How does salvation work? I think this should be an topic for every believer to seek a deep understanding of for both themselves and to share with others.
When we encounter a topic in the Bible we need to know God will often use a concretely perceivable image in the BIble to help us understand a topic without confusion. And the first image we have for salvation is that of a gift.
Salvation is a gift from God. You didn’t do anything to receive this gift, it is not because you are talented or in some way special compared to other people, but simply because God loves you and has of His own volition, decided to offer you this gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Grace simply means favor, God has favored you and me with this gift. We cannot earn it, you cannot say because you read your Bible constantly, you proclaim God to everyone or give all that you have to the poor, that you have earned salvation. You cannot earn or achieve your salvation, it is simply an act of God through Jesus Christ (יהושוע the Messiah).
And similarly, you are not unworthy to receive this gift. If you can start the process of turning yourself, and changing your life to focus on God, this gift is available to you. Salvation is available to you with no barriers, with no waiting, no qualifications necessary, if you seek God with everything you have. How amazing is that?
Through Faith
But this gift is “through faith”. Faith means that you believe. In our Western culture (based in Greek philosophy, part of the evil empire in your Bible) we tend to think of faith as a thought or a feeling. This is not how your Bible talks about faith, faith is an ongoing action in the Bible, not a one-time event (like an altar call), or a statement you make but your continuous purpose for the rest of your life.
Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
James 2:14, 18
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
So let me make that clear. You cannot do works (actions) to earn your salvation, but if you have faith in God you will have some sort of ongoing Godly works. I can’t tell you what they are exactly because it is available to literally everyone, condemned prisoners without Bibles included.
Luke 23:39-43
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Additionally, this faith causes you to walk with God, it is not an achievement that you reach a certain level of understanding and then you coast, in some way Jesus (יהושוע) will continue to teach you for the rest of your life.
Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Trusting God
For salvation, you need to trust that God’s amazing promises in the Bible are real as you encounter them. That no matter the circumstances, He will provide for you. Because if you don’t trust, you will struggle to live the lifestyle that God is teaching you. You will inevitably at some point, start trying to provide for yourself.
The trust in God is what will get you through the difficulties, to have the patience and endurance that you will need.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
2 Timothy 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And let me personally testify to you about that, you may not see it now, you may have ever seen it, you may be suffering but God will reward you! He is faithful. In my personal journey, I had to wait a very long time, and it was painful, but it was the best decision I have ever made.
If you can’t do anything else, just don’t give up on God. Keep going.
Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Dedication
God is calling many, but completion (salvation) is for a dedicated few. People who are willing to give everything they have to receive the gift of salvation. Let’s go back to our Godly pictures to understand this.
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Salvation is not a common thing, it is quite possible, in my opinion that you have never met anyone who has completed the process of salvation, even if you have been around churches, assemblies or other Bible groups. And if you did encounter someone, you might not have noticed, it may not have been the pastor or preacher, but the unassuming person in the back, filled with the fear of God. I don’t say that to discourage you, but to give you faith to believe what God tells us about salvation.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
He really is asking for your complete and total dedication. Don’t keep that little bad habit in just because you think you might be able to get away it (that’s not the intent of God’s mercy). Maybe you think you’re doing better than everyone else you know but if you think that, please consider that the standard is the Word of God, not other people.
And if you desire that thing in your life that you aren’t sure about, that just *might* not be a Godly thing, it should be like an alarm going off in your head. Is the Holy Spirit leading me towards this? Or is it something else?
John 16:13-15 (Jesus aka יהושוע speaking):
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
My discernment is this, your salvation is too precious to take chances with. Invest in the sure things of God. Reading your Bible. Going deep into every aspect of what is God’s word. Praying. Sharing it with others. And everything and anything else that God in any way instructs you to do. You can learn Hebrew and Greek. There’s not really extra time.
I don’t say this to stress you out, or push you towards hyperproductivity, you can rest, you can spend time with people but your goal is to make everything you do for God.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
And when you do dedicate yourself completely, then you will find God. It’s the promise of God.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD;
and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
And there many other things to learn and study about our salvation but this is the simplicity of it, receive it as a gift, through your belief in God and all His promises. Start taking action today in the ways that you understand to live a Godly life and continue seek more of God from now on. Read your Bible and try to understand every word of it.
And if you fall short, give glory to God that you are saved by faith.
Galatians 3:11
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
And then purpose your mind to try to do better. Faith is never an excuse to not try, your trying is your faith.
The Law (Torah)
Now that is a good start for understanding the process of salvation, and as I did my best to make clear, it is not dependent on works. But in the current state of this world, with the Christian church as it is, it would be irresponsible not to teach you about the Law. It would be sending you off unprepared for what I know you will almost certainly encounter.
The Law is the word most often used to convey this idea in English translations but there’s another way of understanding that I think makes things more clear. It’s instruction (or teaching). The Hebrew word is Torah which the Jews use to describe the first 5 books of your Bible (Genesis to Deuteronomy).
But if you look at the meaning of the word (and how it’s used), the Law is the instructions/teachings of God for us.
And let me just state this upfront, you should be doing and protecting the Torah, the Law, the Old Testament and the New Testament, every commandment, learning and every single thing you that you understand to be good in God’s eyes, and you should to try to understand it and do it to the best of your ability.
If you fall short, that’s ok, pick yourself back up, pray for help and try again.
I know this is not what the Christian churches teach, but let’s investigate what our Bible says.
2 Timothy 3:15-17
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Did Timothy have a New Testament in his hand as a child? Almost certainly not. He learned about faith in Jesus (יהושוע), the Jewish Messiah, through the Old Testament.
Put simply, your whole Bible, is the instructions of God. For your life, for the people around you and their lives both eternal and in this world, for blessing, understanding and salvation. It shows your what is right and wrong in God’s eyes and when complete, how to love God the way He tells you to.
John 14:15 [Jesus aka יהושוע speaking]
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And you may have been taught that Jesus (יהושוע) changed everything that God did, but with some diligent attention to the scriptures we can clearly see that is not what your Bible says.
Jesus (יהושוע)Doesn’t Change God’s Word
John 14:24
He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
And the Old Testament says the exact same thing, right from the beginning.
Deuteronomy 18:18-19
I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
God does not change. It’s a foundational part of His testimony to us that He created everything, everything works according to His plan and His wisdom. If that’s true, why would He need to change anything?
Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Psalms 89:34
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
If God changed anything, we have a serious problem, your salvation depends on this promise of God. If God can change His promises, than what does your salvation depend on?
Fortunately, that is not the case and we’re just dealing with some bad teaching (sadly a lot of it) but you’re here and we can be part of the solution!
And I understand this may be intense to hear, there’s so many churches, content creators and people proudly and boldly teaching the opposite. Many people have been taught this since they were a child, it’s a lot to unpack.
That said, God prophesied this to us, it’s all part of His plan.
Jeremiah 16:19
O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say,
Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
See 1 Corinthians 12;2 for more context on “the Gentiles”.
Take heart! It may seem quite dire but we have the power of God, it is not by our own power.
There’s a lot more to dig in on the topic of the Law (Torah) and God willing, I will be able to write something up but I just wanted to leave you with a final few verses to really help kickstart your study of this critical doctrine.
Common Objections to the Torah
You may have heard that the Law is bad, is the Law bad?
Romans 7:12
Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
The problem with the Law is not that it isn’t good, it that’s you and I struggle to do it and we cannot do it perfectly until we put off incorruption (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).
You also may have heard but Paul taught us that the Law wasn’t necessary and that we need to focus on Paul instead. What does Paul say about the Law?
Romans 3:31
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
It is true, that you will not be able to keep it perfectly, but as we just stated, faith is not an excuse to not try. Faith is why you try to keep it, the best you can.
John 2:3-6 [“him” is Jesus (יהושוע)from verse 1]
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
Just as Paul did and taught.
1 Corinthians 13:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Jesus Christ (יהושוע) never sinned, meaning He never violated the instructions of God. Because Jesus (יהושוע) is God.
1 Peter 2:22
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
He came and walked it out, in person, point-by-point directly from our Bibles for us to see how to do it. And He told us to walk like Him. You can’t do it perfectly, but you can try. That is your faith.
I also understand there are many, many more teachings to unwind around the Law (Torah) and yes there are many things that Paul says that seem like he is saying we shouldn’t keep the Law. What I tried to give you here is not the final answer but the backbone to begin your own studies.
One final note to aid you in your studies on the matter of the Law, God often is speaking in a sophisticated way. A part of this is as I wrote about here, God’s people are dedicated. It’s not a problem for us if He’s put doctrine throughout our Bible because His instructions are for us to seek out every word (even the weird ones), and similarly with sophisticated writing and illustrative techniques that put important doctrine under a layer of mystery.
Just do your best, take action through your belief (faith) and God will give you the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:6
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
If you ‘d like some help feel free to reach with your question.
May God bless you all seeking His Word, in יהושוע ha’Mashiach’s name (Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah).