What does the apostle Paul actually teach about salvation when all of his words are read together—his promises, his warnings, and his description of God’s grace?
The answer is often assumed, but rarely examined in full. even though the apostles consistently describe salvation as something past, present, and future.

The following paraphrase gathers Paul’s own statements from the passages cited below and places them into a single continuous flow.
The question is simple: Is this a fair summary of Paul’s gospel?

“Don’t be deceived into thinking y’all are eternally secure (1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 6:7-9; Eph. 5:5-7; 1 Cor. 10:12). Because you were dead in your sins (Eph. 2:1-3) and enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:17), and because you proved for 1500 years that you can’t keep the law (Rom. 7, Gal. 3:21), God sent Jesus to die for you (e.g., Rom. 5:8). Because he died for you, if you will have faith in Jesus the Lord and Son of God (Rom. 1:1-5; 10:9-10), he will show you mercy (Eph. 2:5), saving you by his favor (Eph. 2:8-9), and make you a new creation (2 Cor. 5) that is his workmanship, created to do good (Eph. 2:10) and to be zealous for good works (Tit. 2:13-14). You will no longer be a slave to sin (Rom. 5:19). In fact, God’s favor will end sin’s dominion over you (Rom. 6:14) and teach you how to live godly, righteously, and sensibly in this present age (Tit. 2:11-12).

“If you will steadfastly continue in this faith (Col. 1:23), living in the Spirit and putting to death the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:12-13; Gal. 6:7-8), then you will be presented blameless before God on the last day (Col. 1:22), rewarded with eternal life for your patient continuance in the good works that God created you to do (Rom. 2:7; Gal. 6:9), the righteousness that you lived in (Rom. 5:21), and the holiness that righteousness produced in you (Rom. 6:22).

“If, however, you live in the flesh, you will die (Rom. 8:13) and reap corruption rather than eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8). You will receive no inheritance in the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11), but instead you will reap wrath with the children of wrath (Eph. 5:5-7).

“So I tell you, and want my students to confidently remind you that you should be careful to maintain good works (Tit. 3:8).”

I may be mistaken, and I welcome careful correction from the Scriptures themselves and from the testimony of the earliest Christians who followed the apostles. But if this is a fair summary of Paul, then we should let his whole message—promises and warnings together—shape how we speak about salvation today.

What do you see in these passages?

The safest course, then, is not to rely on summaries—ancient or modern—but to return to Paul’s own words and read them patiently, letting the whole of his teaching shape our understanding of salvation.