The Divine Economy of Salvation
Redemption
An act perfected and fulfilled by Jesus Christ [1], by offering Himself, on our behalf, on the wood of the Cross, by His own free will for us all [2a, 2b], to pay our dues to the divine justice [3, 4, 5].
At the completion of the act of redemption, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished [6], He cried out on the Cross, saying: "It is finished" [7]. As Saint Peter says: "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, but with the precious Blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot" [8].
Redemption is salvation from sin [9, 10] and its consequences [11, 12, 13] through our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts [14], the Holy One of Israel [15].
Salvation
Is the divine gift through which men and women are delivered from sin and death [16, 17, 18, 19], united to Christ, and brought into His Eternal Kingdom [20]. Those who heard Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost asked what they must do to be saved, he answered them saying: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" [21].
Salvation begins with these three steps:
- Repent
- Be baptized
- Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
To "repent" means to change our mind about how we have been, turning from sin and committing ourselves to Christ [22, 23]. To "be baptized" means to be born again by being joined into union with Christ [24, 25]. And to "receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" means to receive the Spirit who empowers us to enter a new life in Christ, be nurtured in the Church, and be conformed to God's image [26, 27]. Salvation demands faith in Jesus Christ [28]. People cannot save themselves by their own good works, but works as a result of faith in Christ Jesus, was faith made perfect [29]. Salvation is "faith working through love" [30]. It is an ongoing, life-long process [31]. Salvation is past tense in that, through the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been saved [32, 33]. It is present tense, for we must also be saved by our active participation through the faith in our union with Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit [34]. Salvation is also future, for we must yet be saved at His glorious Second Coming [35, 36, 37, 38].
References
- "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," Romans 3:24
- Liturgy of St. Basil, Confession. http://www.coptic.net/prayers/stbasilliturgy.html , https://tasbeha.org/hymn_library/view/2054
- "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”" Matthew 20:28
- "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”" Mark 10:45
- "who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time," 1 Timothy 2:6
- "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!”" John 19:28
- "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." John 19:30
- "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:18-19
- "who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." Titus 2:14
- "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." Hebrews 9:15
- "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”" Matthew 20:28
- "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”" Mark 10:45
- "who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time," 1 Timothy 2:6
- "As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name," Isaiah 47:4
- "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives— The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships." Isaiah 43:14
- "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." Matthew 18:11
- "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village." Luke 9:56
- "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”" Acts 4:12
- "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit," Titus 3:5
- "And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!" 2 Timothy 4:18
- "Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38
- "He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy." Psalm 106:10
- "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25
- "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16
- "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" Romans 6:3
- "he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”" Acts 19:2
- "And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied." Acts 19:6
- "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10
- "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." James 2:22-26
- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17
- "receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:9
- "And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Luke 3:6
- "There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him." 1 Peter 3:21-22
- "And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered," Acts 10:45-46
- "and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you," 2 Peter 3:15
- "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" Philippians 2:12
- "and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”" Revelation 7:10
- "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!" Revelation 19:1