Just what does it mean to be saved? How do you know when you have been saved? And how do you know if you are born again? What are faith, grace, repentance, redemption and sanctification? How do they relate to each other and to salvation? And what about those who are not saved: will they suffer eternal torment in hell? Do we have immortal souls that continue our consciousness after we die?
These are all good questions; the terms above are often misunderstood. The following paragraphs define each of the terms and show how they are related to salvation. We will see how faith leads us to repentance, redemption and receipt of God's spirit, which in turn leads us through sanctification to salvation. First of all, what is salvation?
Salvation is one of the promises of God to all believers: to be given the gift of eternal life. To be "saved" in the full sense of the word means to have received eternal life. The word salvation is also used to describe the process we go through before we can receive eternal life. (In a few scriptures "saved" refers to redemption, one of the steps in the process of salvation.) Here are two of many verses about eternal life:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Before we go on, please take a moment to note that the consequences of not being saved are perishing and death. Absolutely nothing was said about being condemned to torment in some sort of eternal hellfire. Romans 6:23, for example, does not say "For the wages of sin is eternal torment in hell."
So how and when do the righteous receive eternal life? The apostle Paul explained that we presently have natural, corruptible, physical bodies. We go to the grave and "sleep," in death, with those bodies. Later we will be raised from our graves - in a resurrection - with spiritual, incorruptible bodies.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown [the body goes to the grave] in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)
When Jesus was resurrected, He had a spiritual body: incorruptible and everlasting. Jesus explained that when resurrected the righteous will also have spirit bodies, similar to angels:
For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. (Mark 12:25)
Note that neither Paul nor Jesus said anything about going to heaven when you die. Many churches incorrectly teach that you'll go to heaven when you die, but that is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus and the early Christians taught that we'll remain in the grave until our resurrection, at which time we'll receive eternal life. This is consistent with what was taught in the Old Testament. Notice what an angel tells the prophet Daniel about "them that sleep in the dust of the earth":
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
So when will the resurrection of the faithful occur? Paul explained that Jesus was the "firstfruits" of the dead - the first to receive a resurrection to eternal life - and that the faithful would be resurrected to eternal life at Jesus' return:
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23)
A few verses later Paul gives more detail, saying that we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God until we have immortal, spirit bodies, and that we would receive those bodies "at the last trump" - at the sounding of the last of seven symbolic trumpets (see Rev 11:15), announcing the actual return of Christ:
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:50-53)
At the resurrection, the faithful who have died and are "asleep" in death will be raised from their graves with immortal spiritual bodies. At the same time those faithful who happen to be physically alive will also - "in the twinkling of an eye" - receive immortal spiritual bodies. Paul continued:
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Corinthians 15:54)
This, then, is when we are saved: saved from death, saved from perishing. This is when the faithful receive the ultimate grace from God: eternal life. Paul described the same resurrection - at Jesus' return, at the "trump of God" - in a letter to the Thessalonians:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
Note that a different resurrection, to mortal life, is also possible. The resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus, as recorded in John chapter 11, is an example. A general resurrection to mortal life will occur sometime after the first thousand years of the Kingdom of God on Earth: "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5). For those in this general resurrection to mortal life, this will apparently be their time of judgment. Those judged to be good will be given eternal life, as spirit beings, like those resurrected at Jesus' return over a thousand years earlier (Rev. 20:6; see What Does God Promise Us for details). Jesus spoke of this resurrection in John 5:28,29:
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This last general resurrection is also described in Revelation 20:12,13:
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the grave] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
What about those who are judged to be evil? What happens to them? For help with this question let's go back to two verses quoted earlier:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
Here we see that the alternative to eternal life is to perish, to suffer permanent death. Note that nothing was said about being tormented forever in any kind of hellfire: the verses state that death and perishing await those who do not receive eternal life. Upon judgment, those who do not receive eternal life will perish: they will die again - after some "weeping and gnashing of teeth" - this time without further hope of resurrection. After their second death they will never again be alive or conscious in any sense; they will not be in physical torment in "hell," nor will they continue as "immortal souls." They will simply die with no more hope of life or resurrection: they will perish forever upon their second death. They will be permanently destroyed. Revelation 20:14,15 describes this by saying they will symbolically be "cast into the lake of fire" which is defined as "the second death."
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15)
The "lake of fire" symbolizes permanent destruction. Anyone cast or thrown into the "lake of fire" or the "everlasting fire" is permanently destroyed: they suffer a second death as mortals, a death from which there is no further hope of resurrection or life. They perish. Revelation 21:8 makes it very clear that being "cast" into the lake of fire is the second death:
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
When this final judgment is finished, all those who rejected God will have been destroyed through death. Incidentally, verses such as Revelation 20:9 and Malachi 4:3 indicate their physical bodies will be consumed by physical fire: "And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts" (Malachi 4:3).
From that time forward only those who have received eternal life will remain. There will be no more mortal human beings, so death itself will no longer happen. And there will no longer be anyone in their grave awaiting their resurrection. So both death and "hell" (from the Greek word hades, meaning the grave, the resting place of those awaiting a resurrection) will effectively be ended or destroyed forever. Again quoting Revelation 20:14,15, we see both cast into the symbolic "lake of fire":
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:4 clearly shows the transition to a new era in which there will be no more death:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall their be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
In a letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul confirmed the destruction of death:
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26)
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass that saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is they victory? (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)
Some preachers teach that those who reject God will be tormented forever in some kind of physical, burning hellfire. In addition to their error they are perpetrating a lie about God: to eternally torture someone would be both merciless and sadistic, and God is neither. If you have been taught this lie, consider the verses quoted above and note that death is an event, and that "hell" or being in the grave is a condition or situation. How could they, not being physical things, be thrown into a physical "lake of fire"? It is no more possible to do that than it is to put love into a bottle. The "lake of fire" is not physical, but is symbolic, and symbolizes permanent destruction or oblivion. Remember, "the wages of sin is death" - not eternal life in hell - and "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (from Romans 6:23 and John 3:16).
Here is another way to look at it. Occasionally the Bible uses the word Gehenna instead of "lake of fire" or "eternal fire." Some Bible commentaries explain that Gehenna was a narrow valley just south of ancient Jerusalem. That valley was used as a dump: fires were kept burning there to destroy the city's trash and the corpses of animals and criminals. Just as everything that was cast into Jerusalem's Gehenna was destroyed, all that is cast into the symbolic "lake of fire" or "everlasting fire" will be destroyed, including the wicked, and death, and the grave!
Additionally, even Satan and Satan's angels will be destroyed. Jesus mentioned this while speaking of judgment, showing that wicked men, Satan and Satan's angels will all go into the same "everlasting fire":
Then shall he [Jesus, while judging] say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41)
Ezekiel 28:15-19 confirms that Satan will be destroyed, concluding an address to him with these words: "...thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Also see 1 John 3:8 and Hebrews 2:14.
Note: many have wondered about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, wanting to know if the parable shows the wicked will "burn in hell" and the good will "go to heaven." Actually, the parable is about an entirely different topic. An extra page has been added to this website to explain the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, even showing why the rich man had five brothers.
Does the Bible clearly say, anywhere, that the wicked will be destroyed? Yes. Consider Revelation 11:18:
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
"Destroy" in this verse is from the Greek word diaphtheiro which Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries defines as "corrupt, destroy, perish."
Jesus spoke about spirit beings in John 3:6-8, showing that they are like the wind, invisible but real:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Jesus used the expressions "born again" and "born of the Spirit" in the same sense that Paul did when he spoke of being "raised a spiritual body": Jesus and Paul were referring to receiving eternal life as spirit beings at the resurrection of the faithful. Are You "Saved"? Understanding Redemption and Salvation explains this in greater detail.
Those who say they are "born again" Christians are not, of course, spirit beings yet. Their use of the term "born again" is confused in that it is different than Jesus' use as quoted above. When they say they are "born again" they are apparently referring to receiving God's spirit, or to baptism, or to redemption or perhaps some combination of these. But we are not truly "born again," as Jesus used the term, until we have received eternal life as spirit beings at our resurrection.
Jesus was the first to receive salvation, to be "born again." The apostle Paul described Jesus as "the firstborn from the dead" in Colossians 1:18:
And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:20)
Paul wrote that Jesus is still the only person to have received eternal life; He alone - "only" - has immortality:
Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16)
Paul showed that the faithful would receive eternal, spirit life - like Jesus - at the return of Christ:
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23)
Jesus said "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14). Without faith we cannot begin the journey, the process, that will lead to salvation. Faith is believing and trusting God and Jesus. John 3:16, again, says:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Here we see that believing in Jesus is required to obtain eternal life. Believing in Jesus goes beyond believing He existed. It means believing He was raised from the dead and still lives, and will keep His promises. And an active, living faith leads beyond believing into trusting, and action: seeking Him and doing His will. The apostle Paul wrote about faith saying:
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. (Hebrews 11:6)
Perhaps it is confusing that John 3:16 referred to believing in Jesus, but the verse above refers to believing in God. It helps to remember that Jesus said "I and my Father are one": we can think of them interchangeably. Jesus said "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." And He said "the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 10:30, Matthew 28:18 and John 5:22). The Father has given Jesus the power of God over us: we can relate to Jesus as we would to the Father.
So if we have faith, if we believe and trust in Jesus and God's promises, what should we do?
If our faith is real, we will believe God and trust Him to keep His promises, including eternal life. If our faith is real, we will also act on God's expectations of us. Jesus said we should repent: we should turn away from sin and commit ourselves to obey God and seek His will.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Jesus, from Luke 13:4,5)
Repenting begins with recognizing and admitting we have sinned and also requires - and is - an attitude change. The new attitude is one of determination to obey God and to do His will. That new attitude must remain in place from that time forward. Repentance therefore is the beginning of, and the maintenance and growth of, a new attitude of obedience and love toward God.
God wants an attitude like this:
...to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)
...be zealous therefore, and
repent. (Revelation 3:19)
You will recall from Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death"; since we have all sinned, or transgressed the law (1 John 3:4), we are all under the penalty of breaking the law. The penalty is death. We have all sinned and are thus hopelessly condemned to die. If we pay the penalty ourselves, that will be the end of us: we perish. God however has provided payment of the penalty. One of the reasons God sent Jesus was so that He, Jesus, could pay the death penalty on behalf of all who repent; Jesus ransomed us from the death penalty by paying the death penalty for us. Jesus said:
...the Son of man came not to be ministered unto [served], but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)
This was just as promised through several Old Testament prophets. Here, for example, is Hosea 13:14:
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death
Revelation 5:9 also speaks of Jesus from the faithfuls' point of view, saying:
...thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
With payment of the penalty available to us, we are no longer hopeless. No longer hopeless, God is willing to work with us if we are repentant and are seeking to make our lives right with Him. We are redeemed, or reconciled or justified. We are made right with God.
How or why was Jesus able to redeem us from the death penalty? According to the Bible, Jesus - also called the Word - was actually the Creator:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made... and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1-3, 14)
In Hebrews 1:1,2 we see "the worlds" were created by, or through, Jesus:
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds
The apostle Paul wrote in about Jesus in Colossians 1:14-16, saying:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him
Being the Creator, Jesus was and is of greater
worth and power than the creation. And having lived a sinless life in the
flesh, through the power of God's spirit, He was not subject to the death
penalty. Owing to His worth, and sinless life, He was qualified to pay the
death penalty on behalf of all mankind. His sacrificial death to redeem us
to God was apparently part of a plan established from the beginning of
creation: Revelation 13:8 describes Jesus as "the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Many have been misled to believe that if they have been redeemed or justified to God for their past sins they are saved. This is not what the Bible says, however. The apostle Paul made a clear distinction between the two, showing that redemption or justification from our past sins comes first, and salvation follows later. Consider Romans 5:9:
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Note "justified," past tense, and "shall be saved," future tense. We shall be saved when we are resurrected to eternal life. Before we get there we hear the word of God, we have faith and believe. We repent and are justified or redeemed to God for the sins of our past. We learn to obey and we follow God's spirit through a life-long process of sanctification, of continued overcoming, repentance and reconciliation. We are sanctified "through him": that is, through Him dwelling in us and changing us.
To believe you are saved
when you are first redeemed is a false comfort zone, bypassing the important
creational work of sanctification. That's why the apostle Paul urged the
Philippians to "...work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).
Are You "Saved"? Understanding Redemption and
Salvation has much more information about this.
The Bible describes at least two different baptisms; one is with water, another is with God's spirit. Here is a description of them, recorded in Mark 1:4-8:
4. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. 6. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7. And preached, saying, There cometh one [referring to Jesus] mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
John the Baptist baptized mature, repenting adults. Their water baptism symbolized the washing away of their sins - their redemption - and their emergence into a new, repentant life. Water baptism was, and is, a demonstration or token of a repentant person's sincerity and their readiness to leave behind the old life of sin and to begin a new life of obedience and love toward God. Water baptism of infants is meaningless ritual: infants are not mature enough to decide to repent or to even understand what repentance is.
Baptism with God's spirit is done by Jesus; Jesus has promised His spirit to those who have faith and have repented. Perhaps it would be better to describe it this way: God and Jesus are spirit, and Jesus promised that He and the Father will live in us:
If a man love[s] me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)
Is water baptism required to receive
God's spirit? Not necessarily: in some cases (see Acts 10:44-48) God's
spirit was received before baptism. In other cases God's spirit was not
received at the time of baptism, but was received later when some of the
apostles "laid their hands on them, and they
received the Holy Ghost" (see Acts 8:14-17). In some cases the
receipt of God's spirit - in the direct presence of the apostles,
accompanied by miracles - apparently served to validate the apostles and
their message.
Having repented - having made a resolution to turn from sin and to seek God's will - and having received His spirit, we have begun the life-long process of sanctification. True repentance, again, goes beyond regretting the past: it is a resolution to change and obey. To those that are willing to obey, God will give His spirit. The apostle Peter spoke to the Jews' high priest regarding Jesus and Jesus' followers saying "And we are witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Ghost, whom God has given to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32; also Hebrews 5:9, John 14:21, 23).
Having been redeemed and reconciled to God, He will now work with us by dwelling in us, guiding us by His spirit. Paul wrote:
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13)
Sanctification is a life-long process of change, of overcoming our human weaknesses, and of transformation according to God's will. Sanctification continues only as long as repentance remains. Again, repentance is much more than a one-time event: it is a teachable, humble, pliable attitude that must be maintained in order for the sanctification process to continue. If we loose or reject our repentant attitude, God can no longer work with us through His spirit and our sanctification - our growth - is in jeopardy.
The apostle Paul wrote:
...God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)
Paul instructed the believers in Rome to follow the Spirit:
5. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Romans 8:5-16)
While our sanctification is in process we will sin from time to time: we are not yet perfect, not yet able to follow God's spirit perfectly as Jesus did. If we repent again, and return to a repentant attitude, redemption is still available to us. If we always return to repentance, and follow God's spirit for the rest of our lives, we are promised the gift of eternal life:
For he that
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians
6:8)
Can we continue sanctification without faith? Of course not; we must continue to believe God's promises and act on them. Likewise, repentance must continue throughout sanctification. And redemption is still available throughout sanctification. Some Bible verses can be confusing in that they refer to having been saved, while other verses say we are being saved, and others say we will be saved. Salvation is a process as well as an end or goal, so different tenses are used in different contexts. For example, consider 1 Corinthians 1:18:
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
In this instance we have been "saved" from the penalty of past sins if we have repented and been redeemed, accepting Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf... but we must continue to repent and follow God's spirit if we are to be saved in the full sense of the word, receiving eternal life.
Unfortunately many popular preachers teach that once you are "saved" by "making a decision for Christ," you are saved: you will without doubt "go to heaven." The truth is quite different: there is no promise that we will go to heaven (see the preceding page, about God's promises). And salvation is not automatic: we must continually do our part by remaining faithful, remaining repentant, following the lead of God's spirit and overcoming evil. That is why the apostle Peter wrote:
...brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10)
The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi reminding them and urging them to work on their salvation:
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
It is implied here, and we can safely infer, that Paul did not believe the Philippians were saved, past tense. Rather, he was admonishing them to pursue their sanctification with salvation as a goal. Paul did not even consider himself to be saved, to have "apprehended" salvation; he told the Philippians that he continued to strive:
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13)
Salvation is the gift of God,
but it is not unconditional. We must repent, receive His Spirit, abide in
Him in living faith, grow spiritually and overcome sin and the self. Jesus
said "He that overcometh shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." He did not say that
we just have to believe in (intellectually acknowledge) Him, or just "give
our hearts" to Him or just "make a decision" for Him.
Godly character, with good works (deeds, behavior and commandment keeping), are the fruits of His spirit working in us. As we let Him lead us by His spirit, we develop His character and we produce good works. The works are done naturally, automatically, much as we leave footprints automatically when we walk in sand or snow. If we are not leaving footprints - not producing good works - we are not walking with Him, and not abiding in Him. The apostle James appropriately stated that "...faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). To bear the fruit of the Spirit, to develop His character and produce good works, we must abide in Him: we must let Him work in us via His spirit. Here is Jesus' analogy:
4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:4-6)
We are not saved by works. But if we abide in Him in living faith we will produce works, automatically. The two go together: where living faith is, works are, also. If we are not producing works, then we apparently do not have a living faith: "...faith without works is dead." Without abiding in Him we "can do nothing" and "cannot bear fruit"; then we are in danger of destruction as Jesus warned. In the same regard James also wrote about the necessity of showing works, saying "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24)... James said this simply because where living faith is, works are, also.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians explaining that God's grace - not our works - saves us, but that God does expect works from us:
8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Salvation - eternal life - is a priceless gift from God. No amount of works could ever earn it. But without works, the fruit of living faith, we are in danger of destruction. Our redemption to God through Jesus' death - and the gift of eternal life - are both blessings that we can not earn: they are given to us by the goodness and grace of God. Again, Romans 6:23:
For the wages of
sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Many people have been taught that we each have a soul: an immortal part or component of us that lives on forever after our physical death. This belief is not found in the Bible: actually it is from Greek philosophy. Hundreds of years before the time of Christ the Greek philosopher Plato, in Phaedo, wrote:
Do we believe that there is such a thing as death?... is this anything but the separation of soul and body? And being dead is the attainment of this separation; when the soul exists in herself, and is parted from the body and the body is parted from the soul... the soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness of the human, and mortal, and unintelligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, and changeable.
The Bible does not teach that we have an immortal soul. In fact, the Bible does not teach that we have any kind of "soul" or separable spirit in the Greek sense: the Bible actually has a different definition for the word "soul." Regrettably many people are thinking of the Greek idea of an immortal soul when they read the word "soul" in the Bible. The result is confusion and seeming contradiction. For example Ezekiel 18:20 in the Bible says "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"... a complete contradiction to the Greek belief in an immortal soul. So, what exactly does the Bible mean by the word "soul" if the soul is not an immortal part of us that continues after death?
In the Old Testament (KJV) "soul" was translated, in nearly every instance, from the original Hebrew word nephesh which means a breathing creature, a living thing, with the meaning often extending to the person, to the self, even to the mind or heart. In the New Testament "soul" was translated from the original Greek word psuche which has the same meaning as the Hebrew nephesh. The Bible shows that we are physical beings, and that when we die our consciousness ends:
...for dust you are and to dust you will return (Gen. 3:19)
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
If we think of the person, or self, or mind or heart, or individual or life when we read "soul" in the Bible we get a better understanding of what was meant, depending somewhat on the context. Here are some examples:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:20; soul means person)
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matthew 22:37; soul referring to your self or your will)
Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. (Matthew 26:38; soul referring to mind, heart, self... "my soul is" is another way of saying "I am")
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37. Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:37,38; soul referring to life, especially eternal life)
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. (Acts 2:31; soul refers to the body not being left in hell or Greek hades, the grave)
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28; soul referring to the person, to that person's life, even his opportunity for eternal life)
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. (Acts 2:43; every soul referring to every person)
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (Acts 4:32; soul refers to mind or intent)
Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:20; soul referring to person)
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. (Revelation 16:3; soul referring to creature)
Do we have an immortal soul? That's a trick question, because we do not have any kind of soul per the common definition of the word. We do not have an immortal soul: there is no soul at all, such as the Greek philosophers taught and many people today still believe.