The Scope of Salvation in Christ
The Scope of Salvation in Christ
The Christian tradition has witnessed intense debate over the extent of the salvation which is made available and possible through Christ. Two central affirmations, both of which are deeply grounded in the New Testament, may be discerned as exercising a controlling influence over this discussion:
The various approaches to the question of the scope of salvation rest upon different manners of resolving the dialectic between these assumptions. An important parallel should be noted here between the discussion of the scope of salvation and the relationship between Christianity and other religions, to be discussed at greater length in Chapter 17.
Universalism: All will be Saved
The view that all people will be saved, irrespective of whether they have heard or responded to the Christian proclamation of redemption in Christ, has exerted a strong influence within the Christian tradition. It represents a powerful affirmation of the universal saving will of God and its ultimate actualization in the universal redemption of all people. Its most significant early exponent was Origen, who defended the idea at length in his First Principles. Origen was deeply suspicious of any form of dualism – that is, any belief system which acknowledged the existence of two supreme powers, one good and one evil. This belief was characteristic of many forms of Gnosticism and was very influential in the eastern Mediterranean world in the late second century.
Arguing that dualism was fatally flawed, Origen pointed out that this had important implications for the Christian doctrine of salvation. To reject dualism is to reject the idea that God and Satan rule over their respective kingdoms for eternity. In the end, God will overcome evil and restore creation to its original form. In its original form, creation was subject to the will of God. It therefore follows, on the basis of this “restorationist” soteriology, that the final redeemed version of creation cannot include anything along the lines of “a hell” or “a kingdom of Satan.” All “will be restored to their condition of happiness [...] in order that the human race [...] may be restored to that unity promised by the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Related ideas have been developed in the twentieth century, most notably by Karl Barth. We shall explore his approach elsewhere in the context of his doctrine of predestination, to allow the relationship between his doctrines of salvation and grace to be appreciated more fully (pp. 348–9). A different approach may be found in the writings of John A. T. Robinson (1919–83), a radical English theologian active in the 1960s, especially in his In the End God (1968). In this book, Robinson considers the nature of the love of God. “May we not imagine a love so strong that ultimately no one will be able to restrain himself from free and grateful surrender?” This notion of omnipotent love functions as the central idea of Robinson's universalism. In the end, love will conquer all, making the existence of hell an impossibility. “In a universe of love there can be no heaven which tolerates a chamber of horrors.”
Only Believers will be Saved
The position to be discussed in this section is one of the most influential positions in relation to the scope of salvation. Its most vigorous defender in the early church was Augustine, who consciously distanced himself from the universalism associated with Origen by stressing the need for faith as a precondition for salvation. In doing so, Augustine cited a large number of New Testament passages which emphasize the conditionality of salvation or eternal life upon faith. A classic example of such a text is John 6: 51, in which Christ refers to himself as a bread which, if eaten, will bring eternal life. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, they will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
This position was maintained by most writers of the Middle Ages. Thomas Aquinas argued that an act of faith was a necessary condition of salvation. This view is echoed in many popular devotional writings of the period, including the highly sophisticated Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321).
One of the most vigorous defenders of this position at the time of the Reformation was John Calvin, who dismissed the views of his fellow reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531) to the effect that pious pagans could attain salvation. “All the more vile is the stupidity of those people who open heaven to all the impious and unbelieving, without the grace of him whom Scripture teaches to be the only door by which we enter into salvation.”
So what do such writers make of the biblical assertions that God wishes all to be saved, and all to come to a knowledge of the truth? Augustine and Calvin argue that such texts are to be interpreted sociologically: God wishes all kinds of people – but not all people – to be saved. Redemption embraces all nationalities, cultures, languages, geographical regions, and walks of life. This is the soteriological equivalent of the doctrine of the catholicity of the church, to be considered later (pp. 377–8).
However, a number of modified versions of this approach should be noted. For example, is it necessary to have a fully Christian faith in God in order to be saved? This question is of major importance in relation to an understanding of mission and evangelism, and also regarding the relation of Christianity to other religions. In his sermon “On Faith,” John Wesley argued for the need for faith in God in order to be saved – but affirmed that this faith need not be explicitly Christian in character. The requirement for salvation is “such a divine conviction of God, and the things of God, as, even in its infant state, enables every one that possesses it to fear God and work righteousness. And whosoever, in every nation, believes thus far, the Apostle declares is accepted.” What, then, is the advantage of a specifically Christian belief, as opposed to this more general theistic belief? According to Wesley, two differences may be noted. First, such theists have yet to attain the full benefits of the redeemed life. They are “servants of God” but not “sons of God.” Second, they do not have full assurance of salvation, which is only possible on the basis of Christ.
A similar position is associated with the twentieth-century literary critic and apologist C. S. Lewis. In his Mere Christianity, Lewis argued that those who commit themselves to the pursuit of goodness and truth will be saved, even if they have no formal knowledge of Christ. Although Lewis has philosophers in mind, he extends his approach to include other religions. “There are people in other religions who are being led by God's secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.” There are clear parallels here with the writings of the Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (1904–84), to be discussed later (pp. 420–2).
Particular Redemption: Only the Elect will be Saved
A final approach which should be noted is variously termed “definite redemption,” “particular redemption,” “effective atonement,” and “limited atonement.” This has Reformed associations, and is particularly influential in such circles in the United States. The basis of the approach lies in the Reformed doctrine of predestination, to be discussed in Chapter 12. However, its historical origins can be discerned in the ninth century, in the writings of Godescalc of Orbais (also known as Gottschalk, c.808–67). Godescalc argued along the following lines:
Related lines of argument can be discerned in the later sixteenth century, and especially during the seventeenth century. The doctrine which emerged at this time, especially within Puritan circles, can be summarized as follows:
Although this approach clearly possesses a certain logical coherence, its critics tend to regard it as compromising the New Testament's affirmation of the universality of God's love and redemption.
The present chapter has explored central aspects of the Christian doctrine of salvation, demonstrating both the richness and the variety of Christian thinking on the subject. It is clear that there is a close connection between the doctrine of salvation and that of grace, especially in relation to predestination. For this reason, we shall now move on to consider these, and related, matters in more detail.