There's a lot of talk about salvation and “getting saved” among Christian folks, and there is a broad general consensus among them that heaven is only going to be occupied by those who are saved. But there seems to be quiet a bit of division over exactly how one obtains salvation. It is this issue that I wish to address in this short essay.

Any discussion of salvation and being saved needs to begin with what I consider to be the defining passage on the subject, Ephesians 2:8,9:

What does it mean when Christians say that they keep their account with God on a “short basis?”

 
 
This was the demand Israel made of Samuel, who, as it turned out, was the last judge in the original governmental blueprint God had ordained for his chosen nation. The narrative is as follows.