The meaning of Salvation in the New Testament is the same as the meaning of Salvation in Judaism. In Jewish thought, ‘salvation’ encompasses broader concepts than the Catholic-Protestant view of it as a means to avoid eternal torture in hell. For Jews, salvation primarily means enjoying God’s blessings and protection.

In Jewish thought, salvation is often understood in a tangible, present-world sense—deliverance from hardship, fulfillment of hopes, and the resolution of life’s struggles, rather than just an abstract, spiritual concept:

A Jewish person who finally finds a job might say, “I found salvation.”
A Jewish woman who is finally able to conceive might say, “I was saved.”
A Jewish mother who is finally able to see her daughter married might say, “I have seen salvation.”
Escaping a car accident unharmed could also be seen as salvation.

Now, the meaning of Salvation in Judaism is the same and comes from the meaning of Salvation in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament).

In this article, we’ll examine both the Old Testament and New Testament use of “salvation,” starting with the Old Testament.

The Meaning of Salvation in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

To better understand the meaning of “salvation” in the Hebrew Scriptures, let’s examine several examples:

Genesis 49:18

“I look for your salvation, Lord.”

This verse is unique as it is one of the earliest explicit mentions of salvation (יְשׁוּעָה, yeshuah, sounds like Jesus’ name in Hebrew: Yeshua) in the Torah. Spoken by Jacob as part of his blessings and prophetic declarations over his sons, this statement is not a plea to escape hell in the afterlife but an affirmation of trust in God’s redemptive work.

In context, Jacob is speaking about the future of his descendants, the people of Israel, and his reference to salvation is deeply eschatological. The Hebrew word yeshuah conveys more than mere deliverance—it implies God’s active role in guiding history toward redemption. This aligns with the broader biblical theme of salvation as a cosmic process, not merely an event. It also hints at an all-encompassing vision where God’s salvation is not limited to the immediate crisis but extends into the future of Israel and beyond.

Exodus 14:13-14

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

This passage is the clearest demonstration of God’s salvation as an act of deliverance. The Exodus event serves as the paradigm of salvation in Jewish thought, where God rescues His people from oppression and brings them into freedom. The Hebrew term used here for deliverance, yeshuah, reinforces that salvation is an act of divine intervention that reorients history.

Notably, Moses emphasizes that salvation is God’s work, not humanity’s. The Israelites are not called to fight their way out of Egypt but to trust and witness God’s saving power. This sets the pattern for later biblical salvation narratives—salvation is about restoration, freedom, and trust in God rather than human effort or merit.

Deuteronomy 33:29

“Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword.”

This verse highlights the unique relationship between God and Israel. The phrase “a people saved by the Lord” (עָם נוֹשָׁע בַּיהוָה) underscores that salvation (as Israel was saved by God from Egypt) is a defining characteristic of Israel’s identity. Unlike the nations around them, Israel’s security and future rest solely in God’s deliverance, not in human power or alliances.

The imagery of God as a “shield and helper” conveys the protective nature of salvation. It is not just a past act but an ongoing reality, affirming that God’s saving work through Israel continues in every generation. This passage reinforces the communal aspect of salvation—it is not just an individual experience but the identity of an entire people – the people of Israel.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

Here, salvation is depicted as a present and ongoing state of security and divine guidance. “Light” symbolizes understanding, clarity, and divine presence, indicating that salvation is not only about external rescue but also about internal transformation. The psalmist links salvation to fearlessness—if God is one’s salvation, then there is no reason to fear any enemy. Here, the context is warfare.

Psalm 37:39-40

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

The text does not speak of salvation as an escape from an afterlife location but as God’s protection within life’s struggles. The “righteous” are those who trust in God, and their salvation is manifested in deliverance from wickedness and oppression. This continues the pattern seen in Exodus and throughout the Psalms, where salvation is not about avoiding eternal punishment but about God’s ongoing work of restoration and justice.

Isaiah 12:2-3

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

Isaiah’s declaration of salvation mirrors the themes of trust and fearlessness found in the Psalms. Here, salvation is equated with strength and defense, reinforcing its tangible and present nature. The passage explicitly states, “I will trust and not be afraid,” indicating that salvation is as much about deliverance from fear and instability as it is about rescue from afterlife threats.

This salvation is about experiencing God’s sustaining power in the here and now. The imagery of drawing water “from the wells of salvation” (v.3) signifies an abundant, life-giving reality, where salvation is nourishing, sustaining, and deeply personal.

Jeremiah 30:10-11

‘So do not fear, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.’

This passage reinforces salvation as restoration and return from exile. The promise to “save” (אוֹשִׁיעָךְ, hoshiacha) Jacob and his descendants is not about a spiritualized afterlife rescue but about the literal restoration of Israel from displacement. Exile, both physical and spiritual, is a key biblical metaphor for remoteness from God, and salvation is framed as the divine action that reverses this state.

The Meaning of Salvation in the New Testament

In fact, not much has changed from the Old Testament. Let’s examine a few examples:

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The phrase “shall not perish but have eternal life” has often been misread through the lens of post-biblical doctrinal developments rather than through its original linguistic and theological context. The Greek term ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), translated as “perish,” does not imply eternal torment but rather a state of being lost, ruined, or lost in a redemptive sense—akin to the way Israel “perished” in exile yet was ultimately restored (Jeremiah 50:6). The term carries the connotation of being outside of one’s intended purpose, rather than signifying suffer eternally or annihilated. This aligns with the biblical theme of God’s salvific restoration, where destruction is not an ultimate end but a temporary state from which God redeems.

Furthermore, the contrast between perishing and eternal life does not suggest an unending punitive existence, but rather the difference between remaining in a broken, estranged condition and entering into the fullness of life in God’s kingdom. The phrase “eternal life” (ζωὴν αἰώνιον, zōēn aiōnion) is not merely about life after death but denotes the life of the age to come—a concept deeply embedded in Jewish eschatology. This is a transformative reality that begins in the present and extends beyond, rather than being a dichotomy of heaven versus hell. The all-inclusive implication of this passage is unavoidable: the love of God extends to the entire world (κόσμον, kosmon), and Jesus’ mission is inherently redemptive, not punitive. If God’s intent was solely to rescue a subset of humanity from eternal damnation, the passage would emphasize exclusion rather than the all-encompassing scope of divine love and salvation.

In John 3:17, this theme is reinforced: Jesus was not sent to condemn but to save. The verb “save” (σῴζω, sōzō) is used in the Gospels primarily in contexts of healing, restoration, and deliverance (e.g., Luke 8:48, “your faith has saved you”), rather than merely as a ticket to an afterlife. If condemnation were the default state from which only a few were rescued, the emphasis in this verse would be different. Instead, the text presents salvation as the universal trajectory of God’s plan, affirming the restoration of all rather than the eternal loss of some. The very grammar of these verses negates the notion of a final and irreversible condemnation of any part of humanity.

This perspective aligns with John 12:32, where Jesus proclaims, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” The universal scope of salvation, not exclusion, is the dominant theme of John’s Gospel, reinforcing that God’s desire is to reconcile and restore, rather than eternally reject or lost.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

The phrase “the lost” (τοὺς ἀπολωλότας, tous apolōlotas) is key to understanding this passage. The verb ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), meaning “to lose or be in ruin,” is often used in the Septuagint (LXX) to describe Israel’s state of exile and estrangement from God (e.g., Jeremiah 50:6: “My people have been lost sheep”). Here, “lost” does not signify unsaved souls bound for eternal torment but those who are disoriented, displaced, and separated from God’s covenantal purpose—both individuals like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) and the collective people of Israel.

To “save” (σῴζω) them, then, is to restore them to their rightful place in God’s kingdom. This is reinforced by Jesus’ use of the three parables in Luke 15—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son—all of which describe something lost only temporarily and ultimately found again. Each of these parables speaks to God’s relentless pursuit of restoration rather than final separation. Just as Israel was “lost” in exile and “saved” by being brought back into the land and covenant (Deuteronomy 30:3-4), Jesus’ mission is to bring people back into active, right relationship with God—a salvation deeply connected to identity, community, and divine purpose.

Romans 10:1

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.

Paul, a trained Pharisee steeped in Jewish theology, does not suddenly redefine salvation in terms divorced from its well-established biblical context. The only plausible interpretation is that “saved” refers to a present-tense reconciliation with God rather than an abstract, postmortem reward.

To confirm this, we must look at Romans 9-11 as a whole, where Paul frames Israel’s situation in terms of corporate estrangement, communal spiritual blindness, and their ongoing role in God’s redemptive plan. If “saved” meant going to heaven, how could Israel, as a nation, be “saved” when salvation in Christian theology is supposedly an individual matter? Nations do not “go to heaven”—but they can be restored, renewed, and brought back into covenantal relationship. This aligns with Paul’s repeated Old Testament allusions (e.g., Isaiah 59:20, “The Redeemer will come to Zion to those in Jacob who repent of their sins”).

Additionally, the contrast Paul draws in Romans 10:3-4 further proves that salvation is a shift from relying on the law for righteousness to embracing the righteousness of God in Christ. Paul is not lamenting that Israelites are bound for eternal abusive torture in hellfire but that they are missing out on their own promised redemption—their return from exile, both literal (as seen in biblical history) and spiritual (their failure to recognize the Messiah). This mirrors the overarching pattern of the Hebrew Bible, where salvation consistently refers to deliverance, restoration, and peace with God.

1 Timothy 2:15

But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

This verse has been widely debated with some even suggesting that women can be saved from hell by bearing children. However, a closer look at the Greek term σωθήσεται (sōthēsetai) reveals that “saved” can also mean “preserved” or “restored.” In context, Paul is not teaching that childbearing grants eternal rescue from hellfire but that women can find purpose, restoration, blessings, and dignity through their God-given role. However, if they don’t pursue faith, love and holiness, their blessing or purpose might fizzle out (and their children might suffer under the authority for an unloving mother).

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

This passage is often read as referring to personal salvation in the afterlife, but the “you” is plural and the context of Ephesians 2 shows that “saved” here is about the Ephesians as a community finding their purpose, identity, and inclusion in God’s work through Christ.

The Greek word for “saved” (σεσῳσμένοι, sesōsmenoi) is in the perfect tense, meaning a completed action with ongoing effects. This suggests that their salvation was already realized in their present lives—they had been brought into God’s covenant people, rescued from their former identity as “outsiders” (Ephesians 2:12-13). This salvation is not about escaping afterlife punishment but about being made into God’s instruments, receiving His blessings, and living in a new spiritual identity.

Paul begins Ephesians 2 by reminding the Gentile believers that they were once “dead in their transgressions” (Ephesians 2:1-2), meaning they were spiritually aimless and excluded from God’s purposes. However, by grace, they have been made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5-6), lifted from insignificance into a position of blessing and divine calling.

Paul goes on to explain that they were once “excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise” (Ephesians 2:12), but through Christ, they have been brought near and included in God’s people (Ephesians 2:13). This is the salvation he is speaking of: not an escape from hell, but an entry into God’s redemptive work.

Immediately after these verses, Paul clarifies what this salvation means: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). This shows that salvation is about becoming vessels of God’s work, living out their faith in meaningful ways.

Conclusion: A More Biblical View of Salvation

As a Christian, salvation should be understood as restoration, transformation, and communion with God, rather than merely an escape from eternal torment:

Instead of viewing salvation as avoiding hell, the Bible presents it as being brought into full, unbroken fellowship with God. Jesus describes eternal life as knowing God (John 17:3), emphasizing a relational rather than a punitive framework. Salvation means being fully reconciled with our Creator, participating in His divine life.

Rather than focusing on escaping punishment, salvation is about being part of God’s new creation. The Bible speaks of a renewed heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1-4), where sorrow, pain, and death are no more. Paul speaks of all things being reconciled to Christ (Colossians 1:20), suggesting that salvation extends beyond mere individual rescue—it involves the restoration of the entire cosmos.

The biblical concept of salvation (σωτηρία, sōtēria) often carries the meaning of healing, wholeness, and being made right. In the afterlife, salvation means becoming fully what God intended us to be, shedding the distortions of sin and embracing the fullness of love and holiness. It is not about escaping suffering but about being transformed into Christ’s likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Salvation is not merely individual; it is God’s victory over sin, evil, and death (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Jesus came to defeat death, not to rescue individuals from endless torture in hell. The ultimate promise of salvation is participating in God’s eternal kingdom, where justice, peace, and love reign.

Rather than reducing salvation to an escape from eternal conscious torment, the Bible offers a grander vision—a journey into eternal love, healing, and the fullness of life with God. Salvation is not about avoiding endless punishment but about becoming fully alive in Christ (John 10:10), entering the joy of God’s kingdom, and experiencing eternal communion with Him.

The ultimate thing to be “saved” and redeemed from is death itself because death represents the final separation from life, purpose, and connection—both physically and spiritually. It is the greatest consequence of human brokenness and sin, marking the end of earthly existence. Redemption from death restores not only life but also the possibility of eternal communion, offering freedom from the ultimate defeat and giving hope for an everlasting future beyond the limitations of mortality.

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