349. Saving of the Soul
Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Believing in Christ is the saving of the soul. Drawing back from faith in Jesus is perdition, going into the eternal death from which we were saved. The encouragement of salvation motivates us to keep the faith. Some have never come to faith or have strayed from the faith, but we are of those who remain believers. The soul is saved and will be saved.
The soul is defined as the mind, will and emotions. The soul is the self. In this context the soul refers to the person, the whole person, body, soul, and spirit. Soul simply means me, myself, and I. I am saved. Salvation is such a basic promise that all the other thousand promises arise from it. I am saved to the uttermost, that is, saved completely with nothing lacking.
We are saved from sin, death, and the devil; we are saved for God, eternal life, and good works. Sin is the cause of all of our miseries, troubles, pains, and problems. But since our sins are forgiven we are saved from sin. We still live with the ill effects of sin in us and all around us, but we are saved from the evil of those effects. Sin still does, and in this life always will, cause trouble, but we know where to turn to be reminded of forgiveness and restored to life and wholeness.
We are absolutely and eternally saved from the penalty and wages of sin, which is death. Sin is the cause of death: death is the cause of all infirmities, weaknesses, sickness, injuries, and pains of body, mind and emotions. We suffer “little deaths” every day; but we shall not suffer eternal death or die forever in torment.
We are saved from the devil. He still prowls around seeking to devour, he relentlessly attacks with lies and temptations, and he causes many problems. But lies have no power unless they are received as truth. The devil only has the power to lie and scare, but with the Truth of the Gospel we do not receive it, so he has no power.
We are saved for a wonderful life that never ends. We are saved for God, who becomes our God with all the care and protection that that entails. We are saved for good works: God has a design for our life and the saving of our souls means that He will arrange the affairs of daily life so that He can do good things through us for the good of others. When Jesus saves the soul all good things happen while we are delivered from all the bad things. Jesus saves every day.