“Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.”1
Texas Baptists believe the only path to eternal relationship with God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. This one path to right relationship with God begins with the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ refers to the literal shedding of the blood of Jesus as He died on a Roman cross some 2,000 years ago. That event happened. People witnessed it, talked about it, and wrote about it.
In Jesus, God offered His only Son as the one blood sacrifice for all of humankind’s sins through the ages. This sacrifice means that the price has been paid for our sins, that God will forgive us of our many failings and welcome us into a close and personal relationship with Him. Jesus conquered death and provided the way of forgiveness for sin through the power of His sacrifice and His resurrection from the dead.
Jesus offers this salvation to all who will choose to follow Him regardless of the severity of past sin in his or her life. To choose the way of salvation, a person must accept that Jesus Christ was and is the unique Son of God and must choose through faith to entrust his or her life to God. It is the way that leads from death to life, from helplessness to hopefulness, from joylessness to joy. A new life is created. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) This is not referring to a new physical life but to a new spiritual one.
The Baptist understanding of salvation did not arise out of the thoughts and reflections of learned or educated people. This understanding of salvation leaps forth from the pages of Scripture. All of our understanding of salvation is based on the divinely inspired Word of God.