The Nature of Christian Salvation

The Nature of Christian Salvation

Christianity emphasises God’s concern for the salvation of every human being. Soteriology is the theological study of salvation. Christian salvation is in Jesus Christ. He died and resurrected from the dead to give us victory over death. We must believe in him in order for us to be saved. He bought us from sin and made us the righteous and holy children of God. He is the mediator between us and God.  

3.1  Christian Salvation is in the Person of Jesus Christ Christianity teaches how God made Himself known in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation (see Jesus’ “I am the way, the truth and the life”, John 14:6). By its fourth statement of faith, The Church of Pentecost maintains that salvation cannot be found or obtained in any other person, religion, belief or creed, except through faith in Christ’s atoning work on the Cross at Calvary. Indeed, Christianity proclaims that salvation is of God. God saved us when Christ died on the Cross at Calvary. This is an historical fact. First, salvation is based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Second, our salvation came about because of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

In Christ, God has done all that is necessary to save humanity from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; cf. Col. 3:6; Rom. 1:18; 2:8). Christ personifies the grace of God “so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21, NIV). That God sacrificed Himself in the death of Jesus Christ implies that God is a God of salvation.  He has saved His people from the guilt and clutches of sin and will save them from His wrath to come.  

In Christ, God no longer condemns persons who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour (Rom. 8:1-4; John 3:18). Again, in Christ, believers are able to please God by the help of God’s Spirit who lives in them. They have become God’s priceless and glorious possession in Christ (Eph. 1:1-4). Meanwhile, the full realisation of this awaits the eschaton, that is, the end of the age when creation will come to an end. It is, therefore, wholly appropriate that the Son of God, by whom the divine purpose of salvation was achieved, should have been called Jesus, which means “Saviour.” Thus, salvation through faith in the finished work (meaning we do not/cannot add anything more to it) of Christ is the central theme of the whole Bible.  

3.1.1  Christ our Redeemer  

The Church of Pentecost agrees with church fathers such as Athanasius that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our mediator is forever superior to any sacrifice required under the Old Testament Law. In the words of Paul, “For Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed” (1 Cor. 5:7). Similarly, Augustine wrote that “by his death, which is indeed the one and most true sacrifice offered for us, [Christ] purged, abolished, and extinguished whatever guilt there was by which the principalities and powers lawfully detained us to pay the penalty”.73 Christ achieved this as both the priest and victim “in order to prevent anyone from thinking that such a sacrifice should be offered to any creature.”

 We can see how Augustine agrees with Paul that salvation frees the Christian believer from the guilt of sin and the intimidation of cosmic powers and rules (Col. 2:15). Hence, in Christ the believer is no longer a victim but rather the victor over Satan, sin, death and all that the unbeliever fears (see also Heb. 2:14-18; 1 John 3:8).  

The fact that the sacrifice of Christ atoned for the sins of humanity has been challenged since the Enlightenment.The image of Christ’s death as a ransom came up during the Patristic76 times with diverse interpretations. Ransom carries the idea that a debtor is paid an amount to free a victim or captive. The Church of Pentecost believes that Christ did not have to pay the Devil anything for our redemption since it is not Satan that humanity offended. Rather, it is God that was offended by our sins and must be appeased. It was necessary, therefore, that the righteous standard of God be satisfied fully by someone without sin, who is Jesus Christ. Thus, the death of Jesus Christ satisfied fully God’s holy and righteous demand necessary for reconciling God with humanity.  

3.1.2  Christ our Mediator 

Indeed, like Paul, the author of Hebrews says that Jesus is superior to the angels, Moses and Aaron, and His atoning sacrifice is superior to and better than the sacrifices made by the Hebrew priests (Heb. 3:1-11; 5-13). His death in the place of human beings solved the human fear of death. By His death He once and for all time destroyed Satan’s intimidation with death (Heb. 2:14). Again, by His death, He became the best qualified priest on our behalf before God in heaven. According to Hebrews 4:14-16, because Jesus became a human being, He understands the weaknesses and challenges of serving God in the human flesh. Therefore, He is able to help those who go to Him for mercy. So we must “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16, NIV). Since we have a merciful high priest in Christ, we can trust Him with our present lives and future. The death of Christ has opened to us “a new and living way” to enter God’s presence as His redeemed saints. We can enjoy this gracious opportunity by faith. But faith is powerless when we harbour sin, dishonesty, insincerity, hypocrisy in our hearts. So, we must deal with every mental guilt since if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20).  

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb. 10:19-23, NIV) 

It is important to trust Christ our great high priest. We must make it possible and easy for our fellow Christians to benefit from the sacrifice of Christ. Simply, we can enjoy the mediation of Christ fully through encouraging one another to love and do good works. Since we have such a high priest we must cultivate corporate Christian worship as a habit (Heb. 10:23-25). 

3.1.3 Our Resurrected Christ In the view of the New Testament evangelists, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the fulcrum and climax of salvation. Because Jesus was God He was able to foretell His death and resurrection. Unlike others whom He brought back from death, Jesus did not need any human help to resurrect. The Holy Spirit resurrected Him and thereby defeated death for all who believe in Him. On the one hand, the resurrection of Christ assures believers of their own resurrection from the dead; the power of death is broken on the final resurrection of the saints (1 Cor. 15: 42-58; Rev. 20:5, 6). He was raised from the dead as the first fruit of those who die (1 Cor. 15:20). Believers are united with Christ in His resurrection to live above sin (Rom. 6:5). On the other hand, the resurrection of Christ portends the judgement and destruction of the unsaved. Whereas believers participate in the first resurrection to be with the Lord, the second resurrection will see the unsaved stand condemned before the Lord (Rev. 20:15).