SOTERIA: Salvation, the Savior and the Saved (1)

SOTERIA: Salvation, the Savior and the Saved (1)

Article by Pastor O’femi Ogunyemi

INTRODUCTION

Salvation is the Bible’s grandest theme and the heart of the Bible’s revelation. Salvation, Greek soteria, has several meanings like deliverance, preservation, restoration, and healing. In Christian theology, it is used specially and specifically to denote the entire activities of God in rescuing man from his miserableness in sin. Salvation captures the entire works of God by which He delivers sinful man from the penalties and power of sin and bestows on him His glorious riches, including eternal life and the provisions for a rich life. 

 

A MULTIFACETED WORK OF GOD

Salvation is not a singular event. Viewing salvation as such will rob us of seeing the vastness and richness of God’s salvation. And, it is why some think of salvation as what can be lost. But the Bible’s revelation shows salvation, not as a one time event, but a broad doctrine that captures all of God’s gracious actions to rescue man from sin and bring him into His life, e.g.  justification, adoption, etc.

 

At times, each of these actions is used to represent salvation, and it is okay, but they are distinct acts of God that culminates to salvation. For example, justification and adoption are distinct aspects of salvation. So, salvation is a broad theme that captures the whole acts of God to rescue man from sin, starting from the point when man comes to Christ by faith and continuing through his lifetime, and is  completed at the return of Christ.

 

CURE FOR MAN’S MISERABLENESS

Salvation highlights man’s miserableness in the hands of sin. That man needs saving shows that he is in a miserable state. The fall through Adam brought terrible consequences upon the human race. Let’s see a few.

 

• DEATH (Romans 5:12). All of us died in Adam, spiritually. God warned about this in Genesis 2:16-17. After the fall, though physically alive, yet Adam truly died! His spiritual life, faculties and abilities were destroyed. He became incapable of having relationship with God. It is into this state that all of us are born (Ephesians 2:1-3, 5; Ephesians 4:17-19; 1 Corinthians 2:14).

 

• ALIENATION (Ephesians 4:17-18). Man was separated from God. He lives without God in this world. This makes him vulnerable to sin. He lacks the divine abilities to live right. He is in the grip of sin.

 

• GUILT. Man is troubled by a feeling of guilt for his sins. His sins haunt him. He tries hard to suppress it through more sinful acts. Regardless of the bold face that many put on, all sinners are tormented inwardly by the guilt for their sins and the thought of the coming judgment of God. 

 

• ETERNAL DEATH. Man’s eternal fate was cast in the fall. He is condemned to an eternity away from God, to be tormented in hell,  (Matthew 25:41-46; Revelation 21:8). This is the dreadful course on which sin has set man

 

• HELPLESSNES. The worst of man’s conditions is his utter helplessness. Man is utterly incapable of saving himself from the damnation of sin and bringing himself into right relationship with God (Romans 5:6-8).

 

But, God in His kindness, provided a plan to salvage man from the dreadful consequences of sin through Christ Jesus. In salvation, God undos the damages that sin did to man, rendering man as if he never messed up, and reconciling man to Himself. The Bible spoke beautifully about the state of those who obtain God’s salvation.

 

ROMANS 8:1 [TPT]:

“So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One.”

 

COLOSSIANS 1.19-22 [TPT]:

19 “For God is satisfied to have all his fullness dwelling in Christ. 20 And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself— back to its original intent, restored to innocence again!” 21 Even though you were once distant from him, living in the shadows of your evil thoughts and actions, he reconnected you back to himself. He released his supernatural peace to you 22 through the sacrifice of his own body as the sin-payment on your behalf so that you would dwell in his presence. And now there is nothing between you and Father God, for he sees you as holy, flawless, and restored, And by the blood of his cross, everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself— back to its original intent, restored to innocence again!”

 

God, by Christ, utterly forgives sinners, rendering them as though they never sinned. But the best part is that God bestows His glorious riches, including eternal life and the provisions for a rich life, on unworthy people. Praise God! This is the gospel—a too good to be true news! (See JOHN 3:16, 36; EPHESIANS 1:3-8; 2:4-10.)

 

JOHN 3.16, 36:

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life… 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

 

Through salvation, God justifies condemned men, and makes them partakers of His glorious riches.

 

(To be continued in the next episode.)