The Gnostics believed that salvation came through the grace of God and the secret spiritual knowledge that Jesus the Christ (redeemer figure) imparted to humankind. The Gnostics also believed that humans were imperfect and therefore could not secure salvation by themselves through good deeds. They believed that through self-discovery and inner knowledge that came from direct contact with the Divine, their sacred spark could awaken from beneath the dark spell of the Demiurge to return to the realm of Light. The inner spiritual resurrection, not the physical, gave each seeker access to God without the intercession of priests or the death of Jesus.

The Jewish Christians, those closest to Jesus, who saw themselves as a sect within Judaism, believed that salvation came from following Mosaic laws and abiding by the rules governing purity, diet, behavior, and sacrifice in the Temple as well as honoring the Jewish holy days and the Sabbath.

An early Christian view of salvation can be found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (collectively known as the synoptic Gospels because of their similarities in content, language, and style). These gospels reveal part of the message that salvation comes through individual good deeds and kindly treatment of others, especially the poor (Matthew 25:31–46 and Luke 10:25–27). The Gospel of John emphasizes salvation through faith in Jesus as the Son of God: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The early Christians did not elaborate on exactly what one needed in order to be “saved,” but Paul believed that salvation came from belief in the Son of God (see 2 Corinthians 5:10–21) and faith in Jesus. He wrote to the Corinthians about the certainty of the resurrection of the dead: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21–22).

The Pauline Christian view of salvation stresses belief in Jesus, son of God, who died for the sins of humankind, and was resurrected. Pauline Christianity describes the beliefs, theology, moral behavior, and acts of faith necessary for salvation as espoused by the Apostle Paul in his letters and supported also by the writer of the book of Acts of the Apostles. Pauline Christianity today is expressed through Roman Catholicism but also Protestant denominations as well.