Salvation (σωτηρίας)

 

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:1-4).

 

The word used in our reading today translated “salvation” (v. 3) comes from the Greek word σωτηρίας (pronounced “sōterias”). We use that word all the time in the Church. However, I wonder if we understand the full meaning of this word. The idea of salvation suggests the idea of some kind of escape or deliverance from a dire circumstance.

 

The verb (sōzō) in the New Testament is used in a variety of ways. If you are saved from a threatening illness, as people were in the New Testament by the touch of Jesus, Jesus might comment, “Your faith has saved you” (cf. Luke 7:50). He is not speaking about eternal salvation, but He is speaking about their rescue from the dreadful disease. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel went into battle, and God intervened on their behalf and saved His people from military defeat. That was rescue from a clear and present danger. So, this verb “to save” is used all kinds of times in all kinds of ways. The Greek verb uses virtually every tense: you saved, you were being saved, you have been saved, you are saved, you are being saved, and you will be saved. Salvation takes all these different tenses of the verb.

 

There is salvation in the general sense that has manifold applications, but when the Bible speaks about salvation in the ultimate sense, it speaks of the ultimate escape from the ultimate dire human condition. It means, as the Scriptures tell us, to be rescued from the wrath that is to come.

 

As I have driven some of the highways through multiple states, I get a bit miffed when I see a sign that says, “God is not angry.” That message, given to every motorist as they travel up and down the road is a very dangerous heresy. If God is not angry—if God has no wrath and there is no wrath to come—then that is the gospel’s ultimate great news. Nobody needs to worry about anything, at least not about the anger of God if the sign is true, because it tells us that God is not angry. Not only is that not true but it is a vicious lie to say that God is not angry. God’s wrath, as we are told in Romans, is revealed to the whole world. But we are at ease in our culture. We are not afraid of His wrath because we have been told repeatedly that God is not mad, that God is not angry, that we do not need to worry about God, that God will save everybody, that all you need to do to get into heaven is to die.

 

The truth is that for nonbelievers, all a person needs to do to get into hell is to die. I wish that everybody who died went to heaven, but the Bible makes it abundantly clear that is not the case, and there awaits a judgment. The greatest calamity that anybody can ever imagine is to be sentenced to hell. However, the great good news is that our soterias has been won! Jesus has come and paid our debt; He has died in our place! Do not neglect this great gift of God!