1:9:
“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
ROMANS 5:1, 9:
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! [NIV]
- An ongoing work: This describes aspects of the work of salvation that God is doing on those who have trusted in Jesus presently. While our spirit is renewed, our soul—mind, will, and emotion—is not. It is this unrenewed soul that sin wants to exploit to bring us under its dominion again. So, in this ongoing phase, God is renewing our souls, to reconfigure it to the new life we are in. This phase is described in the Bible’s texts using present continuous tense.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:18:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
2 CORINTHIANS 2.15:
“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”
1 JOHN 1.7:
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
- A Future Perfection: This describes the perfection of the salvation of believers at Christ’s return. Someday, we shall be rescued from this sin-soaked world. Sin and all that cause sin shall cease to be. It is at that time that we shall be perfected. We won’t reach perfection in this world. We will keep pressing toward the perfection for which Christ saved us. But we shall only attain to full perfection at Christ’s return.
ROMANS 13:11:
“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
1 PETER 1:5:
“We are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
1 JOHN 3:2:
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
So, you see, salvation is not an event. It is a journey!
SALVATION REVEALS MAN’S MISERY
Salvation reveals man’s miserableness because sin. That we need saving indicates that we are in a miserable state. Our fall through Adam brought terrible consequences upon our race.
- Death (Romans 5:12): A three form death befell us— spiritual, physical, and eternal (if not for what Jesus did for us (Ephesians 2:1-3, 5; Ephesians 4:17-19; 1 Corinthians 2:14).
- Alienation (Ephesians 4:17-18). We were alienated from God, and plunged into enmity with Him (Colossians 1:21).
- Condemnation: Regardless of the pretense to be okay, sinners are tormented by a feeling of condemnation and fear of God’s judgment.
- Helplessness: This is the worst of them all—our utter incapability to save ourselves from our miserableness and bring ourselves into right relationship with God (Romans 5:6-8).
SALVATION REVEALS GOD’S CHARACTER
Salvation reveals God’s holiness, justice, love, mercy, and kindness, and how they came into play in our salvation. When we sinned, we profaned God’s holiness, and His justice punished us. But, God’s love, mercy, and kindness, moved Him to provided a plan to salvage us from our miserableness through Jesus. Apostle Paul, through the Holy Spirit’s insight, wrote in Ephesians 2:4-5
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
Those two words—“But God”, changed the flow of the narrative of our miserableness which the apostle had begun to speak about from verses 1. Salvation is hinged upon God’s character. Salvation is a divine project in which the entire Godhead is involved. The Father initiated the project (John 3:16). The Son—Christ, accomplished it through His sacrifice on the cross (Romans 5:8-9).And, the Holy Spirit administers the finished work of Christ to save those who put their trust in Him (Titus 3:5-6).
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