The Elements of Salvation in Christian Theology

In our last topic, we focused on key aspects of Jesus’ work of atonement. This topic looks more specifically at the results of Jesus’ work in the believer’s life, outcomes collectively known as “salvation.” 

The Definition of Salvation

Broadly speaking, salvation is the application of the work of Christ to the life of individual persons. At its core, the word means “deliverance” – whenever a serious need or peril arises, and a person is rescued from that peril. In our relationship with God, the primary peril is sin. From this, a variety of secondary needs arise: alienation from others, social injustice, violence, guilt and shame, and many more. Thus salvation is not limited to forgiveness of sin and life after death. It involves the entire person and the full extent of God’s care and compassion, both now and in eternity. Salvation means that those far away are brought near, what is broken is repaired, the condemned are acquitted, the wounded are healed, the dying are given life, the impure become clean, and enemies become friends.

This suggests that salvation has past, present, and future aspects. Some aspects of salvation have already been applied to believers. Other elements relate to God’s ongoing, transforming work in our lives. Some have to do with the life to come after we die. So our salvation is both complete and incomplete. in one sense. We possess salvation, in Christ, and nothing can be added to it. Yet we have not yet experienced everything promised to us in our salvation.

Regeneration 

Regeneration means “new birth”. It involves restoring and re-creating a person from spiritual death to spiritual life (Ephesians 2:1-5). This new birth is completely a work of God on our behalf (John 1:13). It is a gracious gift of God (1 Peter 1:3), not accomplished by any human agency or effort, including any effort on our part. Regeneration is necessary for salvation, since no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he or she is “born again” (John 3:3-5, 7). 

Literally, regeneration is the beginning of a new life as a new creation of God (Galatians 6:15; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This new birth is instantaneous. At one moment, a person moves from spiritual death to life, as something entirely new is created that reverses his or her natural tendencies (Titus 3:3-5). The new birth gives us optimism that broken humans can be transformed and restored, through God’s supernatural power at work in us.

Regeneration is the beginning of a process of growth and development. Having been granted new life, the believer responds by putting the old life to death (Ephesians 4:21-22; Colossians 3:5-9) and choosing to live out the reality of their new nature (Romans 6:4; Ephesians 4:23-24; Colossians 3:10).

Conversion

Conversion marks the beginning of the Christian life. Conversion is the individual’s response to the gospel invitation. It can be considered as a single event with two inseparable aspects: repentance and faith (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21). 

The best way to express the biblical word translated “faith” is “trust”. Faith is the act and attitude of entrusting oneself to the faithfulness of God, both for initial salvation and in ongoing relationship with God. Faith is a gift given by God (Philippians 1:29; Ephesians 2:8-9) and results from hearing the message of the gospel (Romans 10:17). Faith has often been thought of in three coordinated aspects: knowledge (a grasp of the truth), assent (agreement with the truth), and trust (confidence or reliance on the truth). Yet faith is not just a response to facts, but to a person.

Repentance is the act and attitude of turning from sin and self to God, through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 12:21; Revelation 2:21-22). There is no salvation without repentance. Repentance is not merely feeling sorry for sin (2 Corinthians 7:10), but is a foundational decision that orients our hearts toward God, both for initial salvation and in an ongoing relationship with God. The validity of any person’s repentance will eventually be demonstrated by a changed life (Acts 26:20).

Actual conversion is instantaneous, but viewed from a human perspective, it may not be possible to pinpoint when it occurred. At some point, a person responds to the gospel in repentance and faith and is made alive by God. But the reality of that conversion may not be apparent until much later, as it begins to bear fruit.

Justification 

Human beings have two problems as a result of sin and the fall. First, our nature is corrupted by the effects of sin. Sin has polluted our moral character. This problem is answered by regeneration (above). Second, we come under guilt and condemnation because we have violated God’s law. This problem is answered by justification, which is “the declaration by God that we are righteous in his sight.”

In justification, God’s verdict about us changes from blame to acquittal. On one hand, our sins are pardoned. Borne by Jesus in our place, the penalty of sin is removed as an act of God’s pure grace (Romans 3:23-24). Thus forgiveness of sins is at the heart of Jesus’ mission (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22) and of the mission he gave his disciples (Luke 24:47; John 20:23).

On the other hand, God accepts us as righteous. Forgiveness brings us to a neutral position before God. Yet for God not only to declare us “not guilty” but righteous, Christ’s own righteousness is imputed to our account (Romans 5:18-21; 2 Corinthians 5:21). In other words, God counts us as righteous based on our faith in Jesus (Romans 4:4-5; Philippians 3:7-9). Justification removes the eternal judgment that our sin deserves, yet we may still suffer for our sin in this life – in our relationships, for example.

Adoption

In Topic 7, we touched on reconciliation. Through Jesus, we have been transferred from a position of alienation and hostility to one of acceptance and favor. The most prominent metaphor in the Bible for reconciliation is the parent-child relationship. Those who trust in Christ are now viewed as children and heirs of God, by virtue of a spiritual adoption (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:15).

Adoption occurs at the same time as regeneration, conversion and justification. While no personal relationship is implied by justification, adoption makes us recipients of God’s fatherly care (Matthew 7:9-11) as we are welcomed into intimacy with him (Romans 8:15-17). We now have a relationship with God that is defined not by compulsion or obligation, but by love (Galatians 4:4-7).

Eternal Life

Spiritual and physical death are consequences of human sin, so it is no surprise that salvation is often framed as “life” or “eternal life.” This is usually connected with the future resurrection of believers (John 5:21; Titus 3:7). But eternal life is not limited to a post-mortem future in heaven. It is a quality of life that begins in this world (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14), when a person comes to Jesus (John 3:15-16; John 20:31; 1 Timothy 1:16; 1 John 5:11-12), as the one who gives this life (John 5:39-40; John 8:12; John 10:10, 28). 

Union with Christ 

The Bible repeatedly refers to Christians using the phrase “in Christ” or “in the Lord” (Romans 16:9; 1 Corinthians 7:22; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 4:7; 2 Timothy 2:1). For example, anyone “in Christ” is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has blessed us and chosen us “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3-4). 

At the same time, the Bible speaks of Christ being in the believer. “Christ in you,” Paul says, is “the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). He declares, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). In this union, Jesus’ life flows into ours, by faith, renewing our inner nature and producing his fruit through us (John 15:5).

The work of Jesus Christ has astounding benefits in the lives of those who come to him in repentance and faith. But his saving work does not end with our initial conversion. The work of Christ has ongoing effects to transform our lives, which we will explore in Topic 9: The Christian Life.