The Notion of Salvation in Christianity - Essay Example

The Issue of Salvation in Exodus of Learning Plan I. Introduction. II. The Notion of Salvation in Christianity. III. The Content of Exodus. IV. Two Types of Salvation in Exodus. V. Salvation as a Result of a Moral and Spiritual Feat. VI. Concussion. The Issue of Salvation in Exodus Salvation is a key issue for every Christian. In order to be saved in faith, people come into the church. Many of them are ready to change their lives radically. In fact, salvation is the meaning and the aim of the Christian life. In the broadest sense of the word, Christianity understands salvation as gaining eternal life filled with bliss and joy.1 In the Gospel, one can see that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to His believers in order they could have the eternal life. When it comes to salvation, it is inextricably linked to the image of Christ. Jesus Christ lived and died for the sake of the people. His divine-human nature has allowed people to atone for their sins and be saved and have a blissful afterlife. Nevertheless, the origins of the issue can be found in the Old Testament, particularly in Exodus.2 Exodus raises important issues relating to the issue of salvation such as faith in God and commitment to spiritual and moral purification. In Exodus, salvation appears not only as receiving by the Jewish people their Promised Land. Salvation is presented as a spiritual and moral purification, in which the main role belongs to the sincere and genuine faith in God and His grace. “The importance of the Exodus event in the Old Testament cannot be underestimated.” 3 As noted above, salvation is seen by many people as the exemption from danger or suffering. To save someone means to free or secure him or her. This word carries the idea of ​​victory, peace, and protection. Sometimes the Bible uses the word "salvation" in relation to the interim and physical release, such as the release of Paul from prison.4 However, more often the word "salvation" refers to the eternal and spiritual liberation. When Paul told the Philippian jailer, that he should be saved, he was referring to the jailers eternal destiny.5 Jesus likened salvation with entering the kingdom of heaven.6 According to the Christian doctrine of salvation, people are saved from God’s "anger", that is, the divine judgment of sin.7 Sin had separated people from God, and the result of sin is death.8 Biblical salvation means liberation of people from the consequences of sin, and thus involves the removal of the sin. Exodus tells the story of the calling of Moses, the deliverance from the bondage of the people of God and the covenant between the Jewish people and God. The composition of the book is rather complicated. The book contains the epic story of the Children of Israel enslaved in Egypt and the calling of Moses (Exodus 1-5), the struggle between Moses and Pharaoh for the freedom of the Jewish people (Exodus 6-11), Easter ceremonies (Exodus 12), and the tale of the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 13-14). In addition, the book includes the song of Moses (Exodus 15), the story of the journey to Sinai (Exodus 16-18), the gift of the Law (Exodus 19), and the text of the Law: the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) and the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20 -24). In general, the book is a continuation of the story of Gods promise to Abraham that the Lord will bless him and he will becоme the beginning of a great nation.9 According to Gods promise, the number of Israelis in Egypt increased. Exodus is not the end of a long journey of Israel in Canaan - the land where God will dwell among the Israelites.10 The main theme of this book is the dwelling of God with His people, culminating in the coming of His glory to the Jews. God declares Israel as His son whom He has redeemed from slavery in a foreign land, so that he could serve, worship and obey Him. All the nations of the earth belong to the Creator, but He chose Israel as His own possession among all peoples, not because of any of his merits, but according to His grace and faithfulness to the promises given to the patriarchs. The main role in the book belongs to the story of the flight of the Jewish people from the land of Egypt in search of the Promised Land under the leadership of Moses, who serves as a prophet of God. Jews who lived in Egypt for several centuries were subjected to cruelty and injustice on the part of the Egyptian pharaohs. They had to work hard and precisely follow what they were instructed by the Egyptian rulers. Despite the difficulties with the passage of time, the number of Jewish people was constantly increasing. The Pharaoh began to see a direct threat to his rule in an increase in the number of Jews. As a result, God appeared to Moses and told him to take the Jewish people out of Egypt in order to find the Promised Land. At first sight, in Exodus salvation can be seen only as the salvation of the Jews from Egyptian tyranny lasted for centuries and the acquisition of their land that was promised by God. As noted by Cline, “Christian scholars read Exodus as part of the history of Gods efforts to save humanity from sin, wickedness, suffering, etc. ”11 However, a deep analysis of the concept of salvation presented in Exodus enables one to see its another aspect, which is much more important. It makes it relevant for today’s believers. It is about spiritual and moral salvation, which is possible due to a sincere belief in God. The Jewish people as well as Moses himself were to demonstrate a sincere belief in God and devotion to Gods will. This is one of the reasons why the Jews were wandering and fighting against thirst, lack of food and other problems for more than 40 years. All this was intended by God to test if the Jewish people were worth saving and having the Promised Land. Moses also was subjected to verification by God, the essence of which was to make sure that Moses was devoted to God not forgetting that he was only a servant of God. Only God is able to grant salvation, and Moses serves as assistant to the realization of this important goal. The mystery of salvation has a divine-human nature. The Lord is the only one who is able to give salvation. However, the people should be involved in God’s plan and respond to His call, as Abraham and Jacob did. Free obedience of people is necessary for God’s plan. The main idea of ​​the Exodus is that God brings true freedom from slavery. Freedom, however, does not mean self-will. It is balanced by the precepts of the Law that a person accepts voluntarily. Freedom requires people to demonstrate spiritual efforts. The saint author shows that people have difficulty accepting this gift and freedom can weigh it. The journey of Israel in the wilderness becomes a test that people are often unable to withstand. God not only frees up the Old Testament Church, but also overcomes the inertia and timidity of its members. Moses proclaims Gods name that indicates a new stage of Revelation. Together with his brother, Moses goes to the elders of the people who first treat them with complete confidence. Later, however, the people full of fear will often resist their liberator Moses, preferring a slavish, but a reliable life under Egyptian oppression. The way to Sinai proves to be extremely difficult. Within three months, the Israelis are moving to the south, along the coast of the Red Sea. After the fertile land of Egypt, they see the conditions of living in the desert unbearable. They constantly murmur against Moses, who led them to these lifeless places. However, God reveals His help: the water of oasis of Marah loses its bitterness, manna saturates the travelers, and the flocks of migratory quails give them meat. In general, the tests sent by God to the Jewish people on their way to the Promised Land are primarily moral and psychological tests. The difficulty lies in the fact that being in an extremely grave situation the Jews should show the heroism of their souls as well as the true faith in God. However, for them it is rather a hard task. They doubt that they would see the Promised Land, because they are persecuted by constant difficulties and hardships. However, God tests not only the Jewish people to the true willingness to accept their God by following His will. God also tests the ability of Moses to bring Gods will to the Jews. As is known, Moses faces with many temptations that require him fortitude and unwavering faith in the truthfulness of Gods promises. Moses must demonstrate personal commitment to God and overcome his earthly fears, doubts, as well as pride and self-will. The task of Moses is extremely important, because in reality it is foremost in leading the Jewish people “back to God’s presence.”12 Moses was not a sinless man. However, “although Moses was inadequate for these monumental tasks, God worked mightily through him, supporting Moses every step of the way.”13 Similar to the Jewish people, Moses had to go from disbelief to the true faith in Gods plan. He had to overcome his internal doubts that tormented him for a long time.14 To sum up, Exodus is of great importance for the understanding of the concept of salvation in Christianity. In particular, the salvation represented by Exodus is not only physical salvation. This is primarily spiritual and moral salvation, which allows the Jewish people deserve God’s blessing and find the Promised Land. Gods promise to give the land of the covenant to the Jews can be seen as grains that can turn into a beautiful tree only in the fertile soil. The fertile soil is presented by the souls of the Jews who need to go through the purification of their minds and understand the true faith in God. God gives Moses and the Jews and all sorts of tests, but He also sends them assistance. Unbelief and doubt needs to become a true and free faith and sin must be removed with the help of a spiritual willingness to open their hearts to God and His commandments. In Exodus, modern Christianity can see salvation as a gift from God that can be obtained in the commission of moral heroism, which should result in an unshakable faith in God. Bibliography Bible. (Read Bible Online, n.d.) accessed 29 August 2014 Cline A, “Introduction to the Book of Exodus” (About.com, n.d.) accessed 30 August 2014 Fretheim T. E, Exodus: Interpretation. (John Knox Press 1991) Janzen  W, Exodus (Believers Church Bible Commentary) (Herald Press 2000)  Hoskisson P. Y., “The Plan of Salvation in the First Six Books of the Old Testament” (Religious Studies Center, n.d.) accessed 30 August 2014 Knudson C, “Exodus: The Pattern of God’s Salvation” (n.d.) accessed 29 August 2014. Lomotey V. I, “A Hebrew Exegesis of Exodus 1-4” (Academia.edu, n.d.) accessed 30 August 2014 Nixon R. E., “The Exodus in the New Testament” (Biblical Studies.org.uk, n.d.) accessed 30 August 2014 “Soteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation” (Bible.org, n.d.). accessed 29 August 2014. Zavada J, “Moses - Giver of the Law” (About.com, n.d.) accessed 30 August 2014 WORD COUND: 1632 Read More