the Third Week of Advent
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Dictionaries
Salvation Save Saviour
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or 1. Words referring to salvation in the NT outside the Gospels (for Gospels see Dict. of Christ and the Gospels ii. 552-557, 571-573).-σώζειν (‘to save’) is generally used for spiritual deliverance. The exceptions in the Acts are Acts 4:9; Acts 14:9, where it is used for healing from bodily infirmity, and Acts 27:20; Acts 27:31, where it is used for deliverance from shipwreck. In the other passages in the Acts (Acts 2:40; Acts 2:47, Acts 4:12, Acts 11:14, Acts 15:1; Acts 15:11, Acts 16:30-31) it is used to denote spiritual deliverance. The link between the two meanings may be seen in the quotation from Joel 3:5 (Heb.; Joel 2:32 Eng.) cited in Acts 2:21; cf. Romans 10:13. σώζειν refers to the deliverance from Egypt in Judges 1:5; to deliverance from death in Hebrews 5:7; to spiritual deliverance in Romans 5:9-10; Romans 8:24; Romans 9:27; Romans 10:9; Romans 10:13; Romans 11:14; Romans 11:26, 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 7:16; 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Corinthians 10:33; 1 Corinthians 15:2, 2 Corinthians 2:15, Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:16, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 1:9; 2 Timothy 4:18, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 7:25, James 1:21; James 2:14; James 4:12; James 5:20, 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Peter 4:18, Judges 1:23. In James 5:15 (‘the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick’) σώζειν is interpreted of bodily healing by many commentators; but the general context of a chapter which as a whole relates to what is spiritual, the immediate context associating forgiveness of sins with the particular command (‘and, if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him’), and the use of the word ‘healed’ in the next verse to denote healing from sin, concur to indicate that here also the word, as usually in the Epistles, means spiritual deliverance. Any difficulty in understanding ἐγείρω in ‘the Lord shall raise him up’ of spiritual succour is less than that of explaining ‘the prayer of faith shall save’ of bodily healing in this context.
σωτήρ (‘saviour’), used in the Gospels for God (Luke 1:47) and Christ (Luke 2:11, John 4:42), similarly in the Acts and the Epistles refers to God in 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:10, Titus 1:3; Titus 2:10; Titus 3:4, Judges 1:25; and to Christ in Acts 5:31; Acts 13:23, Ephesians 5:23 (‘the saviour of the body’), Philippians 3:20, 2 Timothy 1:10, Titus 1:4; Titus 2:13; Titus 3:6, 2 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 2:20; 2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:18, 1 John 4:14.
σωτηρία (‘salvation’), used in the Gospels for spiritual deliverance in general, but connected with the idea of salvation through the Messiah (Luke 1:69; Luke 1:71; Luke 1:77; Luke 19:9, John 4:22), occurs for the deliverance from Egypt in Acts 7:25, for deliverance from death in shipwreck in Acts 27:34, for the deliverance of Noah in Hebrews 11:7. It is used for spiritual deliverance in Acts 4:12; Acts 13:26; Acts 13:47; Acts 16:17, Romans 1:18; Romans 10:1; Romans 10:10; Romans 11:11; Romans 13:11, 2 Corinthians 1:6; 2 Corinthians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 7:10, Ephesians 1:13, Philippians 1:19; Philippians 1:28; Philippians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:10; 2 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 2:3; Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 5:9; Hebrews 6:9; Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 1:9-10; 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:15, Judges 1:3. Eleven (Romans 10:1; Romans 13:11, Philippians 1:19; Philippians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, 2 Timothy 2:10, Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 5:9; Hebrews 9:28, 1 Peter 1:5; 1 Peter 2:2) of these instances refer to the future and ultimate salvation; the other instances refer, at any rate partly, to the salvation in this life. In Revelation 7:10 (‘Salvation unto our God which sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb’) Revelation 12:10 (‘Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ’) Revelation 19:1 (‘Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God’), there is a special way of using the word.
σωτήριον (‘salvation’), used in the Gospels for spiritual deliverance through the Incarnation (Luke 2:30; Luke 3:6), occurs in St. Paul’s speech in Acts 28:28 for spiritual deliverance through the Incarnation, and in Ephesians 6:17 for spiritual deliverance, the future being largely in view. In Luke 2:30; Luke 3:6, Acts 28:28 it is from Isaiah 40:5; Isaiah 52:10 (Septuagint ); in Ephesians 6:17 it is from Isaiah 59:17 (Septuagint ).
σωτήριος (‘bringing salvation’) occurs in Titus 2:11 for spiritual deliverance through the Incarnation.
2. Connexion of NT words with OT words.-The analogous words in the OT are used for external deliverance, for a combination of external and spiritual deliverance, and very rarely for spiritual deliverance simply. The new feature in the NT is the frequent application to spiritual deliverance simply and to the supreme spiritual deliverance through the Incarnation. In the OT the verb יָשַׁע: (yâsha‛), meaning etymologically ‘width,’ ‘spaciousness,’ ‘freedom from constraint,’ usually denotes external deliverance; see, e.g., Deuteronomy 20:4, Judges 3:31, 1 Samuel 10:27, Psalms 28:9, Hosea 1:7; it denotes spiritual deliverance in Ezekiel 36:29; Ezekiel 37:23. The noun תּשׁוּעָה; (yeshû‛âh) is used for external deliverance in, e.g., Exodus 14:13, 1 Samuel 14:45, Psalms 3:8, Jonah 2:9, for the cognate sense of welfare or prosperity in Job 30:15, and for a combination of external and spiritual deliverance in, e.g., Isaiah 12:2-3; Isaiah 45:17; Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 51:8; Isaiah 51:8; Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 52:10; Isaiah 56:1, Psalms 67:2; Psalms 98:2, though possibly some of these are instances of spiritual deliverance simply. The noun תּשׁוּעָה (teshû‛âh) is used for external deliverance in, e.g., Judges 15:18, 1 Samuel 11:9; 1 Samuel 11:13, Psalms 37:39, and for a combination of external and spiritual deliverance in Isaiah 45:17; Isaiah 46:13, Psalms 40:10; Psalms 40:16; Psalms 51:14, though possibly in some of these instances for spiritual deliverance simply. The noun יַשַׁע (yçsha‛) is used for external deliverance in, e.g., Habakkuk 3:13, Psalms 12:5; Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:35; Psalms 18:46, for the cognate sense of preserved security in Job 5:4; Job 5:11, and for a combination of external and spiritual deliverance in, e.g., Micah 7:7, Habakkuk 3:18, Psalms 24:5; Psalms 25:5; Psalms 51:12, though possibly Psalms 51:12 may refer to spiritual deliverance simply. The noun מוֹשׁעִה (môshâ‛âh) occurs in Psalms 68:20 only; it there denotes, at any rate chiefly, external deliverance. (For the use of the Hebrew words see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, 1890, pp. 90, 91 [21913, pp. 118, 119]; The Parallel Psalter2, 1904, pp. 455, 456.)
3. Idea of salvation.-A characteristic thought of the NT is that salvation is past, present, and future. This may be seen with regard both to the actual words relating to salvation and to different expressions of the idea. Christians are spoken of as those who have been saved, and who are in possession of a salvation which they can use or neglect: ‘By grace have ye been saved,’ ‘By grace have ye been saved through faith’ (Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8); ‘According to his mercy he saved us’ (Titus 3:5); ‘How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?’ (Hebrews 2:3). Yet salvation is also future. As a helmet ‘the hope of salvation’ is to be ‘put on’ (1 Thessalonians 5:8). ‘Now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed’ (Romans 13:11). Those who now have been justified by Christ’s blood have yet to be saved through Him from the wrath (Romans 5:9); and those who have been reconciled to God through Christ’s death have yet to be saved by His life (Romans 5:10). Christians are bidden to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12); salvation is said to be ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5), although it is now received by a foretaste (1 Peter 1:9). Christians are at some future time to inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). While Christ has been once for all offered to bear the sins of many, He has yet to appear for salvation to those who wait for Him (Hebrews 9:28). The same three aspects-a past gift, a present possession, a future inheritance-are to be traced also in regard to eternal life, redemption, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Kingdom of Heaven, phrases which afford different expressions of the idea of salvation. In the Fourth Gospel eternal life is the present possession of the believer (John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:47, John 6:54, John 12:50, John 17:2). This is indicated not only by the use of the present tense, but also by that which is asserted about eternal life. To believe, to hear the word, to eat the flesh of the Son of Man, to drink His blood, to be growing in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, are all acts and conditions possible and realized in the present life. But the present possession is also a step towards future attainment. This is hinted at in John 6:40; John 6:54, and more distinctly shown in John 4:14; John 4:36, John 6:27, Hebrews 12:25. Similarly in 1 Jn. the present character of eternal life is indicated in 1 John 3:15, 1 John 5:11-13; 1Jn_5:20; the futurity of it is suggested in 1 John 2:25, and a link between the two is hinted at in 1 John 1:2. In the rest of the NT the idea of what is future preponderates. Acts 13:46; Acts 13:48, Romans 6:22-23, 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 Timothy 6:12 are ambiguous; in Matthew 19:16 (Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18), Matthew 19:29; Matthew 25:46, Mark 10:30, Luke 10:25; Luke 18:30, Romans 2:7, Titus 1:2; Titus 3:7, Judges 1:21 the phrase refers to the future. ‘Redemption’ is used in Luke 1:68; Luke 2:38 and ‘redeem’ in Luke 24:21 for the redemption to be accomplished by the Messiah, and ‘redemption’ is used in Luke 21:28 for that which is to accompany the coming of the Son of Man after our Lord’s earthly ministry ‘with power and great glory.’ In the Epistles redemption denotes a past work in Romans 3:24, Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 9:15, 1 Peter 1:18; a present possession in 1 Corinthians 1:30, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14; a future gift in Romans 8:23, Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30. In Titus 2:14 the word is ambiguous. Hebrews 11:35 is irrelevant. The gift of the Holy Ghost is spoken of as past, present, and to come. It has already been received in 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 4:8, James 4:5, 1 John 3:24. It is a present possession in 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 2:18. It is a future inheritance in Romans 8:23, 2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:3, Ephesians 1:14. Similarly, the Kingdom of Heaven or of God, which is the sphere in which salvation and redemption and the gift of the Holy Ghost are received, is spoken of sometimes as now existing, sometimes as to be established in the future. In Romans 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 4:19-20, Colossians 1:13; Colossians 4:11 it is viewed as present; in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:50, Galatians 5:21, Ephesians 5:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Peter 1:11, Revelation 11:15; Revelation 12:10 it is regarded as future. In the Gospels the present character is indicated in Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7; Matthew 11:11-12; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 12:13, Mark 1:15, Luke 9:2; Luke 9:27; Luke 9:60; Luke 9:62; Luke 10:11; signs of its future character are in Matthew 7:21; Matthew 13:41-43; Matthew 18:6; Matthew 18:9; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:34; Matthew 26:29, Mark 9:43-47; Mark 14:25, Luke 13:28-29; Luke 19:11; Luke 21:31; Luke 22:18; Luke 22:29-30. There is thus a consistent view throughout the NT in accordance with which salvation is regarded sometimes as already accomplished, sometimes as a present state, sometimes as an inheritance to be received in the future. In regard to the salvation thus represented in the NT as an abiding and growing possession the following points may be noticed.
(a) The deliverance which gives admission to the state of salvation is everywhere regarded as accomplished by Christ. In Acts 2:21-36 ‘the Lord’ of whom Joel (Joel 3:5 Heb.; Joel 2:32 Eng.) declared that through calling on His name there should be salvation is identified with Christ. In St. Peter’s speech in Acts 4:12 it is said that ‘in none other’ than ‘Jesus Christ of Nazareth’ ‘is there salvation; for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men whereby we must be saved.’ In the speech of St. Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:31 it is said that Jesus ‘did God exalt with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.’ In St. Peter’s speech at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:11 belief is expressed ‘that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jews] shall be saved, even as they [Gentiles].’ ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil world’ (Galatians 1:4). ‘In Christ Jesus’ the Gentiles ‘that once were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ’; and His work of peace was such as to ‘reconcile them both [Jews and Gentiles] in one body unto God through the cross’ (Ephesians 2:13-18). ‘The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory’ is ‘a saviour’ (Philippians 3:21). ‘Our Saviour Christ Jesus … abolished death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel’ (2 Timothy 1:10). He is described as ‘our Saviour’ (Titus 1:4; Titus 2:13; Titus 3:6), as ‘the author of’ ‘salvation’ (Hebrews 2:10), and ‘Saviour’ (2 Peter 1:1; 2 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 2:20; 2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:18), and as ‘the Saviour of the world’ (1 John 4:14).
(b) The means of the deliverance was notably Christ’s passion and death. According to St. Peter’s speech in Acts 2:23 it was ‘by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God’ that Christ was ‘delivered up,’ a fact implying the purpose accomplished by His death. According to St. Paul’s speech at Ephesus (Acts 20:28) Christ ‘purchased with his own blood’ ‘the church of God.’ ‘The word of the cross is’ ‘the power of God’ ‘unto us which are being saved’ (1 Corinthians 1:18). ‘Christ crucified’ is ‘unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks,’ ‘the power of God, and the wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). It was part of His work that ‘by the grace of God he should taste death for every man’ (Hebrews 2:9), That ‘he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation’ is mentioned in close connexion with His sufferings (Hebrews 5:8-9). ‘With precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ,’ were men ‘redeemed’ (1 Peter 1:18-19). He ‘loosed us from our sins by his blood’ (Revelation 1:5). To Him described as the Lamb it is said, ‘Thou vast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation’ (Revelation 5:9). ‘They which come out of the great tribulation … washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ (Revelation 7:14).
(c) The deliverance thus accomplished was from sin. In the speeches of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Acts, and in the words addressed to St. Paul at his conversion by Christ, the work of Christ is constantly associated with remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:38; Acts 26:18; cf. Revelation 1:5).
(d) The deliverance was also from the penalties of sin. ‘Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him’ (Romans 5:9). He ‘abolished death’ (2 Timothy 1:10). It was a purpose of His incarnation that ‘through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage’ (Hebrews 2:14-15).
(e) The reception of the deliverance is made possible by faith. ‘A man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law’ (Romans 3:28; cf. Romans 5:1). ‘A man is not justified by the works of the law save through faith in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 2:16). ‘By grace have ye been saved through faith’ (Ephesians 2:8).
(f) The faith which enables the Christian to lay hold on the deliverance includes life and action. In the teaching of St. Paul that which ‘availeth’ is ‘faith working through love’ (Galatians 5:6), and ‘faith’ in St. Paul’s writings habitually means more than mere intellectual belief and includes the moral attitude of surrender to God. St. James differentiates the faith which has not works, and doth not profit, and is dead, and is like the belief of the demons, and is barren (James 2:14-20), from the faith which is needed in prayer that is to be effectual and which makes those who have it rich (James 1:6, James 2:5, James 5:15).
(g) The salvation is far more than deliverance. It affords not only escape from the penalties of sin and from sin itself, but also admission to union with Christ, so that the saved are enabled to participate in His risen and ascended life. ‘All we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life’; ‘If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him’; ‘Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 6:3 f., Romans 6:8; Romans 6:11). ‘The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ?’ (1 Corinthians 10:16); ‘In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body’; ‘Ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof’ (1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Corinthians 12:27). ‘Ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.… Ye all are one man in Christ Jesus’ (Galatians 3:27-28). ‘That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith’ (Ephesians 3:17). ‘Having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God’ (Colossians 2:12). ‘If then ye were raised together with Christ’; ‘ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:1; Colossians 3:3). Thus the life of salvation which the Christian lives is a life in which he has been brought into Christ, is alive in Christ, partakes of Christ’s body and blood, is united in Christ to other Christians, and has Christ dwelling in his heart.
(h) So far as the possibility of receiving is concerned the life of salvation is open to all men, since ‘the living God … is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe’ (1 Timothy 4:10), though this must not be pushed to a denial of the correlative NT truth that there are possibilities of rejection and that there is eternal punishment as well as eternal life.
(i) The power of the salvation in some sense extends beyond man so as to affect the universe. ‘All things’ are eventually to be ‘subjected unto’ ‘the Son’ (1 Corinthians 15:28); it is the purpose of the Father ‘to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth’ (Ephesians 1:10), and that ‘in him should all the fulness dwell; and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him … whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens’ (Colossians 1:19-20).
4. First-century writers outside the NT.-The documents to be considered are the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Epistle to the Corinthians of St. Clement of Rome. The general features of teaching about salvation expressed in these books are the same as those found in the NT.
(a) The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles contains remarkably little on the subject. The NT doctrine that good works are a necessary part of the life of salvation receives the particular expression, reminiscent of the deutero-canonical books of the OT (Sirach 17:22-23; Sirach 29:12-13; Sirach 40:24, Tobit 4:7-11; Tobit 12:8-9; Tobit 14:10-11), that almsgiving affords a ransom for sin: ‘Be not thou found holding out thy hands to receive, but drawing them in as to giving [cf. Sirach 4:31]. If thou hast ought passing through thy hands, thou shalt give a ransom for thy sins. Thou shalt not hesitate to give, neither shalt thou murmur when giving; for thou shalt know who is the good paymaster of thy reward’ (Sirach 4:5-7). The description of the Eucharist as a ‘sacrifice’ (Sirach 14:1; Sirach 14:3) may imply that it was regarded by the writer of the Teaching as a means of appropriating the redemption accomplished by Christ.
(b) The Epistle of Barnabas supplies more. Salvation is possessed by Christians in the present time as being a mark of that life which has been bestowed and can be lost (ii. 10). It is also future, since it is hoped for (i. 3) and desired (xvi. 10) and the complete hallowing has yet to come (xv. 7). It is the work of God as being ‘He who redeemed’ (xix. 2). It includes deliverance ‘from death’ (ib. 2). It could not have been if the Son of God ‘had not come in the flesh’ (v. 10). The remission of sins and sanctification needed for it are through the blood of Christ (v. 1); His sufferings were ‘for our sake,’ and ‘He suffered in order that His wound might give us life’ (vii. 2); ‘He offered the vessel of his spirit as a sacrifice on behalf of our sins’ (vii. 3), ‘His flesh on behalf of the sins of’ His ‘new people’ (vii. 5); ‘the cross’ has ‘grace’ (ix. 8). Remission is applied by means of baptism (xi. 1, 8, 11). Salvation is gained through hope on Christ (xii. 3, 7). Souls may be saved by words spoken by Christians (xix. 10). For the possession of salvation there is need of righteousness and endurance (iv. 9-14, vii. 11, viii. 6, xix. 10); and in a phrase resembling that in the Teaching quoted above it is said, ‘thou shalt work with thy hands for a ransom for thy sins’ (xix. 10). Through the remission of sins are gained renewal and regeneration, re-creation and Divine indwelling: ‘Since then He renewed us in the remission of sins, He made us another type so as to have the soul of children, as if He were re-creating us’ (vi. 11); ‘Receiving the remission of sins and hoping on the Name we became new, being created afresh from the beginning. Wherefore God really dwells in our habitation within us. How? The word of His faith, the calling of His promise, the wisdom of the ordinances, the commandments of the teaching, He Himself prophesying in us, He Himself dwelling in us, opening to those who had been in bondage to death the door of the shrine, which is the mouth, giving us repentance leads to the incorruptible shrine. For he who desires to be saved looks not to the man but to Him who dwells and speaks in him’ (xvi. 8-10).
(c) The Epistle of St. Clement of Rome emphasizes strongly the work of our Lord as the Saviour. Christians are described as having been ‘called and sanctified by the will of God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (praef.); and blessedness is said to be ‘upon those who have been chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (l. 7). Christians have ‘taken refuge in’ God’s ‘mercies through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (xx. 11). Those who are saved are ‘saved through Jesus Christ’ (lviii. 2). Jesus Christ is ‘the High-priest of our offerings, the Guardian and Helper of our weakness,’ ‘the Way in which we found our salvation’ (xxxvi. 1, 2), the ‘Gate of the Lord,’ through which ‘the righteous shall enter’ (xlviii. 3; cf. Psalms 118:19-20). ‘The blood of Christ’ ‘is precious to his Father because it was poured out for the sake of our salvation and won for the whole world the grace of repentance’ (vii. 4). ‘Through the blood of the Lord’ is ‘redemption for all those who believe and hope in God’ (xii. 7). His ‘blood was given on our behalf’ (xxi. 6). ‘Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood on our behalf by the will of God, and His flesh on behalf of our flesh, and His soul on behalf of our souls’ (xlix. 6). Christians are said to be ‘justified by works and not by words’ (xxx. 3). Preserving the other side of the NT antithesis, the writer says also: ‘We, having been called in Christ Jesus through His will, are justified not through ourselves nor through our wisdom or understanding or piety or works which we wrought in holiness of heart, but through faith, through which the Almighty God justified all men who have been from the beginning’ (xxxii. 4). The work of salvation includes the body (xxxvii. 5, xxxviii. 1). God is the Saviour of those who are in despair (lix. 3; cf. Judith 9:11), and of those who are in tribulation (lix. 4). Faithful Christians have ‘conflict day and night for all the brotherhood, that the number of the elect may be saved’ (ii. 4).
5. Relation of Christian teaching to the pagan mysteries.-The theories underlying the pagan mysteries bear some resemblance to Christian teaching, since they contain the idea of deliverance through a process of regeneration, and through participation in a Divine life which is operative for the future as well as for the present. They differ greatly because Christian teaching represents our Lord as a historical Person who accomplishes and gives salvation, while the great figures in the pagan mysteries, e.g. Osiris and Attis, are mythological personifications, and also because the ethical element, always prominent in Christianity, has no real counterpart in the religion of the mysteries.
Literature.-A. Tholuck, Lehre von der Sünde und von der Versöhnung, 1823; H. N. Oxenham, The Catholic Doctrine of the Atonement, 1865; M. d’Aubigné, L’expiation de la croix, 1868; A. Ritschl, Lehre von der Rechtfertigung und Versöhnung, 1870-74 (Eng. translation , 1900); R. W. Dale, The Doctrine of the Atonement, 1875; H. S. Holland, Logic and Life (Sermons vi.-ix.), 1882; E. Ménégoz, Le péché et la rédemption d’après St. Paul, 1882; G. Thomasius, Christi Person und Werk, 1886-88; B. F. Westcott, The Victory of the Cross, 1888; W. P. DuBose, The Soteriology of the NT, 1892; A. Titius, Die NT Lehre von der Seligkeit, 1895-1900; R. C. Moberly, Atonement and Personality, 1901; G. A. F. Ecklin, Erlösung und Versöhnung, 1903; A. Ritter, Christus der Erlöser, 1903; J. Riviére, Le Dogme de la rédemption, 1905; R. Herrmann, Erlösung, 1905; E. Ménégoz, La Mort de Jésus et le dogme de l’expiation, 1905; G. B. Stevens, The Christian Doctrine of Salvation, 1905; A. Loisy, ‘The Christian Mystery,’ in J. Hibbert Journal x. [1911] 45-64; F. von Hügel, Eternal Life, 1912; H. A. A. Kennedy, St. Paul and the Mystery-Religions, 1913, pp. 199-228, 298, 299; W. M. Ramsay, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the NT, 1915, pp. 173-198.
Darwell Stone.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Hastings, James. Entry for 'Salvation Save Saviour'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/s/salvation-save-saviour.html. 1906-1918.
