"Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
Introduction
In
preparing this paper I have looked at every passage in the New Testament
that uses the Greek word sozo (save) or related words (thank
God for computers!) and at many other verses that seem to me to
speak of salvation. I have deliberately focussed on what Scripture
says rather than on what others have written about it, and I have
tried to take account of everything that Scripture says, whether
or not I can fit it neatly into a structure built by human logic.
I
have struggled with this material for quite some time. I am not
at all sure that I have yet found the right way to express it. I
do not claim to have any authoritative answers; I merely seek to
raise some questions that I think need to be considered. Some of
what I have come up with may seem unorthodox and surprising to some,
but I ask my readers to do as the Bereans did and search the Scriptures
to see whether these things are true (Acts 17:11). (Unless otherwise
indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version
and any emphasis is mine.)
The
sense I get is that the subject of salvation does not lend itself
to easy answers or pat formulas. We should not presume on God (Psalm
19:13 King James Version) with formulas which say, "If I do
this, God has to do this." Paul tells us to "continue
to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose"
(Philippians 2:12). For those who are being converted it is helpful
to have simply stated principles, but those of us who are trying
to "work out" our lives as Christians need more depth.
I
sense also that we sometimes tend to put too limited a meaning on
the concept of salvation, and on the concept of faith which underlies
it.
Richard
Wurmbrand, a Lutheran pastor, while imprisoned in a Communist prison
in Rumania, received what he felt was a word from God that said
that when he got to heaven he would be surprised at some whom he
saw there and equally surprised at some whom he did not see there.
I think we need to consider this word seriously. God is sovereign.
His ways and his thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
He is not bound to follow the theories and concepts that we have
constructed out of his word.
If
what follows seems a bit complex and untidy I make no apology. Scripture
is not a theological treatise. It does not fit everything into neat
boxes. At times it says things that may seem to rub against each
other, and not always to fit together neatly by our human logic.
When this happens I think we need to follow everything that Scripture
says, and hope that, as we progress in our knowledge of God, who
is the author of Scripture, our human understanding of his words
will catch up.
I
have tried to develop my ideas in a logical sequence and I ask that
you read the entire paper in sequence and not jump to conclusions
based on isolated portions of it.
Definition
The
Greek word usually translated "save," sozo (Strong's
#4982), the intensive diasozo, and the related nouns soter
(savior), and soteria (salvation), have a surprisingly broad
range of meaning.
Sozo,
from a root meaning "safe", means, according to Strong,
"to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively)."
In the King James Version it is variously translated "heal,
preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole."
Some
of the ways in which sozo is used in the New Testament are:
Protection From Physical Hazards and Death
When
Jesus asked if he should say "Father, save me from this hour"
(John 12:27), he used sozo in the sense of being saved from
arrest, flogging and crucifixion. Luke 1:71 speaks of "salvation
from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us." When
the disciples' boat was in danger of sinking during a storm on Lake
Galilee they cried "Lord, save us! We're going to drown"
(Matthew 8:25). When Peter tried to walk on the water and started
to sink he cried "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30). The
Book of Acts uses the word diasozo in talking about saving
the boat's crew from shipwreck while on the way to Rome (Acts 27:20,
31, 34, 43, 44; 28:1, 4), and of saving Paul from the Jews who sought
to kill him (Acts 23:24). Scripture also speaks of God saving Noah
and his family from the flood (Hebrews 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20).
In
healing the man with the withered hand Jesus asked, "Which
is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life
or to kill?" (Mark 3:4).
Speaking
of the Great Tribulation Jesus said "If those days had not
been cut short, no one would survive (sozo)" (Matthew
24:22).
(This
is probably the most typical way in which salvation (yesha,
Strong's #3468) is used in the Old Testament. A good example is
Psalm 18:2-3 - described as a song which David sang "when the
Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies". "The
Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock
in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold. I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise, and I
am saved from my enemies.")
Deliverance From Bondage
God
"delivered (sozo) his people out of Egypt" (Jude
5). Philippians 1:19 uses sozo in the sense of being delivered
from prison. When Jesus was nailed to the Cross the onlookers cried,
"Save yourself... Come down from the cross" (Matthew 27:40,
42). The thief on the cross beside him said to him "save yourself
and us" (Luke 23:39).
Healing,
Making Whole
Jesus
said to the woman with the issue of blood, "Thy faith hath
made thee whole (sozo)" (Matthew 9:22, King James Version
(KJV)). When he healed the ten lepers, Jesus said that the ten were
cleansed but to the one who came back, gave thanks and glorified
God he said "Thy faith hath made thee whole (sozo)".
Other passages using sozo to mean "healed" include
Matthew 14:36; Mark 5:23; 6:56, 10:52; Luke 8:48, 50, 17:19, 18:42;
John 11:12; Acts 4:9, 14:9; James 5:15.
In
one case sozo is used of the healing (making whole) of a
demon-possessed man. In speaking of the Gadarene demoniac, who was
delivered of many demons and restored to "his right mind,"
Luke records that "those who had seen it told the people how
the demon-possessed man had been cured (sozo)" (Luke
8:36).
Spiritual Salvation
Most
of the New Testament uses of sozo refer to spiritual salvation.
In general they do not define what that salvation consists of. It
clearly includes the gift of eternal life with God, and freedom
from spiritual death and eternal punishment. I shall consider in
the next section whether it includes more than this.
There
are many passages in the New Testament which seem to speak of spiritual
salvation without using the word sozo or related words. These
include passages that speak of eternal punishment, of entering into
eternal life, of entering (or being excluded from) the kingdom of
God, of being reconciled to God, of facing the wrath of God, of
being cast into outer darkness, etc. I believe these passages need
to be considered in any discussion of salvation.
As
I look at these passages it seems to me that they speak of spiritual
salvation in at least three senses:
A single
event - the act of conversion or coming to the Lord. I call
this initial salvation.
A continuing
process - one's ongoing life as a believer.
A future
event - eventual entry into eternal life in heaven with God.
I shall consider
each of these aspects of salvation in more detail in what follows.
Some
may object that in using salvation in this broad sense I am confusing
separate theological concepts - salvation, sanctification, eternal
judgment, etc. My answer is that I find Scripture using the word
in each of these senses, and I am more interested in seeing what
Scripture says than I am in adhering rigorously to neat conceptual
boxes.
The Scope of Salvation
When
we think of salvation we usually think of entering into eternal
life with God and being saved from everlasting punishment apart
from God. This is tremendously important. But the effect of our
salvation is not limited to our future life after physical death.
It begins here and now.
When
we are spiritually saved, we are transferred, right away, from the
kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear son (Colossians
1:13). We pass from death to life (1 John 3:14). We become children
of God (Romans 8:16-17). We are no longer slaves to sin (Romans
6:16). Our citizenship has changed, our family has changed, our
allegiance has changed. We become "a new creation; the old
has gone, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are given
"new birth into a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3).
As
children of God we receive his "very great and precious promises"
through which we can "participate in the divine nature"
(2 Peter 1:4). We receive God's "incomparably great power for
us who believe" (Ephesians 1:19) so that, with Paul, we can
say "I can do everything through him who gives me strength"
(Philippians 4:13). We are "free indeed" (John 8:36).
One
of the meanings of sozo is to be healed, made whole. When
we are saved we become able to be healed and made whole spiritually.
God is able to present us "holy in his sight, without blemish
and free from accusation" (Colossians 1:22; see Jude 24).
Our
salvation is not just for our benefit. If it were, the whole concept
of salvation would be self-centered. We receive the gift of salvation
in order that we can minister to others. God "reconciled us
to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation"
(2 Corinthians 5:18). We are "created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians
2:10). We are called to be workers in the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38),
to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). We
are called to "live a life worthy of the Lord" and to
bear "fruit in every good work" (Colossians 1:10). God
comforts us so that we can comfort others with the comfort which
we have received (2 Corinthians 1:4).
Basic Principle
"For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that
no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8).
I
believe this is the basic principle that underlies everything the
New Testament says about spiritual salvation.
"By Grace"
Grace,
charis, (Strong's #5485), has a wide range of meanings. One
basic meaning is that of the free, unmerited gift of God. In this
sense it is opposed to "works" (actions). "If by
grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no
longer be grace" (Romans 11:5).
Our
spiritual salvation is a free, unmerited gift of God. "The
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans
6:23). "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy" (Titus 3:5)."All have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus"
(Romans 3:23-24). We can never earn our salvation or deserve it.
We can only give thanks for it. "Who has ever given to God
that God should repay him" (Romans 11:35). In the broad sense,
we can be saved because, and only because, "while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Each individual
is saved, not by any merit or effort of his own, but because God
drew him. We are "called by grace" (Galatians 1:6). Our
election (salvation) "does not, therefore, depend on man's
desire or effort, but on God's mercy" (Romans 9:16).
"Grace"
has another meaning. Strong defines it as "the divine influence
upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." In this sense,
grace is the power of God which is given us to enable us to fulfill
God's purposes for us. Paul declared, "By the grace of God
I am what I am and his grace in me was not without effect"
(1 Corinthians 15:10). The Lord said to him "My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians
12:9). It is only by the grace of God that we are able to live according
to the Holy Spirit (see Romans 7:24-25, 8:3-4). It is only by the
power of God within us that we can stand against the enemy (Ephesians
6:10). All that we do in our Christian walk is done by God's "power
that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20), his "incomparably
great power for us who believe" (Ephesians 1:19). As Paul said
"I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace
of God that was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10; see also Galatians
2:20). "God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that
in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound
in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8; see 2 Thessalonians
2:16). Whatever we may accomplish as Christians should be regarded,
not as the result of our own effort, but as the result of the power
which God has given us by his grace. As Paul puts it, "What
do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it,
why do you boast as though you did not?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).
There
are many Scriptures that say we are saved by grace. Some additional
examples are: Acts 15:11; Romans 5:15-17, 21; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus
3:7.
"Through
Faith"
Faith,
pistis (Strong's # 4102), means much more than intellectual
assent. We believe with our heart and not just our mind (Romans
10:10). Strong defines faith as "persuasion, i.e. credence,
moral conviction... especially reliance on Christ for salvation."
He says that the related verb pisteuo means "to entrust
(especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ)." (I have
written out Strong's abbreviations). In the King James Version pisteuo
is translated "believe, commit to trust, put in trust with."
Vine says that pisteuo signifies "reliance upon, not
mere credence." Biblical faith is not just believing in a set
of doctrines or principles; it is believing, and putting one's trust,
in the person of Jesus Christ. "Whoever believes in him"
is saved (John 3:16). Paul wrote, "I know whom I have
believed" (2 Timothy 1:12). "Whom" (a person) rather
than "what" (a set of doctrines). Donald G. Bloesch defines
faith as "a radical commitment of the whole man to the living
Christ, a commitment that entails knowledge, trust and obedience"
("Essentials of Evangelical Theology", Harper & Row,
paperback ed. 1982, Vol 1, p. 224).
There
are a large number of verses which say that we are saved by faith.
The question is, what do they mean by "faith". Much of
this paper will address that question.
"Not
By Works"
As
I have said, salvation can never be earned or deserved. It does
not depend on our actions ("works"). The unbeliever who
expects to be saved because he has "led a good life" is
deeply mistaken. Without faith, no actions can save us. "Whoever
does not believe stands condemned already" (John 3:18; see
also 2 Thessalonians 1:8).
Relationship Between Faith and Works
Faith
is an internal state of mind and heart. It is evidenced by actions
- a changed life, obedience and submission to Christ, the fruit
of the spirit, etc. Faith which has no effect on our actions is
not genuine faith.
A
simple example will illustrate the point. Suppose, while you are
sitting in your living room, someone says to you "Your house
is on fire. You say "I believe you" and don't do anything;
you just remain sitting there. Do you really believe that your house
is on fire?
The
Epistle of James makes the point very clear. "Do not merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says"
(James 1:22). "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead" (James 2:17). Abraham's faith was "made
complete by what he did" (James 2:22). "As the body without
the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead" (James
2:26).
I think Paul would not disagree. He said that his calling was to
"call people... to the obedience that comes from faith"
(Romans 1:5), and that all who are saved are "God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10). He prayed constantly
that believers would "live a life worthy of the Lord... bearing
fruit in every good work" (Colossians 1:10).
When
Jesus spoke of faith, it was usually in a context of faith reflected
in action. Several times he rebuked his disciples for their lack
of faith; each time involved faith in action: In Matthew 8:26, during
a storm on Lake Galilee, the disciples came to Jesus in fear saying
"Lord, save us" and he replied, "you of little faith,
why are you so afraid?" In Matthew 14:31 Peter started to walk
on the water, but then became afraid and began to sink; Jesus said
"you of little faith... Why did you doubt?" In Matthew
17:20, when the disciples asked why they could not heal a demonized
boy, Jesus replied, "because you have so little faith."
Jesus praised
the faith of the centurion, saying "I have not found anyone
in Israel with such great faith" (Matthew 8:10). Why? Because
the centurion acted on his confidence that Jesus could heal the
servant from a distance by a word, and because the centurion understood
authority, i.e. obedience (action).
Jesus
praised the faith of people who showed great perseverance in coming
to him despite heavy obstacles. Matthew 9:22 (woman with the issue
of blood who pressed in through the crowd); Matthew 15:28 (Canaanite
woman who persisted despite initial rejection; "great faith");
Mark 2:5 (friends of the paralytic who lowered him through the roof);
Mark 10:52 (blind Bartimaeus, who persisted despite many who rebuked
him); see Luke 19:1-9 (Zaccheus). He wanted his disciples to have
the faith that could move mountains, faith such that "nothing
will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).
A
key verse is John 14:12: "Anyone who has faith in me will do
what I have been doing. He will do even greater things..."
For Jesus, true faith is something that results in action, that
empowers us to do things. Note the parallel structure and
thought of John 3:16 and John 14:12:
John 3:16.
Whoever believes (pisteuo) in me shall have eternal life.
John 14:12. Whoever has faith (pisteuo) in me will do what
I have been doing.
It
would seem that the same faith is needed for each verse. The faith
that is needed for eternal life is one that is reflected in actions.
Another
key verse is Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord' will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does
the will of my Father who is in heaven." If our faith does
not result in obedience, in doing the will of the Father, it will
not give us eternal life. See also Luke 6:46, "Why do you call
me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say."
Hebrews
11:1 says "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain
of what we do not see." Faith means having the boldness to
step out in confidence in God's word no matter what the circumstances.
The examples given are examples of faith in action, of perfect obedience
to God's call, of committing your life in trust to God's word: Noah
spending years building a huge vessel in preparation for something
(rain) which had never before occurred; Abraham leaving his home
in response to God's call and taking his family on a difficult journey
of hundreds of miles to live in a place where he had never been;
Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice in response to God's
call; Moses crossing the Red Sea; Joshua having the walls of Jericho
fall; etc. Hebrews 3:12 gives an example of sinful unbelief, when
the people of Israel failed to believe God's promise and refused
to enter into Canaan. Note that these were people who believed in
the God of Abraham and had followed him. Their sinful unbelief consisted
in being unwilling to risk their lives by acting on God's promise
and entering in to the land of Canaan.
In
short, we are saved by faith. No amount of deeds done without faith
will save us, because our reliance would then be on ourselves and
our own deeds rather than on God. But faith which is not reflected
in one's actions is not real faith. Our actions, our works, are
the evidence that our faith is genuine.
An
important caution needs to be made. God's view of things is not
necessarily the same as ours. Actions that seem very important to
us may be of little consequence to him, and actions that seem of
little importance to us may be of great consequence to him. The
point is illustrated by Jesus' comment about the widow who put two
very small coins into the Temple treasury when others were giving
substantial sums. In the world's view the woman gave very little,
but Jesus said, "This poor widow has put in more than all the
others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but
she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on" (Luke
21:3-4).
In
the next sections, as we look at the three aspects of spiritual
salvation, we shall find that the emphasis on the evidence of our
faith changes with time. For initial salvation, a profession of
faith is sufficient. For continuing salvation, we are looking increasingly
at the actions which evidence our faith. When we come to ultimate
salvation, or final judgment, the texts speak entirely of our actions,
our works.
Initial Salvation
"It
is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:8; see also 1:13)."Whosoever
believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). These
and other texts speak of salvation as a completed past event, or
a single event that is now occurring or will soon occur. For many,
but not all, believers it is possible to identify the day and hour
when we "were saved," that is, when we initially came
to the Lord. Our salvation was by faith. One important evidence
of this faith can be a public profession of faith, such as the answer
to an altar call, the saying of a "sinner's prayer," or
the like. "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" (Romans 10:9). "Everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).
But
such a profession of faith, while a useful starting point, is not
enough to complete our salvation. God looks at men's hearts, not
their outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:6). Jesus never accepted a
mere verbal commitment. He said, "Why do you call me 'Lord,
Lord' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). He told a parable
about two sons; one said he would work in the field and didn't;
the other said he would not work and did; and it was the second
who did his father's will (Matthew 21:28-31). He said, "If
you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). He
rejected those who "honor me with their lips but their hearts
are far from me" (Matthew 15:7-8). He told the Pharisees to
concentrate on cleaning what was inside, and then the outside would
also be clean (Matthew 23:25-28). He said we will recognize people
by their "fruit" (Matthew 7:20). He told us that the one
who hears his words and does not put them into practice will fall
with a great crash, while the one who puts his words into practice
will stand against every storm (Matthew 7:24-27). And he explicitly
applied these principles to spiritual salvation when he said, "Not
everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven"
(Matthew 7:21).
That
a formal profession of faith is not enough is shown by the number
of people who answer altar calls at revival meetings only to backslide
and abandon their faith within a short time. Jesus spoke, in his
parable of the soil, of those who receive God's word "with
joy" but last "only a short time" (Matthew 13:21).
What is necessary is a basic change of heart which reflects itself
in a lifetime of obedience to God. This brings us to consider salvation
as a continuing process.
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