Soteria (so-tay-REE-ah) is the Greek word for "salvation, deliverance, preservation, release." Obviously our salvation is not only an event that took place in the waters of baptism, or "on a hill, far away." Salvation is past, present, and future. It embraces body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Jesus Christ is our Soter (24 times in the New Testament). Soteria is all over the pages of the New Testament (46 times), as well as another related form, soterion (5 times). The Bible says that we are saved from our sins, from ourselves, from damnation, from an evil generation, from the wrath of God, and from death itself.
The adjective that comes from this Greek word is soteriological, meaning "pertaining to salvation." For example, the soteriological significance of the Cross is that our sins are forgiven through Jesus' sacrifice. (Now, there's a big word for you to use and stupefy your friends!)
