Saved from Eternal Death.

Of the numerous New Testament passages using sozo, Matthew 1:21 Now he which stablished us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God;

   He does establish Christians in the faith of the gospel; He has anointed them with His santifiying grace, which in scripture is often compared to oil, he has sealed them, for their security and confirmation; and He is given as and earnest in their hearts.  An earnest secures the promise, and is part of the payment.  This gives a perfect illustration of salvation.  God in Christ freely granting believers eternal life.  "Then shall call His name JESUS:  for he shall save his people from their sins."  The name Jesus (Yeshua) comes from the Hebrew verb for "save." Among the typical verses presenting this most important meaning are "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house."  (Acts 16:31)  They readily directed him what he must do.  They were always ready to answer such inquiries;  though they are cold, and sore, and sleepy, they do not adjourn this cause to a more convienent time and place, do not ask him to come to them the next church time at their meeting-place, and they will tell him, but they strike while the iron is hot, take him now when he is in a good mind, least the conviction should wear off.  Now that God begins to work, it is time for them to set a workers together with God.  They do not upbraid him with his rude and ill carriage toward them, and hiss going beyound hs warrant;  all this is forgiven and forgotten, and they are as glad to show him the way to heaven as the best friend they have.   and "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved"  (John 3:17)  Here is God's design in sending his Son into the world: it is that the world through him might be saved.  He came into the world with salvation in his eye. with salvation in his hand.  Therefore the aforemention offer of life and salvation is sincere, and shall be made to all by faith accept it. 

   Save from Danger or Death.

Examples from the New Testament are Peter's plea to be saved from drowning (Matthew 14:30)  But when he saw the winf boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, Lord save me.  He was afraid.  The strongest faith and th greatest courage have a mixture of fear.  Those that can say, Lord I believe: must say; Lord, help my unbelief.  Nothing but perfect love will quite cast out fear.  Good men often fail in those graces which they are most eminent for,and which they have then in exercise; to that they have yet attained.  Peter was very stout at first, but afterwards his heart failed him.  The lengthening out of a trial discovers the weakness of faith...and Paul and his fellow passengers being saved from shipwreck (Acts 27:31) 

   Save from Disease, Heal. 

Jesus told the woman with the hemmorage, "Daughter, thy faith has made you whole" (lit. "saved you," Mark 5:34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith has made you whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.  See what an encouraging word he gave her; Daughter, thy faith has made you whole.  Christ puts h onor upon faith, because faith give honor to Christ.  But see how what is done on earth is ratified in heaven;  Christ said, Be whole of thy disease.  If our faith sets the seal of its amen to the power and promise of God, saying, "So it is, and so let it be me;"  God's grace will set the seal of its amen to the prayers and hopes of faith, saying, "So be it, and so it shall be, to you." and therefore,  "Go in peace; be well satisfied that your cure is honestly come by, is effectually wrought, and take the comfort of it."  Here and elsewhere the physical healing and spiritual salvation may have taken place at the same time.

     Save One's Life from Being Wasted.

Because many people have a fixation on the word saved as only reffering to escaping from hell, and of the word soul as only referring to the immortal part of man, this last usage has not been recognized by everyone.  As we have seen, sozo definitely has meanings other than "rescue from eternal destruction."  So does psyche have meanings other than "soul" in the popular sense.  The word psyche can just as easily mean "life" as "soul," and sometimes must mean that.  The popular Christian expression "save a soul" has come to always equal meaning n umber one, above, but it is virtually never so used in the Scriptures.

   Yet in (Luke 9:24) For whoever will save his  life will lose it: but whoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it.  We must prefer the salvation and happiness of our so  uls before any secular concern whatsoever.  Reckon upon it, ((a.) That he who to preserve his liberty or estate, his power or preferrment, nay, ot to save his life, denies Christ and his truths, wilfully wrongs his conscience, and sins against God, will be, not only not a saver, but an unspeakable loser, in the issue, when profit and loss come to be balanced:  He that will save his life upon these terms will lose it,  will lose that which is of infinity more value, his precious soul.  (b.) We must firmly believe also that, if we lose our l ife for cleaving to Christ and our religion, we shall save it to our unspeakable advantage; for we shall be abundantly recompensed in the resurrection of the just, when we shall have it again a new and an eternal life.)    and its parallel passages, our Lord appears to use sozo and psyche to mean "save your Christian life from being wasted."  There are other passages, such as in James, that in context would be better taken as referring to good works for rewards rather than to escaping from hell.