The Idea of Salvation throughout the Bible - Essay Example

A theme that runs throughout the Bible is the idea of salvation. Salvation means that the individual is delivered from the penalty that naturally comes through he or she sins and the only way for this to happen is to develop a personal relationship with God. When Jesus died on the cross, the purpose was to give humanity the ability to overcome its sinful ways. Jesus’ actions gave humanity the opportunity to achieve salvation through believing in him and repenting its sins. This requires humankind to accept Jesus as its own person savior, which will lead it to salvation in the process. Jesus also provided the Church, which is in place to help us to develop this relationship with him. By giving each individual the needed information and then dying for their sins, Jesus has opened the door for everyone to achieve salvation in the present. Catholics believe that Baptism is a requirement for salvation, but other doctrines of Christianity do not agree with this belief. One thing that the various Churches do agree on is the fact that salvation is the means by which human beings can have eternal life, as long as they make the right choices during their time on Earth. This is a gift that God has given to each and every human being, as “Gods forgiveness or grace is the reward of genuine moral endeavor, it is Gods encouragement and strengthening of our own efforts” (Addinall 291). It is also, however, a gift that many people squander by not being aware of their actions and not accepting Jesus into their lives. The opportunity for salvation and, therefore, eternal life is God’s gift to all of humanity, but it requires faith on the part of humanity in order to come to fruition. This faith is what human beings have to posses in order to deserve the gift of salvation so these two things go hand in hand and will always be associated with each other. Salvation is central to the Bible and, therefore, is one of the most important aspects of the Bible’s philosophy. In Acts 2:37-42, is Peter speaking to the Jewish community about their crucifixion of Jesus and telling them what they must do in order to achieve salvation. He tells them that they must repent and be baptized in order to receive salvation and forgiveness for their sins because they have been born into a generation of people who are not viewed favorably by God. Peter says that accepting Jesus as a savior and as someone who has the same power as God is the only way for these people to have eternal life. All else will be punished because of the actions that were committed by the Jewish people. This makes the argument that people have the opportunity to save themselves by making a simple choice and taking Jesus as their savior. This passage is important because it gives instructions to the reader about how he or she can achieve salvation and it also informs him or her about the benefits of this. This was meant to influence sinners by showing them that even though they have sinned in the past, they still have a chance at salvation if they do the right thing now. They must accept that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for our sins. This is a form of repentance. These sinners must also be baptized so that the water will symbolically wash their pasts away from them and will allow them to start this new life in the eyes of God. This is a very important section of the Bible because it tells the reader that salvation is necessary for eternal life and also it gives instructions on how to achieve this salvation to all. This section also implies that a meeting place should be set up for prayer for every person who decides to take Jesus as his or her savior when it says, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer” (Acts 2:37), which seems to imply that they had begun a Church service at this time. Acts 2:41 says “the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls,” which means that God will add people to the list of those who have been saved as they achieve salvation. Romans 10:5-21 is somewhat different because it is based on Paul’s frustration that many people were not following the word of God and attempting to achieve salvation. He says that many Christians have accepted God, but they do not listen to his words as much as they should. He tells the people that the only way to achieve salvation is to “know who Jesus is and confess Him as your Lord” (Krejcir) which is an important message because it is given instructions on how to attain salvation. Paul recognizes the fact that many people will reject the ideas that he is putting forward and he worries about this quite a bit in this letter. He knows that many of the people that he is trying to reach will ignore what he is saying because it is human nature to do so. He attempts to reach them by asking how they expect to be saved without believing in God and urges them to look to God for the answers and not to themselves. He also tells people that just because we believe in God, does not mean that we can behave in any manner we wish. This is the argument that humanity must use the word of God as a blueprint by which to live its lives because that is the only way that human beings can make the world a better place. He does not think it does much good to accept God into one’s life if the person is not going to behave in a manner that God would find acceptable so he urges people to work hard to be seen positively in God’s eyes. We must love and respect what Jesus did for us and appreciate that everything he went through was because of his love for humanity. He gave humanity the opportunity to gain forgiveness for its sins, which is a huge positive because human beings are inherently sinners. This is not something that can be helped so individuals must accept Jesus Christ because without him, they have no chance at salvation. Paul, however, was unsuccessful in his mission to convert the Jewish people, as they did not respond all that well to him in this case. This passage makes the argument that since people are inherently sinners, they must take a leap of faith and believe, otherwise there is no hope for humanity. These two texts are similar to each other because they both explain what salvation is and how we as human beings can best achieve this standard. Where they differ is that Romans 10:5-21 looks more closely of the specifics of the situation. It also shows that not everyone will be receptive to the word of God, but that should not stop his believers from trying to spread his word. Giving someone the information and then letting him or her make his or her own decisions is one of the greatest gifts that a Christian can give to another human being, just like the chance at salvation is the greatest gift that God ever gave to humankind. Each of these passages examines this idea, but Romans is a little clearer because more information is given on the subject. The book The Tongue: A Creative Force, by Charles Capps, examines the impact that our words have on us as human beings, as well as how they affect others around us. We hold a great amount of power over the outcomes of our own lives through our words and Capps makes this claim by citing the Bible as well as using his own opinions and interpretations. The way human beings speak to each other is a major factor in the way we perceive the world and the way that others perceive us. We have full control over these aspects in our lives, but we often relinquish it by not paying attention to how God wants us to live. If we speak to others in the manner that God intended us to, we have ultimate control over our lives because we are making them the best that they can possibly be. This is an excellent book because in examines the methods that we can use in order to become better all around people. The major theme in this book is that we as human beings hold a great amount of power over the events in our lives through what comes out of our mouths. Too many times in life, people will point the finger of blame at others, while completely ignoring the fact that they themselves have caused all of the problems in their own lives through the words they have spoken. One thing that Jesus wished to teach us is that we have the power to create our own reality through our words and this is something that has been largely forgotten by a number of people over the years. It says in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Capps 150), which mean that the words that human beings speak are what causes things in our lives to happen. Without these words, we would lack the power to create our own lives in the manner that we wish, so words are very important to us. God has given us the ability to create our own lives, but too many people are squandering this opportunity because they do not realize it. God gave us free will in life, but many people do not take advantage of this free will because they do not live life because we do not follow the word of God, which is what will lead us to the ultimate happiness. An individual who is kind, follows the word of God, and treats others with respect will have a much better life than someone who does not because the words that we speak are seeds that are planted for the future. If we plant many good seeds all around us, we will eventually be rewarded with a plentiful harvest. If we plant bad seeds all around us, however, just the opposite will happen. The seeds will not grow and we will not be rewarded for our words. In Matthew 12:37 it says, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Capps 96), which means how we speak to others will be the defining factor in our lives. Our actions can be justified through our words, but they can also be condemned if our words do not meet certain standards. It is up to us to make our words count because in the end, it is our words that will define us as individuals. When we speak the word of God, his creative power will run through us, which will make us better people in the long term and will help us to achieve our goals. Avoiding or ignoring the word of God will turn us into captives of our own circumstances with no chance to escape this captivity because of our inability to accept God’s word. The idea of salvation and how to achieve it is central to the philosophy in the Bible. Various books of the Bible attempt to show the reader how to achieve this salvation and give example of how the disciples taught this. Contemporary academics have also become involved with this, as they are able to explain how this ideas can be applied in today’s society. Through the Bible, individuals are able to come up with a blueprint that they can either follow or disregard as they live their lives. Sources Addinall, Peter. Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation: A Study in Nineteenth-Century Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1991. Capps, Charles. The Tongue: A Creative Force. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Harrison House. 1995. Krejcir, Richard. “Into Thy Word”. Online Bible Study 23. 23 October 2001. Viewed 7 December 2007. http://www.alliancenet.org/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID34418%7CCHID183080%7CCIID976294,00.html Read More