Salvation in Christianity

In Christianity, the concept of salvation refers to the act of God saving humanity from the consequences and dangers of sin. As the central pillar of the Christian faith, salvation is considered possible on both a grand scale and personal level. For example, Christians believe that God’s son, Jesus Christ, was sent to Earth in human form and later died to save humanity from original sin. Personal salvation involves seeking God’s forgiveness for sinning, or breaking his divine law. Without God’s forgiveness, Christians believe a person will experience a form of spiritual death in which one’s soul is separated from God for eternity.

Background

The Book of Genesis in the Christian Bible's Old Testament says that God created the heavens, the Earth, and all living things in six days. It was on the sixth day that God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and placed them in a paradise on Earth known as the Garden of Eden. According to Christian beliefs, Adam and Eve were pure and innocent beings who lived in a world without sin. In Genesis, God gives Adam and Eve dominion over all life on Earth, but issues them one command—they are forbidden to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, one of two trees at the garden’s center. God warns them that if they eat from the tree, they will die.

One of the garden’s creatures, the serpent, tempts Eve into eating from the tree, telling her that if she does, she will be like God and gain his wisdom. Eve shares the fruit with Adam, resulting in them immediately recognizing their nakedness and losing their innocence. For disobeying his command, God tells Adam and Eve that their lives, and the lives of their descendants, will be filled with hardship, and he banishes them from the garden.

Overview

Christians believe Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God brought the first sin into the world, a concept known as original sin. The term original sin is itself not found in the Bible, although the idea is hinted at in several of the letters of Paul the Apostle in the New Testament. In the centuries after Christianity’s founding, theologians developed the concept of original sin as an inherited sin, passed down to all humans since the time of Adam and Eve. Original sin is present in everyone from birth and represents the natural tendency of humans to commit sin.

According to Christian beliefs, sin divides people from God and keeps them from being in his presence—an idea seen as a type of spiritual death. To remove the original sin that began with Adam and Eve, God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to Earth to save humanity through his suffering and death. A common Christian belief is that because of original sin, the souls of those who died prior to Jesus’ death could not enter heaven to be in the presence of God. By dying on the cross, Jesus sacrificed himself as a form of atonement for original sin. In doing so, he provided salvation to the souls who had been waiting to enter heaven. His act also left open the possibility of heaven to all humans from that point on.

Another Christian concept concerning salvation holds to the idea that God and Satan are in a constant battle for the souls of humanity. By disobeying god, Adam and Eve brought sin into each human soul, allowing Satan to hold those souls in a sort of captivity. By his death, Jesus paid the ultimate form of ransom to free those souls from Satan and allow them to enter heaven. This concept is referred to as Christus Victor, noting the triumph of Jesus over the forces of evil.

While these larger concepts of salvation concern the role Jesus’s death played in giving humanity the possibility of reaching heaven, most branches of Christianity have diverse ideas on how individuals may achieve personal salvation. In general, Christians believe that the effects of sin must be removed before they can achieve salvation, and this can only be accomplished through the grace of God. The Christian concept of grace refers to a divine assistance or approval that God grants to humans.

In many Protestant denominations, salvation is believed to be attainable only through a spiritual rebirth in which people completely accept Jesus Christ into their lives. To do this, Christians must fully accept that Jesus Christ was the son of God and came to Earth to die for humanity’s sins. This complete faith in Jesus establishes a deep personal relationship with God, a necessary condition to receive his grace and achieve salvation. According to many Protestant Christians, God will return to Earth at the end of the world to judge all humanity. At this time, those who have sinned and not accepted Jesus as their savior will be separated from God’s presence and punished for eternity. However, God will view those who have accepted Jesus as sinless and will welcome them into heaven.

For Catholics, salvation is also achieved through God’s grace, but the process is more complex and relies on more than faith in Jesus. Catholics do believe that faith is necessary for salvation, but they also believe a person needs to take a more active part in the process. One of the ways to do this is by receiving the sacraments, seven special rites in which humans can receive God’s grace. While believers do not have to receive all seven to gain salvation, two of the sacraments—Baptism and Penance—have a direct role in the process. Baptism is the sacrament of initiation in which a person is welcomed into the Catholic Church. During Baptism, Catholics believe that original sin is removed from the soul, the first condition for eventual salvation. Penance, also known as confession or reconciliation, is a sacrament in which believers admit their sins, express sorrow, and promise to make amends. Catholics believe that people who die without atoning for their sins cannot achieve immediate salvation. Those who have committed less serious sins can eventually reach heaven after a period of atonement in purgatory. However, those souls who have committed more serious sins can never find salvation and will suffer eternal punishment in hell.

Bibliography

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Fairchild, Mary. “What the Bible Says about Sin.” Learn Religions, 2 July 2018, www.learnreligions.com/what-is-sin-700703. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

Holcomb, Justin S., editor. Christian Theologies of Salvation: A Comparative Introduction. New York UP, 2017.

McGrath, Alister E. “The Nature and Basis of Salvation.” Christian Theology: An Introduction, 7th ed., Wiley-Blackwell, 2024, pp. 288–326.

Murray, Michael J., and Michael Rea. “Philosophy and Christian Theology.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 15 Oct. 2021, plato.stanford.edu/entries/christiantheology-philosophy. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

Roat, Alyssa. “Is Public Confession Necessary for Salvation?” Christianity.com, 1 June 2020, www.christianity.com/wiki/salvation/is-public-confession-necessary-for-salvation.html. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

White, Lesli. “What Is Salvation According to the Bible?” Beliefnet, www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/articles/what-is-salvation-according-to-the-bible.aspx. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.