Salvation
What is salvation?
Salvation means to be saved! What do you need to be saved from, you might ask? For example:
- Salvation from hell
- Salvation from a broken relationship and fellowship with God
- Salvation from the curses that result from the fall of mankind
God created Adam and gave him dominion over the earth. One day Adam was seduced into disobedience by the lawless spirit Satan. Because of his fall, dominion over the earth was handed over to Satan. However, God sent Jesus Christ as the second Adam to redeem humankind from their sins and liberate them from Satan’s dominion. Jesus Christ came for our redemption and deliverance.
Believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior means accepting that very redemption. Through Jesus‘ perfect sacrifice on the cross, your sins have been blotted out forever. You receive God’s righteousness and can come into God’s presence with confidence, for he is not only Almighty God, but also your Heavenly Father.
Furthermore, he promises us his blessings in the form of health, provision, protection – and an eternity with God in heaven.
Why do I need salvation?
The wages of sin is death
Romans 6: 23
God is a righteous and holy God. According to his justice, there is no way to escape punishment for our sins. Without Christ, we would be on a one-way street that leads directly to eternal separation from God, and thus to hell.
But our God is a good God, and He is love. That is why he sent his beloved Son Jesus Christ:
For God so [loved] the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3: 16
Jesus Christ took our place on the cross to bear the full weight of God’s wrath and punishment. He died our death for all our sins. Only Jesus Christ could fulfill the righteousness of God. As the perfect and sinless Son of God, he fulfills the demands of God’s holiness by fully paying for our sins.
Therefore, there is no other way to be saved than to believe in Jesus and his perfect work and accept Him as Lord and Savior. He is the only way for us to gain access into the presence of our heavenly Father. Through him we receive an abundant life, and can expect a glorious eternity in heaven (Hebrews 4:16; John 10:10; Acts 4:12).
How can I be saved? What do I have to do for my salvation?
Salvation is a gift of God and can be obtained only by faith in Jesus:
Jesus says to him, „I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me!
Jean 14: 6
For if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to be justified, and with the mouth one confesses to be saved; for the Scripture says, „Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame!“
Romans 10: 9-11
Jesus Christ is the only way to God and to eternal life. To be saved and to receive eternal life, the Bible gives us clear directions: We must believe in our hearts that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave. With our mouths we must confess that he is our Lord and Savior.
To receive Christ into your life and be saved, you can recite the following prayer:
„Heavenly Father, I thank you that you love me and that you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for all my sins. His precious blood washes me clean and makes me righteous. You raised Jesus from the dead, and today he is alive. I thank you that all my sins are forgiven. I am under God’s favor and grace. I thank you, Father, that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, from this day forward. In Jesus‘ name, Amen.“
What are the next steps after salvation?
Once you receive Jesus in your heart and into your life, your position in God’s kingdom changes:
- You are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- You are an heir of God (Romans 8:17)
- As Jesus is, so are you (1 John 4:17)
God loves you unconditionally and wants to bless you. In his Word, the Bible, he promised that he is forever by your side (Romans 8:31), and will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).
It is very important that you continue to hearing about Jesus and your new identity in Christ, as well as all the blessings He purchased for you on the cross.
