What Are We Saved From?

If you are a fundamentalist Protestant or a conservative Catholic, you have likely been taught that salvation means being saved from the Augustinian-Calvinist version of hell – a sadistic eternal torment in hellfire.

However, the Bible consistently teaches that salvation is tangible, and that we are saved not from eternal conscious torment, but from the consequence of sin— from death—separation from life.

From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture affirms that God’s plan of salvation is about rescuing humanity from death and restoring eternal life.

Death is the Consequence of Sin

1. Genesis 2:17 – “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
   • God warned Adam and Eve that sin leads to death, not eternal torment.
2. Genesis 3:19 – “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
   • The punishment for sin is returning to the dust—death, not burning in hell.
3. Genesis 3:22-23 – “He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden…”
   Adam’s punishment for sin was mortality.
4. Ezekiel 18:4 – “The soul who sins shall die.”
   • Ezekiel makes it clear: death, not eternal torment, is the fate of sinners.
5. Psalm 49:15 – “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.”
   • Salvation is about being rescued from the grave (Sheol), not an escape from hellfire.

Jesus Came to Save Us From Death

5. Matthew 1:21 – “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
   • Sin leads to death, and Jesus came to save us from that fate.
6. John 3:16 – “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.”
   • The contrast is clear: without Christ, we perish; because of Him, we have eternal life.
7. John 5:24 – “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
   • Salvation is a transition from death to life, not from torment to comfort.
8. John 10:10 – “I have come that they may have life…”
   • Jesus’ mission is to give life, not avoid eternal torture in fire.

Victory Over Death Through Christ

9. Romans 5:12 – “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people.”
   • Death, not hellfire, is the result of sin.
10. Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    • Paul contrasts death and life, not torment and heaven.
11. 1 Corinthians 15:22 – “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
    • Adam brought death, Christ brought life. That’s the heart of the Gospel in one short verse. However, there will still be judgment, and each will be granted according to the way they’ve lived life on earth. Some “will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,” and others “will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). All will be made alive again, but only some will be rewarded; small is the gate and narrow the way.
12. 1 Corinthians 15:26 – “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
    • If death is only secondary to eternity in hellfire, then eternity in hellfire would be the ultimate enemy. In that case, wouldn’t Scripture say so? Instead, it declares death as the final enemy.
13. 2 Timothy 1:10 – “Christ Jesus… has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
    • Jesus destroys death, not saves from eternal torment in fire.

Eternal Life Through Christ

14. Hebrews 2:14-15 – “By his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
    • Jesus sets us free from the fear of death, not from fear of eternally being tortured.
15. Revelation 20:14 – “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”
    • Humanly speaking, you can only “destroy” something dead by resurrecting it back to life. Death cannot be destroyed; it can only be resurrected.
16. Revelation 21:4 – “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death.”
    • God’s final promise is no more death, not that “there will be no more death, but some will spend eternity getting grilled in a cosmic furnace.”

Conclusion: Salvation is Tangibal and About Life, Not Escape from an Eternal Hellfire

The Bible is overwhelmingly clear: we are saved from death, not from eternal torment. From Genesis to Revelation, the punishment for sin is perishing, returning to dust, or being cut off from life—not suffering forever in the Augustinian-Calvinist hellfire. Jesus came to rescue us from death and offer us eternal life in Him.

When we preach salvation, we should focus on God’s gift of life rather than an escape from divine torture. The good news is not that we avoid the eternal furnace, but that we receive life, immortality, and union with God through Christ. That is what we are truly saved from—and what we are saved for.

So what’s the point of Hell, and why are there so many terrifying images associated with it?

Find out in my book, “HELL: A Jewish Perspective on a Christian Doctrine.” It will change your life – I promise!