Salvation
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus (Yeshua-Salvation in Hebrew),
because He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21
We all come into this fallen world in the same condition-unsaved, and at some point in life, often when we come to the end of ourselves and are ready to surrender, God comes in to give us a new life, to save us.
Salvation in the Old Testament
The Hebrew word for "salvation" is "יְשׁוּעָה" (yeshuah), which is nearly identical to the name of our Savior "יְשׁוּעָ" Yeshua (Jesus). Salvation by God in the Old Testament refers primarily to salvation from external evils, but it frequently includes a spiritual dimension, particularly in the book of Isaiah, and refers to the Messiah and the world's future redemption.
Below are the main points about salvation in the Old Testament:
-
Yahweh is the Rock of Salvation
-
Salvation is far from the wicked because of lawlessness
-
Yahweh will make Israel a light for the nations to bring salvation to all nations
-
God’s salvation is eternal
-
Yahweh’s salvation is coming soon
18 I await Your salvation, O Yahweh.
2 Yahweh is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
1 At that time Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in Yahweh in whom my horn is exalted. My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, for I rejoice in Your salvation. 2 There is no one holy like Yahweh. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
47 Yahweh lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted…
23 Sing to Yahweh, all the earth. Proclaim His salvation day after day. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all peoples.
1 In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God of our salvation. 20 Our God is a God of deliverance; Lord Yahweh is our rescuer from death.
4 May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “Let God be magnified!”
2 Yahweh has proclaimed His salvation and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
21 I will give You thanks, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked because they do not seek Your statutes.
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For Yahweh is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.” ( Isaiah’s name means “Yahweh is my salvation”)
6 He (God) says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its people will die likewise. But My salvation will last forever, and My righteousness will never fail.
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
1 This is what Yahweh says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.
Salvation in the New Testament
In the New Testament the Greek word for Salvation is “σωτηρία” (“sótéria”) which comes from the root “σῴζω” (“sózó”) and means to save, heal, preserve, rescue. Under the New Covenant salvation takes on mostly spiritual meaning. Below are the main points about salvation in the New Testament:
-
Jesus came to save His people from their sins
-
Salvation requires perseverance and sacrifice
-
The one who believes and is baptized will be saved
-
The horn of salvation comes from the house of David
-
Salvation exists in Jesus alone
-
Jesus was exalted to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel
-
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation
-
Because of Israel’s trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles
-
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation
-
The Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession
-
We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling
-
Our citizenship is in heaven where our bodies will transform into glorified bodies at the return of Jesus
-
We are saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth
-
There is punishment for neglecting Salvation
-
The author of salvation was made perfect through suffering
-
Jesus is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
-
Jesus will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him
-
Through faith we are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time
-
The goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls
21 She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
22 You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
34 …“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David
9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
11 This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
31 God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
26 Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
8 “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 that 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. 10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.
11 I ask then, did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Certainly not! However, because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous.
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
13 And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.
12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
13 But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
9 And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him 10 and was designated by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
27 Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
8 Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
13 By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down— he who accuses them day and night before our God.
1 After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
Further Bible studies: