What is salvation??

Philippians 2:12-16

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain."

If we want to be saved from our sins, there are things that we must do in order to receive the free gift of salvation. We must individually work out our salvation, as the apostle Paul instructs. This obviously is going to require obedience. The Hebrew writer said of Christ that,

"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" (Hebrews 5:9).

Salvation comes from the grace of God,  And is indeed by faith alone. However there is an element where we must obey God and enter into his salvation by the path and method which he will honor. We can only receive this gift that God wants us to have when we obey His gospel, and this is how we begin to work out our own salvation. We must hear the word, for

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

We must believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. As Jesus said:

"For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).

We must repent of our sins:

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere repent:" (Acts 17:30)

Taking care of your own salvation is not a selfish ploy; it is a requirement, and completely necessary if you are ever going to help others to have a right relationship with God. Jesus speaks about this in the sermon on the Mount:

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:1-5