What does it mean to be saved? (What is salvation?)
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.” – Matthew 4:16 NKJV (quoting Isaiah 9:2)
Luke 3:6 KJV And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Psalm 119
Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet
Kaph
81 My soul longs for your salvation;
I hope in your word.
82 My eyes long for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
The word salvation occurs 164 times in the KJV of the Bible. Do you realize the importance of your salvation in Christ Jesus?
In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) salvation of God is hoped for and anticipated in the Person of the Messiah. It is a time of darkness and sin into which Jesus was born as a Son of Man in a manger in Bethlehem and sacrificed for our sins on a Cross in Jerusalem. Jesus IS our salvation.
A thousand years before Christ, when David and Solomon ruled as Kings of Israel, the Law of God and His statutes were the present hope of Israel. The true hope of Israel was born in Christ Jesus, prophesied and predicted in the Psalms and by many Prophets during and following the fall of the earthly Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
86 All your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
Even unbelievers know a portion of salvation:
John 3:16-19
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
He has not saved our life for ourselves, but for His own glory.
Jesus IS Lord and Savior.
Into the world is born a Messiah, prophesied by John the Baptist, prophesied by his father, Zechariah, the high priest of God:
Luke 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”