By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. In this sense a deliverance from sin and it's penalty. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Salvation means the full redemption of whole man.
To redeem is to buy back something. God paid the ransom to himself in order to satisfy the demands of his holy, righteous nature. This he did through Jesus' death and resurrection. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. This salvation was and is offered to believers on God's initiative as an expression of his love for sinners.