9. The Salvation

The word ”salvation” is usually associated with ”rescue” or ”deliverance”.

The Bible often applies the term of ”salvation” and equally the one of the ”Saviour”.

As a being created by Him, man belonged initially to God. Not in the sense of an estate, but as a being endowed with most exceptional features, conferred by the One who brought him into being.
The characteristic traits of man could not be but all too resembling to the ones of his Creator, as he had to come into existence as such a creature who was to be in accordance with the conception of the Creator:

”26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ...
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;...”

(Genesis 1.26,27)

As a consequence of their disobedience the first two human beings - who had lived until then in harmony near by God - became mortal beings.  
They grew away from Him not only in the spiritual sense, but also had left the place where they lived up to then:

”23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

(Genesis 3.23,24)

Since that moment man went away more and more from his Creator and grew away from Him by gradually commencing to betake himself to the ”works of the flesh”:

”19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

(Galatians 5.19-21)

The fact that this way of being is in contradiction to the one of God is revealed to us in the following verse:

”22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5.22-23)

From the Fall of Adam down to the present day people strove rather after the „works of the flesh” that are incompatible with the Spirit of God:

”17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other ...” (Galatians 5.17)

Through His sacrifice the Saviour Jesus Christ had not only taken the punishment for the sin upon himself, but:

”14 ... gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity ...” (Tit 2.14)

Thus salvation has also the role of the complete deliverance from the power of sin or „from all iniquity”.

”5... the man Christ Jesus;
6 ... gave himself a ransom for all ...” (1 Timothy 2.5,6)

It is well known that for every purchase there must be paid a certain price.
In the present case this is a thoroughly extraordinary price:

”18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1.18,19)

We all - without exception - have been redeemed from the received ”vain conversation”:

”9 ... thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 5.9)

We still use to live after the „works of the flesh”, as we stand under the inevitable influences and temptations that surround us, which are not throughout positive.

Through His accomplished work Christ has pointed the way to us.
From the moment we take note of His boundless devotion towards the human being our conscience will transfer us in a whole new state:
to decide ourselves in favour of the gradual renunciation of the ”works of the flesh”.

We will though not be able to make these ”disappear into thin air”.
As long as we live in this world we will have to carry within us the law of sin (or of the evil):

”18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

(Romans 7.18-23)

The only effective ”remedy” against the ”works of the flesh” is to ignore these or simply to ”hang” them up:

”24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5.24)

We can gradually bring in our lives ”the fruits of the Spirit”:

”16 ... Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5.16)

Only in this way we will someday experience that we have been finally released from the ”vain conversation [way of life] received by tradition from our fathers”.

Christ has made the salvation possible for all people, yet not all will rejoice this, but only those who will understand that from now on they will have to lead another way of life: one not anymore after the naturally way of the earthly nature. Reason for this is the fact that they have been ”redeemed to God” and will have to live henceforth by aiming at new standards.

Found ourselves faced with this choice, we should more often recall that the ”works of the flesh” always lead to Evil, whereas ”the fruits of the Spirit” will lead us only to the Good.

The goal of the salvation is the restoring of man from the bad state of today to the initial one created by God.

It is important to know that the salvation does not proceed automatically, but this means an acceptance and a choice taken deliberately from man in its favour - after having learned of what Jesus has realized for us.