Teaching Guidelines:
- This topic may be covered in two sessions.
- The goal of this class is to help truth seekers gain a broader perspective on salvation and begin to put their faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. Salvation by grace through faith must not be detached from but is integral to the Lord’s commands and the Lord’s saving grace in the sacraments.
Presentation slides:
▶️ Slides on Salvation for use in class
Why Do I Need to Be Saved?
Problems in life often overwhelm us, and we desperately wish for answers. You may be drowned in sorrow or struggling with addictions. You may be consumed with worries or suffering from the pain of a broken relationship. You may feel hopeless because of a chronic illness or lost because you see no purpose in life. Oftentimes, wealth cannot solve our problems. Our friends and loved ones can do little to help us. How can we find a way out?
The Root of All Problems
Our helplessness, despair, and failures are but symptoms of a much deeper spiritual problem. When God created this world, He made everything to be good and beautiful. Human beings were able to live in perfect harmony with the Creator.
But man has ruined his relationship with God. He chose to disobey God, defying God’s authority. Because of sin, man can no longer live in God’s presence. He lives in alienation from God. He must toil and struggle in this world. Not only that, he also lost the privilege to live forever. Sin resulted in death, for the wages of sin is death.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— (Romans 5:12)
Death has become the destiny of every human being. No matter how long we live, we all have to face death one day. This undeniable fact is the evidence that humanity has sinned against God and lives in alienation from God.
Because of sin this world is also filled with evil. Not only has mankind rebelled against God, we have committed great injustices against our fellow human beings. There are constant wars, violence, hatred, greed, and selfishness. The Bible tells us that we are dead in our sins. We have given in to our desires and live in disobedience. We stand condemned before God and are under God’s wrath. After our body dies, we must also face the judgment of God. The end is eternal rejection by God in hell. The Bible calls this final death the second death.
This is the terrible spiritual condition that all humankind is in. It is the root of our inward emptiness and hopelessness. Even if we feel that our lives are fine and happy, we are poor and wretched spiritually, and we have no hope beyond the grave.
All Have Sinned
You may say, “Well, I’m not a sinner. I’ve been a good person my whole life. I’m pretty sure God will accept me.” But being a good person is hardly good enough. We measure our goodness based on our own standard. We tend to think that as long as we are law-abiding and are somewhat kind to others, we shouldn’t be called sinners. Actually, you don’t need to be a criminal to be a sinner. In fact, most sinners are probably law-abiding citizens. Sin is defined not by our personal standards nor society’s standards, but by God’s perfect standard:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)
A sinner is someone who falls short of the glory of God. God created human beings in His image and likeness. We were meant to display God’s qualities of love, justice, and wisdom. But by disobeying God we have fallen short of God’s glory. By choosing to do what we desire rather than what God desires, we have become enemies of God.
Even if we are good people most of the time, that is still not good enough.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. (James 2:10–11)
If you have ever done something or said something to hurt another person; if you have ever told a lie; if you have ever looked at a woman lustfully; if you have ever hated someone; then you are a lawbreaker and sinner before God.
As the Bible shows, by God’s standard we are all sinners and we all fall short of the glory of God. We have been cut off from the life of God. Because of that, we fail miserably in living up to God’s requirements. This is true of the entire human race:
“no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:11–12)
The Bible says definitively that before God’s law, no one is perfectly righteous. Everyone is a sinner. So sin is a universal problem and has plagued the human race from the beginning of history.
Bondage of Sin
What makes matters worse is that we are in a vicious cycle of sin. We have become slaves of sin. Jesus said to the people,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34)
We seem to be unable to break free from sin. Even when we want to do good instead of evil, we can’t help ourselves. So Paul in the Bible depicts this inner struggle and perpetual failure:
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:21–24)
We can relate to what Paul says here because we have all been there. How often do we regret our words and actions? How many times have we vowed to kick our bad habits and stop hurting others, but go right back to the old ways?
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. (Romans 7:14)
The Bible teaches us that we have been sold under sin. When man was driven away from God’s presence, his relationship with God was broken. Man carries with him the body of death that is bound for judgment. He succumbs to his desires and is swayed by the will of the evil one, under whom the whole world lies. The human race is in the domain of darkness. This explains the utter futility in trying to break away from our sinful thoughts and lifestyles.
As we can see, we are all in need of deliverance. We can’t return to God by sheer determination. We all need to be saved.
The Importance of Salvation
Jesus teaches us the value of our soul.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)
All the wealth in the world cannot compare to the worth of our soul. Nothing is as important as the salvation of our soul. Even if we earn the whole world but forfeit our soul and are condemned to eternal punishment, what we have earned means nothing. To lose our soul is the greatest loss.
The good news is that salvation is available. Whether you are trying to overcome life’s challenges or seeking an escape from the terrible eternal death that awaits us, God’s Word the Bible already gives us the answer.
Who Can Save Me?
Sin has separated us from God, and death resulted from sin. But even before man sinned and was given the death sentence, God had already prepared a plan of salvation.
The Cost of Sin
We may ask, “Why couldn’t God simply forgive sinners and let them live?” We need to first understand the seriousness of disobeying God. God the Creator and Ruler has established order in His creation. When we disobey God, it is a violation of God’s order and a crime against the Creator.
If God were to look the other way and ignore it whenever man breaks His law, He would not be the just God that He is. We certainly wouldn’t wish mass-murderers like Hitler or Stalin to go unpunished. Yet we expect God to forgive us when we violate His moral laws. We want others to be brought to justice, but we want to be forgiven. That is holding a double standard, which the just God cannot do. When man sins against God, death must ensue because choosing to reject God is choosing to be severed from the life of God. That is the deadly consequence of sin.
But God is not only just, He is also loving and merciful. He does not delight in the death of a sinner. He wants to restore the broken relationship with His children. To do so without compromising His justice, He paid the greatest price of love. He chose to take our place and bear the penalty for our sins.
God Became Flesh
A debtor cannot pay for someone else’s debt because he himself is in debt. In the same manner, no other human being can save us because all have sinned. Even the most pious person is but a sinner. Only God alone can be our Savior. In order for Him to pay the debt of our sins, He must suffer the consequences of sin by dying on our behalf. For this very reason He came into this world and became a man.
This man, who is God in the flesh, is Jesus. The name Jesus means “the LORD saves.” God Himself came to this world as a human being in order to save us from our sins. Jesus, being in the flesh, was called the Son of God. As a son, He lived in perfect obedience to the heavenly Father.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’” (Hebrews 10:5–7)
The Perfect Sacrifice
Whereas mankind has disobeyed God, Jesus obeyed God’s will completely. Although He was human and was also tempted like we are, He was without sin. Finally, He obeyed God to the point of going to the cross to die for the sins of the human race.
But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)
Jesus was like a lamb without blemish. He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins. Jesus’s obedience unto death reversed the disobedience of mankind.
For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
Because Jesus was without sin, He was able to pay for the penalty of our sins. The righteous One died in the place of sinners. As a result, those who accept Him can be acquitted before God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
In exchange for Jesus’ death, believers in Jesus receive the gift of life.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
The Risen Savior
Through the cross Jesus conquered the devil and the power of death. Death could not keep its grip on Jesus because He is the Lord of life. Three days after His death, Jesus was raised to life just as He said.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (1 Peter 3:18)
Jesus rose from the dead as the Victor over sin and death. He ascended to heaven in glory and will return one day as the Judge. By His death and resurrection, the way to God is open again. Our risen Savior has brought us a living hope. We who believe in Him and are baptized in His name can receive a new life now and will rise to everlasting life in the future. Paul writes to the Christians about their glorious future:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20–21)
This corruptible body that we have now will be transformed into an incorruptible body when Christ comes. Our physical death will be but a temporary sleep because we will rise again to life. Like Jesus Christ our Lord, we will also be victorious over death. This glorious hope of everlasting life is given to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Even in the present life, we who are born again in Jesus Christ can overcome the challenges in life. In Jesus Christ we are given a new life and become a new person.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
If you put your trust in Jesus, He will save you by re-creating you. As a new creation, you can mend your broken relationships, overcome addictions, find meaning in life, and face life’s difficulties with courage, peace, and joy. He will turn hatred into love, despair into hope, and darkness into light.
Just as the Lord Jesus proclaimed, He is the ultimate answer. He is the bread that satisfies us. He is the source of living water that quenches us. He is the light that shines in our darkness. He is the life that triumphs over death. In Him we can have abundant life and a life that never ends.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Jesus alone is our Savior, for He alone has paid the debt of our sins, and He alone has triumphed over death.
Nothing in this life is forever. The things and people we trust will not always be able to help us. But Jesus will never fail us. He lives, and He is our ever present help. When death comes and when we have to face our final destiny, Jesus and Jesus alone can receive us into His eternal kingdom.
Saved by Grace
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
The Bible teaches us that our salvation is by grace through faith. “Grace” and “faith” are two key terms related to salvation.
The Nature of Grace
“Grace” by definition is “a favor” or “a gift.” It is the opposite of “wages.” Our salvation is given to us by God freely. Jesus Christ the Son of God has paid the debt of our sins with His own blood. We cannot possibly earn salvation with good works, because we are all sinners before God.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (Romans 3:23–24)
Christ Jesus is the only way through which we can become righteous before God. This is the grace of God, given to us as a gift. It is made possible through Christ’s redemption. That means Jesus paid for our sins by His own death. No other means, including charitable works, religious piety, and self-discipline, can lead us to God.
Washing of Regeneration
Our Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price of redemption with His blood. In order for our sins to be forgiven, we need the blood of Christ.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7)
How is the blood of Christ applied to us? When are we forgiven of our sins? The Bible tells us that we are justified freely by God’s grace through the washing of regeneration.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4–7)
God saved us, not because of any righteous works we have done, but according to His own mercy. This is called “grace.” But how is God’s grace given to us? This passage tells us that God saves us “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
First, the washing of regeneration justifies us. That means when we receive the washing of regeneration we are no longer sinners before God. Instead, God considers us clean and righteous. What is this washing of regeneration? When we look up the word “washing” and its related words in the Bible, we understand that it is a reference to baptism into Christ, and that this washing is for the purpose of the remission of sins. For example, Saul was told to be baptized:
“’And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’” (Acts 22:16)
At this moment, Paul had been called by the Lord Jesus. But he was still a sinner. He had to wash away his sins. The way to do that, according to this verse, was for him to be baptized. That is why after the ascension of the Lord Jesus and the outpour of the Holy Spirit, the disciples baptized all those who accepted Jesus. Peter said to the crowd,
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
For our sins to be forgiven, each one of us must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. It is in baptism that the blood of Jesus Christ washes and cleanses us of our sins. In His great commission to His disciples, the Lord Jesus said,
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
The Lord promised salvation to all who believe and are baptized. Through baptism we have the grace of salvation because in baptism we are forgiven of our sins. This is the grace of God. Unfortunately, baptism has often been misinterpreted as man’s work and rejected as the means of God’s saving grace. But the Bible teaches that the saving power of baptism is due to the gracious gift of God through Jesus Christ.
Renewal of the Holy Spirit
Let’s review the passage we looked at earlier on God’s salvation:
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5–7)
God saves us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. When we are washed by the blood of Christ in baptism, we are regenerated with a new life. But that is not the end of Christ’s saving work on us. God also pours out His Holy Spirit on those who are baptized into Christ so that they may be renewed.
God gives us His Holy Spirit in order to help us live as a new person in Christ. Paul writes about this transformation through the Holy Spirit in His letter to the Romans:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1–2)
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:10–11)
Before we come to Christ, we are dead in our sins. We live according to our own desires and are children of disobedience. But when we believe in the Lord Jesus and are baptized into Christ, we die to sin and leave behind us the former way of life. To empower us to live a new life, God gives us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
By choosing to live according to the Spirit of God, we are free from the grip of sin and death. The body that used to indulge in sinful lusts is now given a new life to walk according to God’s righteousness. Instead of living in darkness, confusion, and despair, we can now live in the light and in the love of God. This wonderful gift is the saving grace of God through Christ.
As we saw earlier in Titus, God richly poured out His Holy Spirit on us so that we might become heirs of God. That means we become true children of God, carrying the image of God and qualified to inherit the glorious eternal life.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, (Romans 8:14–16)
Believers of Christ can have the precious gift of the Holy Spirit in them. It bears witness that they are the children of God. It also enables them to live as true children of God. What a gift of salvation! This gift will be yours too if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
“What must I do to be saved?” This is the most important question we need to ask in life. In the book of Acts chapter 16, we read the story of the jailor who asked the apostles this crucial question and was given the answer.
Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30–31)
This jailer was about to commit suicide before Paul the apostle stopped him. He had just witnessed a great miracle and his life was spared. He knew that Paul and Silas were godly men, so he wanted them to tell him how he could be saved.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31)
The apostles gave this jailer a very clear answer. He must believe in the Lord Jesus. In so doing, he and his household will be saved. This is the message of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in the Son of God shall not perish but shall have everlasting life. Jesus is the only way to God. We cannot earn salvation by being a good person or doing charitable deeds. Faith, rather than works, is the means by which we can be saved.
What does it mean to believe in Jesus, the Son of God?
Accept Jesus as Lord
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8)
We are saved by grace through faith. “Grace” means “a gift.” Salvation is a gift from God. “Faith,” on the other hand, means “accepting the gift.”
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
Believing in Jesus is believing that He is the Christ, the Son of God. “Christ” is from a Greek word that means “the anointed One.” It is a term in the Bible reserved for the future King appointed by God to save His own people and rule over them. To believe in Jesus is to believe that He is our King, our Lord and Savior. “Son of God” means that He is from God, that He has come in the flesh in order to deliver us from our sins, that He is raised to life, and that He will come again in glory. By examining the evidence laid out before us in the Bible, we hope that you will be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9–10)
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Our salvation is received through confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead. To put it even more simply, if we call on the name of the Lord, we will be saved.
Calling on the name of the Lord is not merely a one-time confession or mental consent. Too often this passage has been misinterpreted to mean that, to be saved, all you need to do is confess with your mouth once that Jesus is Lord and to mentally agree that God raised Jesus from the dead. Then, you are instantly saved. You don’t need to do anything else. This is a gross distortion of what it means to believe in the Lord Jesus. It also contradicts what the Bible teaches about faith.
Faith encompasses not only a one time confession or mental consent, but a total acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment to Him as our Lord for the rest of our lives. Faith also involves repentance, which is to turn from our sinful ways to God. Furthermore, faith includes accepting the saving grace of God through baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, accepting Jesus’s footwashing to have a part with Him, and accepting the flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ to have His life.
Obey Jesus as Lord
The Lord Jesus talked about the true meaning of believing in Him:
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22–23)
On the last day, many people will be rejected by the Lord Jesus. Who are these people that Jesus is talking about here? They are professed Christians. They call Jesus “Lord, Lord.” They have even preached in the name of Jesus and done mighty works in His name. Have they not confessed Jesus with their mouth and believed Jesus in their heart? They must have thought they have. But why will they not be saved?
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Faith without obedience is not true faith at all. To believe in the Lord Jesus involves obeying what He says. To believe in the Lord Jesus is not merely agreeing that Jesus has died for us and has risen to life. It means embracing Jesus totally as our Lord. It means doing what He tells us because we recognize that He is our Lord.
For example, the Lord Jesus spoke about the necessity of baptism along with faith:
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
The Lord Jesus Himself promised that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. He also commanded the disciples to baptize believers. But many people have been taught that baptism is not necessary for salvation.
On the contrary, we see in the Bible how the apostles baptized the believers according to Jesus’s command, and believers accepted baptism according to Jesus’s command. Through faith we die and resurrect with Christ spiritually when we are baptized into Christ. As a result, we are born again with a new life in Christ.
From the story of the jailer that we saw earlier, we can see how he actually believed in the Lord Jesus.
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (Acts 16:32–34)
After the apostles told the jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus, they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to his household. Then the jailer and his family were baptized immediately. They did not hesitate to obey the words of the gospel, but were baptized right away. They believed and accepted the Lord Jesus by obeying His word and being baptized. As a result of his faith, he and his whole family received a new and joyful life in Jesus Christ. Their sins were washed away in the blood of Christ through baptism. Now they could live with hope of eternity with God.
Faith calls for obedience. The purpose of the gospel is to bring about the obedience of faith, to turn people from the darkness of sin to the light of Jesus Christ. Conversion is a lifelong, total commitment to Christ.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
The love of Jesus Christ transformed Paul the apostle. Paul says that it is no longer he who lives, but Christ lives in him. This new life he lives, he lives by faith in the Son of God. That is the meaning of believing in Jesus Christ. If we claim that we know Jesus Christ but do not do what He says, then He is not our Lord yet. If we say we are Christians, but continue to walk in darkness, then we have not truly believed in the Lord Jesus yet.
God has made His grace of salvation freely available to us. It is up to us to accept the gift of eternal life. The way to accept it is by believing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. That means to repent of our sins, be born again through Christ, and live a new life in obedience to our Lord Jesus until the day He comes again to receive us into His heavenly kingdom.
FAQ
- Can’t I just be a good person? Isn’t God too narrow-minded to save only believers? Answer
- What about those good pagans who have never heard of Christ? Answer
- Can I believe in God but not join any religion? Answer
- Aren’t we saved when we confess and believe Christ? Answer
- Does a believer’s good work indicate that he is already saved? Answer