Study 96 – The Doctrine of Salvation

Soteriology = Salvation

The overall definition of 'Salvation' is expressed in many encyclopedias of religion and this one below
is from the popular International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) which states:

..."salvation" denotes the whole process by which man is delivered from all that would prevent
his attaining to the highest good that God has prepared for him. Or, by a transferred sense,
"salvation" denotes the actual enjoyment of that good...” ( Vol IV p. 2665).

Hamartiology and Soteriology are seen as complementary.

• Hamartiology shows man's need of Salvation; Soteriology reveals God's provision of salvation
through Christ.
• Sin is the question; salvation is the answer.
• Sin is the problem; salvation is the solution.
• Sin is the disease; salvation is the remedy.
• It is man who sinned (Hamartiology); it is God who saves (Salvation).

Soteriology can be broken down into smaller divisions under the same umbrella, or category. Many of
these sub-categories have been already touched upon in previous studies. The sub-categories can be
broken down, or separated out for specific reasons and these are generally in 12 sub-categories which
are listed here. As a note here I would like to point out that a sub-category is called a sub-section which
is noted in technical literature, religious or not, with the symbol § which is a double 'S'.

1) Four Changes Required. (1) a change in physical nature, (2) a change in position before God, (3) a
change in character, (4) a change in conduct.

• Physical – man is mortal and subject to death. Man needs to be changed to immortality.
• Position – or standing before God we are sinners and under condemnation and wrath. Man
needs to stand before God 'in Christ'
• Character – in character or inward nature, man is sinful. We are governed by self, carnal
nature, the flesh otherwise known as the old man. Instead of being dominated by the self we
need to be directed by Christ through His spirit.
• Conduct – conduct or actions, man sins and produces works of the flesh. We need to live in
righteousness and this happens when we are filled with His spirit which produces 'fruit'.

Our final physical change from mortality to immortality will come at the return of Jesus.

2) Three Factors of Salvation. (1) God's grace, (2) Christ's death. (3) man's faith.

God's grace is the origin of salvation; Christ's death is the basis of salvation; man's faith is the
condition of salvation.
3) Two Sides of Salvation. The two sides are the divine and human aspect. (1) Divine side refers to what
God does in salvation, (2) Human side refers to what man must do in accepting salvation.

4) Three Elements of Conversion. These three elements are; (1) repentance, (2) faith, (3) baptism.
Conversion is what man does in accepting salvation. When we read in the Bible of only one of the three
then the other two are included or implied in the conversion process. Sometimes there can be other
elements involved like faith. Faith comes by hearing the gospel message and although it may not be
directly part of the account written for us it is to be presupposed. Hearing and understanding the basics
of the gospel message are absolutely necessary if one is to accept it. (Heb. 6:1-2; Mark 1:15, 16:16;
Acts 2:38, 20:21)

5) Three Elements of Repentance. (1) recognition of sin, (2) regret of sin, (3) renunciation of sin.
Recognition of sin is related to man's intellect; regret of sin, to his sensibilities and finally the
renunciation of sin is related to his will. The true heart of repentance is the renunciation of sin.
Intellect, sensibilities, and will make up the three elements of personality. Repentance therefore
includes a change in thinking, feeling, and purpose in relation to sin.

6) The Three Elements of Faith. (1) belief, (2) confidence, (3) trust. The first element, belief, has to do
with our intellect; confidence, to our sensibilities; trust, to our will. The essence of saving faith is trust
and appropriation. Trust includes surrender, Surrender is related to Jesus as Lord; appropriation is
related to Jesus as Sacrifice.

7) Seven Doctrines of Salvation. (1) forgiveness, (2) Justification, (3) reconciliation, (4) redemption,
(5) sanctification, (6) newness of life, (7) adoption.
These seven sub-sections will be expanded on as we move forward on this topic.

8) Legal and Vital Aspects of Salvation. The legal part of salvation deals with what Christ did for us as
believers. The vital part of salvation deals with what Christ did in us. Christ's sacrificial death makes
possible a proper legal relation to God. The vital relationship with God is possible because of His
indwelling power of His spirit. What Christ did for us is external, objective, positional; what Christ
does in us is internal, subjective, personal. The legal aspect of salvation concerns Christ's sacrificial
death and justification by faith.

9) Redemptive Prepositions. In soteriology there are words (prepositions) that describe for us the
relationship we have with God and believers done through the works of Christ. Without the work of
Christ we would have no access to God on account of our sin. ie. The prepositional phrase 'into
Christ' Gal. 3:27 is seen as a summary statement of the complete conversion. The phrase 'in you'
refers to the believers new character change. When Christ dwells in the believer's life through His
Spirit then we can say that Christ is in the believer. The phrase 'with Christ' refers to the believers
future glorification.

10) Imputed and Imparted Righteousness. In order to have have righteousness which counts with God,
one must must become properly related to Christ. Mankind has no merit with his works as far as God is
concerned. Our own works, no matter how good they seem, have no value outside a relationship with
Jesus. These types of good works are seen only as self-righteousnes or sometimes known as works of
the flesh. God declares someone is justified only through the lens of one's relationship with Hs Son.
When someone becomes a Christian then their works are imputed to Christ, if done with Him in mind,
and Christ's righteousness is then imparted to them. In other words, doing something good or righteous
is of no value to the non-Christian and Christian alike.
11) Five Relationships. There are five principle terms used to describe the Christian's relationship with
Christ. 1) believer, 2) branch, 3) body, 4) building, 5) bride. Christ is Sacrifice, Substitute, and
Savior ; the Christian is a believer. Christ is the vine ; the Christian is a branch. Christ is the Head ;
the Christian is the body. Christ is the Foundation ; the Christian is the building. Christ is the
Bridegroom ; the Christian is the bride.

12) Three Tenses of Salvation. There are three tenses of salvation. Christians experience a past
salvation which is an accomplished fact through Christ's work for us. There is a present salvation
which is a progressive process in our daily life as we interact with Christ. Finally, we have a future
hope promised to us. The believer can claim, 'I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be
saved.' Through the sacrificial death of Jesus saved believers from the penalty of sin. When someone
believes the good news and continues to walk in it for the remainder of their life then there will be no
condemnation (Rom. 8:1). Those who accept this good news are then justified before God.

When Christ dwells within the believer through His power, He progressively saves them from the
power of sin. The power of sin is the influence that sin and sinful habits exert upon all mankind. The
power of Christ counterbalances the power of the self, the carnal mind. By walking in the Spirit, the
believer does not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal, 5:16).

These catagories will get adequate treatment in their future studies which will go into more detail and
will be backed up with scriptural cross references.