"Salvation" according to the Bible

What is salvation? What does it mean for a human being to be saved? In the Bible the word salvation is used first in reference to this life, meaning forgiveness and deliverance from guilt, sickness, pain, grief, loss, calamity, etc. It is also used in reference to the life of the soul hereafter, meaning its acquittal from damnation and the acquisition of a state of eternal bliss.

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Mic. 6: 6-8)

There were times in Israel’s life when the people felt convicted of their transgressions and wanted to make peace with God. At such times they wondered how...