So, what is salvation?

It all starts with forgiveness. When we accept God as our Lord and savior and we repent of our sins, we are saved by his forgiveness. Without forgiveness, and repentance, there can be no salvation.

Does that mean that salvation requires perfection?

No. It means that salvation requires commitment. Salvation is the beginning of the journey, not the destination. We are all imperfect. As Paul says, “we all fall short”.

We cannot use that as an excuse to continue to hurt others, or put another way, to sin, but we can be assured that when we “miss the mark”, we will be forgiven, provided we turn away from those sins and we continue not just to believe, but to live our faith through our love for others.

Salvation does mean that we will rise again and that we will be with God throughout eternity. Salvation does not mean that this life will be “a bowl of cherries”. Even after salvation, life will still have difficulties, but salvation brings hope and we hang onto it through faith.

This is what Christians believe about salvation.