In his short epistle, Jude, probably the brother of our Lord, wrote, “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3).

I cannot think of a more pleasant, nor a more serious, subject to write about than salvation. Sadly though, there is a lot of confusion about it. If you were to ask three different religious people how one is saved, you would likely get three different answers, none of which are in harmony with what the Bible says. That means that there are many people in the world today who think they are saved but are not. It reminds us of the passage found in Proverbs 14:12. The record says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” We should make sure that we have truly been saved. The only way to do that is to compare what the Bible says about salvation with what we have done and make sure they are the same.

When speaking about salvation, Jude referred to a “common salvation.” Strong says that the Greek word for common means, “shared by all.” What is it about salvation that is common or shared by all?

Everyone is saved from the same thing.

Sin is the thing from which people need saving. It is sin that sends people to hell and separates one from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin is the most horrific thing that exists. There is nothing good about it. There is not one redeeming quality about sin. I am not just talking about the grotesque sins of the world that even the ungodly deplore; I am talking about all sin, no matter what its form may be.

If there is anything that demonstrates the wickedness of sin, it is the cross of Christ. Just think to what extent God went to take care of the problem of sin. He watched as His only begotten Son died for the sins of the world (1 Peter 2:24). Sin is so terrible that Jesus was willing to give up the riches of heaven and become poor so that the price for sin could be paid (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Imagine Jesus hanging on a tree on Golgotha’s hill, dying all alone in one of the worse ways imaginable. Then, remember that it was all necessary because of sin - our sin! That sin, with all of its tragic facets, will cause the majority of people to spend eternity suffering in a devil’s hell.

Thank God for salvation through Christ. Everybody who obeys the gospel is saved from the sins that have condemned them before God. They are saved, not partially, but to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25). All of us who have properly obeyed the gospel, should rejoice with joy unspeakable for the common salvation.

Everyone has been saved the same way.

There is not a plurality of ways to be saved. The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and everyone obeys the gospel the same way. When one hears the word (John 6:45), believes in Christ (Mark 16:15-16), repents of his sins (Acts 3:19), confesses Christ with the mouth (Romans 10:9-10), and is baptized (Acts 2:38), that person is saved from his past sins. Every saved person who has reached the age of accountability has shared those things in common. There is no such thing as a saved person who has not believed, repented, and been baptized for the remission of his sins. The common salvation that Jude spoke of is obtained the same way by everyone.

Have you experienced the common salvation? You can if you would just turn to Jesus and obey the gospel. Why not do it today?

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