Salvation and Deliverance from Sins – What and How?

Salvation, or to be saved means to be saved or to be rescued from the deleterious effect of sin – eternal death, i.e. to be rescued from being separated from God forever, and, after this earthly life, from being cast away into hell fire forever, from where none can ever come back, “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us” (Luke 16:26). To be saved means to be justified before God and for eternity to be reconciled with God through the Lord Jesus “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”; and “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life”” (Romans 5:1, 10). The added benefits of salvation or being saved are that we become God’s children “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13), and a co-heir with Christ Jesus “and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17).

Every person is born unrighteous with a natural tendency to sin, “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?” (Job 15:14); and “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:5).  Unrighteousness and sinfulness is our in-born hereditary tendency because of the effects of the sin of our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Just as a drowning person cannot lift himself out of the water by catching hold of his hair and trying to pull himself out of water, similarly a person made unholy and defiled by sin cannot make himself holy and pure by any self-efforts of being righteous, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Just as that drowning man needs help from someone outside, similarly a person drowning in sin needs the help of someone to be delivered from the sin, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).

The Holy and Sinless God can never compromise or keep company with sin – this is contrary to His nature and character, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood “; “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear”; “Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds” (Isaiah 1:15; 59:2; Micah 3:4). But He also loves His best creation, man, very much and wants to have fellowship with him – even though man has now fallen in sin. Not only is God a loving God, but He is also a just God. He cannot simply condone sin, God's justice demands that the sinner receive and bear the just and God determined punishment for his sin – death, i.e. to be separated from Him, “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die”; “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). If man were to undergo this punishment then he would never be able to return to fellowship with God; but God, in His great love for us, does want to have fellowship with man.

It was God who provided the way out of this seemingly impossible imbroglio, so that His justice could be met, as well as He could have fellowship with men. God was born as a man on this earth, incarnated as the Lord Jesus Christ, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”  (John 1:1, 14), and lived a sinless and spotless even though living as a common man, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”; “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26); “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22); “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The Lord Jesus never committed any sin; all through His life, He knew no sin. Yet the Lord Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of everyone in the whole world, and by taking up the sins of every person of earth, on the Cross of Calvary He became sin for all the people of the world, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He then bore the punishment for sin for the entire mankind, He suffered death, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) and separation from God in place of man. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ” (Matthew  27:46). He knowingly and voluntarily sacrificed Himself on the cross, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). He died, He was buried, and by resurrecting from the dead on the third day He proved His divinity, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”; “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 2:23-24; 17:31).

Since it is only the Lord Jesus who has provided an everlasting and appropriate solution for the sin of mankind, therefore salvation for mankind is only through the Lord Jesus, no one else, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Now, the way of salvation by the work of the Lord Jesus on the Cross of Calvary is open for every person of the world, and is freely available for everyone, “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (Romans 5:15-18).

Now to receive forgiveness from sins and salvation all that any person needs to do is to believe on the Lord Jesus, ask for His forgiveness for their sins from Him and surrender their life to Him; and nothing more, “So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" ” (Acts 16:31). For everyone, irrespective of their religion (including those born in families professing the christian religion), caste, place, color, education, worldly status, or any other criteria, Salvation is only possible by repentance, i.e. by coming to a heartfelt realization of their sinful status and it's eternal consequences, by acknowledging their sins and voluntarily asking the forgiveness for them from the Lord Jesus and submitting their lives to Him, with a sincere heart, “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38), otherwise not. To be saved is also known as to be Born Again – i.e. to be born out of the perishing worldly life into eternal spiritual life; and nobody can even see, let alone enter heaven, without being Born Again, “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5); “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." ” (1 Corinthians 15:50,53-54). This salvation or being Born Again or being saved is not something that is neither through living according to any religion, nor is it familial, neither is it inherited nor is it hereditary; nor is it possible by any kind of works oe efforts, nor through fulfilling any rituals, nor by observing and following any traditions or custom and manners, it is purely by the grace of God through faith and faith alone in Christ Jesus “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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” (Ephesians 2:5-9).

Every person has to be personally Born Again for their own sins. Whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus voluntarily and sincerely, and asks forgiveness for their own sin from Him, surrenders their life to Him, becomes His disciple, and commits to living a life of obedience to Him, only such a person receives forgiveness from sins and is saved from the eternal deleterious consequences of their sin, i.e. is saved, and receives the honor of being a child of God, and of living with Him in heaven for eternity “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)।

This is salvation, or being saved – being delivered from sin and from death i.e. from the terrible and unimaginable pain of eternally suffering in hell, being separated from God forever, simply by believing on the Lord Jesus and thereby entering the eternal life of bliss with God.

So to be saved, do not rely on any thing or anyone else, except the one true, infallible, inerrant, and irrevocable Word of God - the Bible, and take that step of faith outlined above to secure your eternal destiny. By doing so, you have nothing to loose except your sins and eternity in hell, rather, you have everything to gain, for all eternity in heaven. You can do it right now, at this very moment; you do not need the presence or help of any other person to do this. All you need to do to be saved or Born Again is to pray with a sincere heart a simple, honest, and straightforward prayer, something like: "Lord Jesus I believe in you and that you have paid for my sins on the Cross of Calvary. Please forgive my sins, and accept me. I wholly surrender my life to you. Please help me to live a life committed to you and according to your Word - the Bible." That is all, no rituals, no works of any kind, no obligation to any person in any manner, but just entering into a sincere and heartfelt relationship with the Lord Jesus, through simple faith.

The sin that does not result in death

Question: In the Bible, in 1 John 5:16-17 what is the sin mentioned that does not result in death?

Answer:

           These verses have intrigued many people, and many explanations have been given by various Commentators. Therefore it may not be possible to have a clear explanation acceptable to everyone. When interpreting or understanding 1 John 5:16-17, it is quite common to start thinking in context of verses related to sin and it's damning effects, e.g. Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23, and other Bible verses with a similar application.

           But we need to keep in mind and consider the fact that at the time when John wrote this epistle, the New Testament had neither been compiled from the many writings available at that time, nor was it available to the people in the form we have it now. Therefore the people to whom John wrote this letter did not have those verses and the related teachings which we now have with us, on the basis of which we now try to interpret and understand these verses. Hence those people then could not see and understand what John had written to them, in a manner similar to how we commonly see and understand them today; nor could they apply any meanings from other New Testament teachings into these verses, as we presently do. Therefore to understand these verses, they should be seen and understood in the same context and manner as those initial audience did, when John had written to them. That is the primary and basic meaning of these verses/statements; any other meanings and interpretations that are ascribed can be supplementary or complimentary to this primary meaning; but the other meanings cannot ever replace this primary meaning.

           On reading the initial chapters of John's letter it seems that amongst the audience to whom this letter was addressed, though some were 'children' in the Christian Faith, but most of them were of a good standing and maturity, and knew the facts related to righteousness and their faith (1 John 2:7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 24, 27). Therefore it is quite likely that they had some knowledge and understanding about the Law given to the Israelites through Moses in the Old Testament. For those who believed in God Jehovah, their understanding of what sin is and what it is not was according to that part of the Scripture which we know as the Old Testament today; and from it mainly according to the Law. When we see on the basis of the Old Testament righteousness and Law, we see in the Law there are some sins mentioned for which there was no repentance and atonement provided, only the death penalty had been decreed for them; for example see: Exodus 28:43; Leviticus 22:9; Numbers 1:51; 3:10; 3:38; 18:7; 18:22; 18:32; etc. In Leviticus 10:1, 2 we see that Nadab and Abihu were given no time or opportunity to repent, nor was anyone given any opportunity to intercede and pray, or offer any atonement for them, they died immediately. The people who were aware of the righteousness of the Old Testament, they knew that in the Law some sins are mentioned that have the death penalty prescribed for them, with no provision of repentance, atonement, and forgiveness having been made for them; therefore, even if forgiveness were to be asked for them, there is no possibility of any forgiveness being granted for them.

           Secondly, in 1 John 5:16 twice a sense of "petitioning or praying" has been used; once as "ask" and second time as "pray". For these two instances, two separate words have been used in the original Greek language.  The word used for the first instance is ‘aiteo’ which means ‘to ask’, or, ‘to request’; whereas the word used in the second instance is ‘erotao’ which means ‘to interrogate.’ When we see the various English Versions of the Bible, then too the same thing becomes apparent that not all translators render these words as "pray" in the sense of putting forth a petition or making a request. Therefore, we can paraphrase 1 John 5:16 as follows “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he can ask [‘aiteo’ - request God], and He will give him life for those who commit a sin not leading to death. There also is a sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray [‘erotao’ – interrogate, or be inquisitive] about that.” Here the "pray" used in the latter part of the verse is not in the same sense, as we commonly understand it to mean as asking or petitioning God for something to seek His favor or benevolence.

           Here a note needs to be made of two very significant things in the verse that have a direct bearing on its interpretation and on understanding its meaning. The first is, as stated at the beginning of the verse, John is saying this about "his brother" i.e. another Christian Believer; or about a person who, by coming into faith in the Lord Jesus and having received forgiveness from sins by the grace of God, has entered into eternal life (John 1:12-13). Being a Christian Believer, he is now outside the purview and requirements of the Law and its compulsions; the requirements of the Law have no hold upon him (Romans 7:6; Colossians 2:14), and he can neither be evaluated under the provisions of the Law, nor held guilty and penalized under the Law.

           The second is, that the verse ends by saying “...There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that” and this is the sentence that has caused the uncertainty and confusion related to this verse. The important thing to be noted here and to be understood is that John has not said “since those sins of that person will not be forgiven so I am not asking you to pray for them” – but generally that is the understanding and meaning that is assumed and accepted while reading this verse; whereas that is not what is written here. Instead of "pray" if we use the literal meaning of the original Greek word ‘erotao’ i.e. ‘to interrogate’, then the sentence becomes “...There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should 'be interrogated' about that”, or, “...there is sin which leads to death as per the Law: but there is no need for anyone to interrogate or be inquisitive about it.” Reading this with the first factor - "brother" in mind, now the meaning of what John is saying becomes, that, when the Lord has forgiven that person who could not have been forgiven through the Law, and has included him in His Church and made him a member of His family as a child of God, then why should some person be interrogating about his sins; what need does anyone have of inquiring about his sins? He may have committed a sin which is unforgivable according to the Law, but you have nothing to do with the person's sins being forgivable or not, therefore there is no need for you to interrogate or inquire about them.

           If we see this verse, 1 John 5:16, in context of its preceding verses, then too this interpretation fits in with what is being said in those verses. In 1 John 5:13-15 John is explaining to his readers that through faith in the Lord Jesus they have not only received eternal life, but they also been given the confidence to ask of God, and that if their petitions are in accordance with the will of God then having heard their petitions, He will also fulfill them. Since, as per John 3:16 it is God's will to provide eternal life to those who believe on the Lord Jesus, and now since the Law and it's penalties are no longer applicable upon us because of our being in Christ Jesus, therefore they can unhesitatingly ask for pardon and for eternal life being granted to even those, who were not worthy of this on the basis of the Law, and the Lord will grant eternal life even to them.

           It may be possible that on the basis of the Law, some people may have been hesitant and may have doubted that when God has already decreed the death penalty for some sins in the Law, then how can we ask God to go back on His word and change His Law? Here John is encouraging them, that even if someone has committed a sin, which according to the Law is to be punished by death, even then the way has been opened for him, and through the Lord Jesus he has the opportunity to receive forgiveness and eternal life.