📖 Biblical Definition
To save, biblically, is to rescue, deliver, preserve — used both of physical deliverance (Israel from Pharaoh, Peter from drowning, Paul from shipwreck) and of the climactic salvation of the soul through Christ. The Hebrew root yashaʿ ("to save") is the very root of the names Joshua and Jesus — both mean "YHWH saves." The angel told Joseph: "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Salvation is wholly God’s work: "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). The Christian does not save himself; he is saved. The verb is passive on our side, active on God’s.
📜 KJV Continual Tense
In KJV: saveth — salvation as ongoing rescue.
expand to see more
Hebrews 7:25: "he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Continuous salvation matched by continuous intercession.
Salvation in Scripture is past (we were saved — justification), present (we are being saved — sanctification), and future (we shall be saved — glorification). The KJV’s -eth points to the present-continuous middle stage especially.
1 Peter 3:21: "baptism doth also now save us" — not magic; the word "now" interprets the continuous tense as ongoing application of Christ’s finished work.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
To rescue, deliver, preserve.
expand to see more
To preserve from injury, destruction, or loss; to deliver; in Scripture especially the comprehensive saving of soul-and-body through Christ — deliverance from sin’s penalty (justification), power (sanctification), and presence (glorification).
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 1:21 — "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Hebrews 7:25 — "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
Romans 5:9-10 — "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Often shrunk to a one-time event ("the day I got saved") missing salvation’s past-present-future fullness.
expand to see more
Revivalist culture sometimes reduces salvation to the moment of decision ("the day I was saved"). Scripture is more layered: we have been saved (justification), are being saved (sanctification), and shall be saved (glorification). Each tense is doctrine.
Recover the fullness: to be saved is past verdict, present growth, and future hope — all guaranteed by Christ’s finished work and ongoing intercession.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek sōzō; Hebrew yasha.
expand to see more
['Greek', 'G4982', 'sōzō', 'to save, rescue, deliver']
['Hebrew', 'H3467', 'yasha', 'to save, deliver']
Usage
"Salvation is past, present, and future."
"Christ saves to the uttermost."
"His name is Jesus — YHWH saves."