Rightly Dividing Eternal and Temporal Salvation in Scripture

As I have stated in past blog posts, making proper distinctions is crucial to avoiding confusion when interpreting the scriptures. No example shines forth more clearly than when dealing with the matter of “salvation” in the Bible. Christians today are so used to the term that they hardly give a second thought to the meaning of this term when they hear it in a sermon or read it in a verse. The Bible, however, uses this term in a variety of contexts.

Let’s start with a basic definition. The Oxford English Dictionary defines salvation as follows:

The action of saving or delivering; the state or fact of being saved.

Salvation refers to deliverance from any kind of danger. It is also synonymous with deliverance. This can be seen by comparing two texts of scripture:

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel 2:32 in the King James Bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered, while the quotation in Romans 10:13 says they will be saved.

The context of any given passage must determine what an individual is being saved from. A text may be referring to salvation from the guilt and penalty of sin, and therefore from hell, or it may be referring to a temporal deliverance here in this life, which has no bearing upon ones eternal condition. Even in the immediate context of Joel 2:31–32, the reference is to deliverance from the great and terrible day of the LORD, which will be a temporal judgment upon the whole earth. I have also shown here that the salvation which is in view in Romans chapter 10 is not eternal salvation from hell, but deliverance from the bondage of works religion. We will examine more examples in order to more fully demonstrate our point. First let’s review what the Bible teaches concerning eternal salvation.

The Bible is emphatic that man’s eternal salvation is not by works in any way, shape or form. The Lord Jesus Christ has already saved his people from the guilt of sin:

Colossians 1:12–14 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins

Jesus Christ already hath delivered us from the power of darkness by shedding his blood for the eternal forgiveness of his people. He put away their sins once and for all when he died upon the cross:

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

Moreover, regeneration is entirely a monergistic work of God which requires no effort on the part of the recipient:

Titus 3:4–7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, (5) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (6) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; (7) That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion in the religious world as to what a “work” is. The Oxford English English Dictionary defines a “work” as follows:

work, n.
I. 1. Something that is or was done; what a person does or did

Mounce’s Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament defines the Greek word εργον, which translates into “work” or “works” in the NT, as follows:

ἔργον
ergon
anything done or to be done; a deed, work, action

So a “work” by definition is simply something which a person does. One wonders how so much confusion has arisen over such a simple concept among the religious world.

The simple way to properly distinguish between eternal and temporal salvation in the scriptures is to examine the context, and see whether or not the verse is teaching that a person has to do something in order to be “saved”. If the verse says that you need to do something, then it is teaching that a work is needed, and thus cannot be referring to eternal salvation. Not recognizing this simple distinction will create blatant contradictions in the Bible.

There are several obvious examples of this in the New Testament:

Acts 27:30–31 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, (31) Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

Nobody would read this verse and conclude that one needs to find and pertetually abide in a ship in order to be eternally saved from the guilt and penalty of sin.

1 Timothy 2:12–15 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (13) For Adam was first formed, then Eve. (14) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (15) Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Aside from a fringe offshoot of the Mormon religion which I watched a documentary on a number of years ago, I’m not aware of anyone who thinks that childbearing is necessary for ones eternal salvation. Contextually, Paul is forbidding women from teaching in the role of a pastor. Such would be to usurp the God-given authority of the man. This rationale is rooted in the creation and fall of Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, Paul says that the woman will be “saved” unto a valued role of her own in the church, through teaching and rearing of godly children.

Luke 18:35–43 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: (36) And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. (37) And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. (38) And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. (39) And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. (40) And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, (41) Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. (42) And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. (43) And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.

This passage speaks of a man being saved from blindness by virtue of his faith. Not deliverance from hell.

Acts 2:37–40 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (40) And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Peter is not telling these men that through repentance and baptism they could save themselves from hell, but they would thereby deliver themselves from this untoward generation by giving the answer of a good conscience towards God in baptism and being joined to the Lord’s church.

1 Timothy 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

In context, Paul is here warning about the arrival of false doctrine (1 Timothy 4:1–5) and exhorting Timothy not to entertain old wives’ fables (4:6–7). By continuing in sound doctrine, he wouldn’t save himself or his church from hell (they already had eternal life), but he would save himself and them from falling into false doctrine and deception in this life.

James 5:19–20 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; (20) Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

James is writing to born again children of God. He is not talking about saving another person from eternal damnation. Rather, he is talking about converting an erring brother back to the truth, and thereby delivering him from death — either actual, physical death, or death to fellowship with God and the brethren.

There are several examples all throughout the bible in both Old and New Testaments which clearly show this distinction. One could even argue that the majority of references to salvation in the Bible are references to temporal deliverance. Once a person grasps this distinction, the Bible will open up to them and many verses which previously seemed confusing and obscure will become as clear as day.

In future posts we’ll talk about more texts which speak of believing in relation to salvation.