Salvation
Salvation is the Bible's main theme - God's plan to save people from the consequences of sin and restore fellowship with Him. From the promise in the Garden of Eden to Jesus' finished work on the cross, the Bible tells the story of God's saving love.
Humanity's Need for Salvation
Sin has separated humanity from God, and everyone needs salvation.
23all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ,
23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας θάνατος, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.
2It is your sins that have made a separation between you and your God; your wrongdoing has hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear.
כִּ֤י אִם־עֲוֺנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ הָי֣וּ מַבְדִּלִ֔ים בֵּינֵכֶ֕ם לְבֵ֖ין אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם וְחַטֹּֽאותֵיכֶ֗ם הִסְתִּ֧ירוּ פָנִ֛ים מִכֶּ֖ם מִשְּׁמֽוֹעַ׃
God's Love - The Foundation of Salvation
Salvation flows from God's undeserved love for people.
16For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν ⸀υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.
οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ⸀υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλʼ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος διʼ αὐτοῦ.
8But God proves his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
συνίστησιν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγάπην εἰς ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἔτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὄντων ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν.
9This is how God's love was revealed among us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
ἐν τούτῳ ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ ἀπέσταλκεν ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα ζήσωμεν διʼ αὐτοῦ.
10This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη, οὐχ ὅτι ἡμεῖς ⸀ἠγαπήκαμεν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι αὐτὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἱλασμὸν περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν.
Salvation by Faith Alone
Salvation is received through faith, not by one's own works.
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not from yourselves—it is the gift of God,
τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι ⸀διὰ πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον·
9not from works, so that no one may boast.
οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται.
9For 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.
ὅτι ἐὰν ⸀ὁμολογήσῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί ⸀σου κύριον Ἰησοῦν, καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, σωθήσῃ·
10For with the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.
καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην, στόματι δὲ ὁμολογεῖται εἰς σωτηρίαν·
31They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Πίστευσον ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον ⸀Ἰησοῦν, καὶ σωθήσῃ σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου.
Jesus - The Only Way
Salvation is found only in Jesus Christ.
6Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
λέγει αὐτῷ ⸀ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή· οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ διʼ ἐμοῦ.
12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία, ⸀οὐδὲ γὰρ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἕτερον ⸂ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν⸃ τὸ δεδομένον ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐν ᾧ δεῖ σωθῆναι ἡμᾶς.
5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus,
εἷς γὰρ θεός, εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς,
6who gave himself as a ransom for all—the testimony given at the proper time.
ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων, τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις·
Assurance of Salvation
Those who believe can have assurance of eternal life.
28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
κἀγὼ ⸂δίδωμι αὐτοῖς ζωὴν αἰώνιον⸃, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπόλωνται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ οὐχ ἁρπάσει τις αὐτὰ ἐκ τῆς χειρός μου.
29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father's hand. [Footnote: Some manuscripts read: "What my Father has given me is greater than all."]
ὁ πατήρ μου ⸀ὃ δέδωκέν ⸀μοι ⸂πάντων μεῖζων⸃ ἐστίν, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται ἁρπάζειν ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ ⸀πατρός.
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ μαρτυρία, ὅτι ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔδωκεν ⸂ὁ θεὸς ἡμῖν⸃, καὶ αὕτη ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.
12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
ὁ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν ἔχει τὴν ζωήν· ὁ μὴ ἔχων τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ζωὴν οὐκ ἔχει.
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ⸀ὑμῖν ἵνα εἰδῆτε ὅτι ζωὴν ⸂ἔχετε αἰώνιον⸃, ⸂τοῖς πιστεύουσιν⸃ εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
πέπεισμαι γὰρ ὅτι οὔτε θάνατος οὔτε ζωὴ οὔτε ἄγγελοι οὔτε ἀρχαὶ οὔτε ⸂ἐνεστῶτα οὔτε μέλλοντα οὔτε δυνάμεις⸃
39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
οὔτε ὕψωμα οὔτε βάθος οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.