SUMMARY
SalvationSalvation can mean saved from something (deliverance) or for something (redemption). Paul preached that salvation comes through the death of Christ on the cross which redeemed sinners from death and for a grace-filled life. is a gift from God, not the result of one’s own works of righteousness. It comes through water and the Spirit. Through these means, God renews life now and offers the hope of eternal life to come.
ANALYSIS
In the midst of writing about the conduct of Christians within a world of bad behavior, the writer speaks of God’s saving work. Salvation is not the result of anyone’s inherent goodness or external good works. Salvation is God’s gift. Mention of water or washing and the Spirit refers to baptismJesus was baptized (literally, "dipped") in the Jordan River by John the Baptizer, at which time he was acclaimed from heaven as God's Son, the Beloved. Much later baptism became one of the sacraments of the Church, the action by which a person is incorporated.... The language of inheritance implies membership in a new householdA household is a living unit comprised of all the persons who live in one house. A household would embrace all the members of a family, including servants and slaves. In the book of Acts, stories are told of various persons and their households, like... and family.
“The saying is sure” or “this saying is sure” appears in the New Testament only in the Pastoral EpistlesThe Pastoral Epistles are the New Testament letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. They are described as pastoral because they are addressed to individual persons rather than churches; they deal with matters of leadership and church governance., and all three of them employ it (see also 1 TimothyThe companion on Paul's later journeys for whom two pastoral epistles are named. 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11).
