...and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:"
II Tim. 1:9-10. (Boldface mine).
S a l v a t i o n . . .
What Is It?
by Elder S. Khomer Beaty, Sr.
"Intangibility" explained, in part.
...and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:"
II Tim. 1:9-10. (Boldface mine).
It is a multi-faceted intangibility ("...an asset that cannot be perceived by the senses." from American Heritage Dictionary.) exceeding the dimensions of time and space being some method of measurement for the finite to comprehend the infinite.
You'll not find this definition in any lexicon that I am aware of! From Genesis to Revelation, we find Salvation appears 164 times in 158 verses. In searching for a standard, narrow meaning of the word(s) from which salvation was translated, we are at a loss.
Among the meanings found in Hebrew, we find the following: Avenging, Bringing (having) salvation, Defend, Deliver, Deliverance, Get victory, Help, Hence aid, Open, Preserve, Prosperity, Rescue, Salvation, Save, Save (-iour), Something saved, Succor, To be safe, To be free, Victory, Welfare, Wide or free, etc.
No doubt, it will require some tedium to come to a reasonable comprehension of the application of the word salvation as it is used in a multitude of contexts throughout scripture. One must be able to see beyond mere convention and modern usage if the mind is to be able to understand salvation in a time as well as an eternal context.
I realize this reading is lengthy. I also realize that if a people is to be versed in the intricate mercies of a
merciful God, they must STUDY His word. From the earliest beginnings we see how so many times God's
people have assimilated the false doctrines of this world. The record vividly shows that every time His people
have gone off after the gods of this world, His blessings have been withdrawn, and eventually the people stand
destitute among the ashes crying unto the Lord for deliverance. It would appear that is where America is
heading if there is not a turning point found soon! (1993) (Edited in 1997 for insertion in PB Listserve and
home page for Out of Bondage, Inc., at
I remember so well the time that a soldier friend of mine related to me the occasion of a Viet Cong 5" rocket
exploding in the place where I had slept. This was only days after my last departure from Viet Nam in 1970.
To this day I believe that I was SAVED from certain injury, even death. In the context of definition, this was
an instance of time salvation.
I remember another time when my wife, our small children and I were travelling across the country. We had
been held up at a traffic light unnecessarily (it seemed at the time) much to my frustration. Shortly thereafter
while approaching a hilltop, and meeting a large bus, a car passed the bus coming into our lane of traffic.
Then, there was the time my oldest son, little more than a babe in arms, was struck by an automobile. His
mother and I looked on in shocked horror as his rag-doll-like body tumbled several yards down a busy
thoroughfare. He was saved to marry. He and his wife are rearing four fine young men. He is preaching the
Gospel and pastoring a church.
Again, there was the time when our two sons, along with another friend were saved from imminent death in an automobile accident in Delray Beach, Florida. We found them in the emergency room at a local hospital
holding hands and singing, Amazing Grace while lying on a gurney. (From my 66+years (I am approaching 70 now) I could relate to you many-many times that I and mine have witnessed the SAVING HAND OF AN ALMIGHTY GOD IN TIME!)
In this life we are faced with a lot of what-if's. What-if we had not been held up at the traffic light? Would we have been involved in a head-on collision? What-if that toddler had been maimed for life? What-if those young
men lying on the gurney had had a mindset that failed to recognize God and His Amazing Grace in their lives? I am positively sure that the Lord surely was looking out for us, preserving, delivering, saving us from ultimate,
final disaster!
No doubt, you, too, are able to recount times and occurrences when time appeared to be a critical factor in your being preserved, delivered, saved to something or from something.
We see many things and accept them as true without truly experiencing the feel of what is really taking place. I have related to you these experiences hoping to convey some thoughts and feelings relative to the real world in which we live, move and have our very being. We are guided in our actions and reactions by the philosophies developed through teaching and
experience(s). As a Primitive Baptist I am able to accept a lot of life's experiences with a greater degree of optimism than many of whom I have known.
Salvation is of the Lord! PERIOD!
"For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" Eph. 2:8-9 (KJV). Volumes have been written about this one declaration relative to the sovereignty of God. I am thoroughly convinced that but for the merciful hand of God in my life in saving me innumerable times, I would not have lived to savor life as I have these sixty-six - plus years!
(Nearing 71 now). Only those who know God as a friend, conversant companion, well-spring of knowledge, wisdom and guidance can appreciate that but for His salvation there would be none in eternity, much less in time.
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