How to Be Saved

What Is Transactional Salvation? (Part 1)

Sometimes, the subject of Salvation seems to be handled in some parts of Christianity as a transaction between man and God, but is it really? Does it really matter?

Is Salvation anything like a trip to the grocery store? We visit the grocery store when we get hungry, although we are advised not to go grocery shopping when we are hungry, since we may spend a good deal more than we intended to spend.

Responsibly, we visit the produce department to get the fruits and vegetables that we should eat, along with milk and other dairy products, bread, peanut butter, honey, and egg-setera, avoiding the impulse buys in the check-out lane. Purchases in the buggy, we head through the check-out lane, pay for our groceries, and head home to eat a meal.

We did the choosing. We did the buying. We controlled every part of the transaction. In the end, we were proud of ourselves for providing for ourselves and our families responsibly, as good adults should.

How many of us handle eternal Salvation in the same way? When we become aware of Heaven to gain and Hell to avoid, we realize that this subject must be appropriately rendered before any of us can begin to live in peace. "Read the Scriptures to find out what I need to do, then do that."

Romans 10:13, KJV, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "Cool. That's all I gotta do. Here goes. 'Lord Jesus, please save me. Thank You so much for saving me.' That was easy. Transaction done. Now, I can get on with my life since I got the Heaven or Hell question answered. Boy, was that ever easy!"

This person just prayed The Sinner's Prayer, making what could be considered a mental transaction. "Salvation is something I choose for myself. I paid the price of momentary prayer, doing what the Bible said. Now, God's obligated to save me because that is what the verse said he would do."

Is Salvation a simple prayer that prevents one's condemnation to Hell, where the residents forever experience the Wrath of God? Or is Salvation something other than what a human being can transact by using the wording of a specific Bible verse (or verses)?

Who does the choosing in Salvation? Man or God?

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Romans 9:15-16, KJV)

Humans pride themselves on free will, but what happens when the Free Will of God overrules the free will of man? Do we go to Heaven because of the human choice to receive Salvation? Do we go to Hell because we choose to reject the offer of Salvation?

There is more to consider on the subject of transactional Salvation.

By Jay O’Toole
On June 17th, 2025