Over the past four weeks we have looked at the concept of salvation from a number of angles. We know that it is central to scripture, that it is a promise of eternal life in God's coming Kingdom, and that there are different ways that scripture implies that salvation can be gained or lost (grace/faith vs. Law/works or election/chosen vs. choice/free will). Today we will look at how the church has dealt with these seemingly contradictory messages in the Bible.
Across the centuries there have been two great debates about the issue of how one gains or loses salvation. The first occurred in the early 400s (CE). The debate was between Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in North Africa and Pelagius, a British Monk who lived and wrote from Rome. Augustine was among the early proponents of Original Sin. First mentions by Irenaeus (2nd century) Original Sin was the idea that in Adam's fall sin arrived in the world and was passed down from generation to generation. This passing on of Original Sin was often seen as the result of sexual relations which Augustine declared to be sinful in and of themselves. The outcome of sin then was that "the will" in every human being (meaning the ability to choose the Godly thing) was corrupted (sinful) and thus humans were bound for damnation. The only way that human beings could be saved was by God freely choosing to make the liberating work of Christ on the cross real in their lives (called imputation of righteousness). Thus Augustine argues that salvation is the result of our being chosen or elected by God for salvation.
Pelagius on the other hand argued that Original Sin did not exist and that human beings were free to choose between sin/death and obedience/salvation. In so doing Pelagius was following in the footsteps of many of the early church Fathers. Early theologians such as Justin Martyr (100-165 CE), Irenaeus (2nd century), Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE) and Tertullian (160-225 CE) all were very clear that human beings had the ability to make free choices. Their argument was that if human beings did not have free choice then they could not be held responsible for their actions, and thus there would be no condemnation for sin. The sin of Adam was not passed down but was merely a bad example. They also argued that if Original Sin was real then infants who died before they could be baptized (baptism was seen as cleansing from original sin) could not be saved, which was the view of Augustine and his followers. Thus salvation for Pelagius is a free choice which every human being can make.
The second great debate about these issues took place during the Reformation around the turn of the 17th century. On the one hand there were Calvinists who believed that all human beings are sinful and that only by being chosen for salvation through the unmerited favor of God could someone enter the Kingdom. One way in which they described their view was T.U.L.I.P. This referred to Total depravity (humans cannot save themselves); Unconditional Election (God freely chooses us); Limited atonement (Jesus work on the cross only applies to those chosen by God); Irresistible grace (if God wants someone saved God will save them); and Perseverance of the saints (once God has ahold of you God will never let you go). Thus salvation was based on election and grace, not free choice and works.
On the opposite side of the fence were those who followed Jacobus Arminius. Arminius and his followers argued that election by God was based not on God's choice but on the free choice of every human being; Christ's work on the cross was only applied to those who asked for it through faith; that grace is resistible; and that people can wander away from God and be lost. Thus salvation was based on a free choice and could be lost if someone chose not to believe or to be obedient to God.
In today's world Presbyterian and Reformed congregations favor the Augustine/Calvinist view while Baptists, Methodists, Congregationalist and some Unitarian/Universalists favor the Pelagiun/Arminian view. Next week we will look at a modern Reformed (Presbyterian) take on salvation.
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