Paper Example on Soteriology

Introduction

Soteriology majorly focuses on salvation of the human believe regarding religion through the death of Christ. Through Christ, He saved and gave his life through His death to save the human race. However, what really happens after death is what we don't really know. Through salvation, Christ saved us. Critically thinking, God created us in His on likeness, but does everything just ceases after death, and where the soul does goes after death. The Bible brands it clearly that it is through Grace alone, that we get salvation, as The Bible says "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. It is not form yourself or anything you've done, but the gift of God."(King James Version, Ephesians 2:8-9). The Bible therefore gives clear preview that salvation from God is a free gift, similar to Jesus Christ who gave His to be crucified to save the human race. Justification can therefore be achieved in this manner, where it means a person accepting the gift of salvation. Therefore, justification comes into play when a person id declared to be righteous. By becoming the perfect sacrifice, Christ took everyone's sins and became the ultimate substitute for our deserved death. It is because of this those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ bear the righteousness of God. "For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God". Christ never discerned sin, and stood faultless and blameless, therefore making Him the perfect and only sacrifice that could take our place as sinners. By dying on the cross and raising to life three days later, not only did He fulfill prophecy, but He also gave mankind the greatest gift it never deserved. This gave us the union in Christ. God revealed Himself to the human race through the coming of Jesus Christ, that is, by God revealing himself in a form of human flesh made in His own person and also continued to reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit's protection and guidance to the believers (Schoeman).

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Christians are split over if faith in itself is sufficient to get salvation. However, Christian's doctrines agree that, it is through God's Grace that people are saved, but on the other hand, the role of the person in the whole process of salvation is. Protestants rely on verses from the Holy Book. For instants, in the book of Acts 16:31, it says "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.", furthermore, in Romans 3:22, The Bible categorically says "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Catholics believe that, it is through that taking of the sacraments that the believers receive the gift of grace through faith.

Furthermore, Protestants and Catholics theologies differ in terms of salvation and Mary. Protestants trust that it is through faith in Christ alone that we get salvation. Catholics believe that salvation is through baptism, participation in the sacrament. It can be easy to assume that all Christians should live a healthy, and moral life per God's commandments, but believe it or not, believers do make mistakes. Although this is true, Christ followers should make every effort to make a radical change from the old life they left, into the new life they have accepted. Christians are supposed to let the old self "die" and the new self "flourish". Paul talked heavily about this aspect refarding the Christian walk in his letter to the Corinthians. In this letter, he urges those who follow Jesus to truly live according to His Word. 1 Corinthians 15 states, "for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures".1 Throughout this verse, Paul makes himself clear that everyone can receive eternal life so long as they have a union with Jesus Christ.

It is crucial to note that the early church had many different doctrines of salvation. Soteriology was not the only doctrine floating around, as these were the years that set the foundation for the Christian faith. Because of these early years, Jesus was a mystery as to how He related to God, and how the trinity worked. In other words, the early years of doctrine were filled with mainly trying to figure out the incomprehensible. While the topic of discussion always revolved around this mystery, Jesus was always at the center. While the church has gone through any shifts and changes, the modern church is thriving and solely focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of this, Christianity has not been viewed as much as a religion, more as a relationship between the creator of the universe, and His creation. Prayer has been and still is heavily emphasized, all while Jesus remains at the center of the message.

Soteriology doctrine, however, tests certain principles regarding salvation and faith. Firstly, the principle stating that God's rule is sovereign. Thus, God's rule is depicted as not comparable to anything in the entire universe. May people would term God as Lord of Lords. Also, God is immortal. Secondly, the principle stating God as the Creator, Savior, and Ruler inspires all the provisions of salvation in relation to Christian life. Thirdly is the principle stating man's responsibility to his God because he has the capability for good as well as bad. Fourthly is the principle of how the Covenant of Works articulates God's will and man's commitment. Fifthly is the principle underlining that the Law of God requires flawless obedience. Sixthly is the principle stating that God as a perfect Being and cannot require less than perfection in His Moral Law.

Overall, everything a Christ follower does should follow from the impact of the union we have with Christ within Soteriology. It is through God's grace and affectionate love that we can have this gift, and it should not be taken lightly. The union with Christ sets the foundation of the blessings that God wants to, and gets to freely give unto us. The union of Christ also models that of how the church should interact with each other. Christ should always be at the forefront of everything that we did, do, and will ever do. Salvation saves us, and protects us from something, whether that something is a location, such as Hell, or something else, I do not know. Salvation is His way of protecting us once we are not physically on earth anymore. Possibly there is something greater out there that He feels we need to be protected from. Perhaps we do not realize how dangerous His entire Kingdom is, and He wants to keep us safe. Either of these could be right, or a combination of both, or neither of them; however, there has to be something that His salvation would protect us and keep us safe from.

As a reflection and thinking upon the doctrine of soteriology, and more specifically the sub-topic of the union on Christ, it can now be realized how deeply it has impacted personal lives. It has given people more knowledge and wisdom regarding theology which has caused them to fall even more in love with Jesus Christ, and His life. On another level, when John mentions "if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our home in him" it reminds the believers how special they are to be loved by God so perfect.

By becoming the perfect sacrifice, Christ took everyone's sins and became the ultimate substitute for our deserved death. It is because of this those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ bear the righteousness of God. "For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God". Christ never knew sin, and was faultless and blameless, therefore making Him the perfect and only sacrifice that could take our place as sinners. By dying on the cross and raising to life three days later, not only did He fulfill prophecy, but He also gave mankind the greatest gift it never deserved. This gave us the union on Christ. As the church spawned out of the medieval ages and into the time of 1517-1648 AD, reformation and the counter-reformation were at hand. The Roman Catholic Church sought control over the priesthood, therefore making the Bible the declared rule of faith (Pfaff & Katie, 757-776). The Roman Catholic Church believed that only those who were qualified could read the Scriptures until Martin Luther rose and challenged that belief. Because of him, we can fully understand the text that has been given to us, rather than blindly following what the church tells us (Luther, Clayborne & Susan 1992).

Scripture if filled with examples of how we as believers in Christ have that special union with our creator such as in the book of John, and so on and so forth (Horton & Scott). Paul was a huge proponent of such teachings, and filled the entire New Testament with it, reminding everyone that Christ is within them if they so choose. If one so chooses to do so, the Holy Spirit is then granted unto that individual, and Christ guides them throughout their walk, whether that be through attitude changes, character, perspective, or even bitterness. While Christ knows that we will struggle with these things, it is this access that we have that will help guide one's steps.

Conclusion

Salvation and what happens to us after death is a very common train of thought for everyone in life. Everyone wonders where they are going, if we will be saved, and what, in the end, truly happens to us. Salvation twists and turns our minds when we think about the different options. While we don't know what truly happens, the questions go through our mind, and we will always wonder if salvation is coming to us. What exactly Salvation is, and what it saves us from, will never fully be explained, as we cannot be brought back from the dead. No one can go there, and meet God, and then come back to tell the living world what we will experience. Salvation is a topic we know very little about. As believers, we hope that He is out there, waiting to save us when we are no longer living human beings, but we do not know what is out there. Our minds will always be wondering, salvation will continue twisting and turning our minds, until the day we die.

Reference

Schoeman, R. H. (2003). Salvation is from the Jews (John 4: 22): The Role of Judaism in Salvation History from Abraham to the Second Coming. Ignatius Press.

King, Martin Luther, Clayborne Carson, and Susan Carson. The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Volume VI: Advocate of the Social Gospel, September 1948 March 1963. Vol. 6. Univ of California Press, 1992.

The Bible. King James Version, Edited by Solvus Lab.

Pfaff, Steven, and Katie E. Corcoran. "Piety, power, and the purse: religious economies theory and urban reform in the Holy Roman Empire." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 51.4 (2012): 757-776.

Horton, Michael Scott. Covenant and salvation: Union with Christ. Presbyterian Publishing Corp, 2007.