Who Exactly Is Redeemed?

II. Main Point 2. God tells us in 1 John 1: 9“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And again in 2 Corinthians 5:17“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”

“To be sure, some scholars have in recent decades argued that justification is not the center of Pauline thought but is rather a subsidiary doctrine. In its place they have proposed other integrating doctrines. Barth thinks that the confession of Jesus Christ is more basic than justification, which he defends—although he offers a novel doctrine of both: Justification he considers but a new insight into an already universally effective Christological salvation. Yet many others, including J. Gresham Machen and Leon Morris, have championed the evangelical mainstream view that justification is basic and central.”

Throughout Rowlandson narrative, she uses the word "redeemed" in at least three different ways. Rowlandson uses the word redeemed in terms of religion, slavery, and commerce. First religion, while she was experiencing captivity she reflected on that of her sin and her bad actions. To Rowlandson her journey through captivity "redeemed" her in her mind. This was a common thought among Christians and or Puritans.

Though Jesus was sinless and undeserving of death, he offered himself as a sacrifice in atonement for all sin (Invitation to World Religions, pg.418). Paul was always emphatic in maintaining that salvation cannot be earned by “works”, whether humans’ effort to obey the commandments in the Torah or excellent work in general. Instead, he taught that the salvation made possible by Christ’s sacrifice is a gift, the ultimate expression of God’s love and grace. Salvation is given to those who respond to God’s grace in faith, the conviction that God has acted through Jesus Christ to amend for human sin. Although Paul was very clear in teaching that salvation depends on God’s grace and the individual’s turning to God in faith, he did not dismiss the importance of works (Invitation to World Religions, pg.419). For Paul, faith does more than bringing salvation; it unites the believers with Christ in a “newness of life”. He believed that the spirit lives in believers and brings them into union with God. As a divine presence within, the spirit encourages the growth of spiritual virtues, the greatest which is love and makes all Christians one in the church often called “the body of Christ”.

This text was published from a work of Revelation and Reason. One of the most interesting debates took place in the 1934 between both Swiss Protestant theologians: Karl Barth and Emil Brunner. Both had many similarities, both stressed the priority of God’s revelation and resisted the idea that humanity could discover the nature and character of God through the use of purse reason. But the important questions emerges from “word of God” something that impacts immediately and directly on humanity? Or does it need to be interpret? Tin this text Brunner implies that, The Word does not overwhelm, it does not coerce, it does not ignore the one “over against us”, but it calls, addresses, threatens and entreats..” We apply reason when we are communicated by the Word. When God became human being he came down to a level of humanity, therefore God had to become human so humanity would be able to meet him. God adapted his revelation to humanity, in that He clothed in the human word of the Apostles and through that He chose this form of revelation because communication through speech is the proper way humanity can carry a conversation. Brunner quotes, ‘As Humanus they use language, that is they can speak and understand the speech of others. This capacity was given to a humanity as its own in the

An observation of this compelling issue is, all humans are extended the opportunity to receive salvation. However, in order to receive salvation that brings credits us with righteousness, we must have faith that God the Father sent his son Jesus to take

“True redemption is when guilt leads to good,” Khaled Hosseini. Most think that a simple apology is redemption, others think that a grand gesture is in order. Yet, it is clear that redemption is a long process that takes time for healing of the mind and of the soul. True redemption happens when one is finally able to admit their mistakes when themselves without trying to find some type of justification. In The Crucible, Arthur Miller uses a multitude of his characters such as Giles Corey, John Proctor, and Reverend John Hale, to demonstrate that in order to be redeemed, one must make a great sacrifice.

"The three-step key to happiness when everything is down is - Redemption, Reconstruction, and Recover." Redemption, Reconstruction, and Recover demonstrate how the Reconstruction era prevailed. The Reconstruction era did redeem and reconstruct the United States but did not recover it. However, the United States still hasn't fully recovered because we still struggle with discrimination. For example, during the era, slaves were freed from slavery and received suffrage (the addition of 3 new amendments to the Constitution). But, the whites were not able to come to terms with the new Constitution. As a result, they continued to discriminate against the former slaves because of their new rights. Instead, we have to define the most important factor

Textual-“The Faith, in that wild frontier, is like a buried treasure; they guard it, but they do not know how to use it to their soul’s salvation. A word, a prayer, a service, is all that is needed to set free these souls in bondage. I confess I am covetous of that mission. I desire to be the man who restores these lost children to God.” (p. 207).

Faith alone to achieve salvation has come under much criticism involving its permissibility of sin that contradicts Luther’s

In his book, Getting the Gospel Right, Dr. Olson states and I quote that “any sinner can be saved by grace only through explicit repentance faith in the finished work of Christ alone.” This is a very powerful statement and one that brings questions and in many cases confusion as to what is the truth of salvation. In this book the author poses diverse views of salvation truth particularly those of Calvinism and Arminianism, and how they agree in some ways and differ in others from his doctrinal view of salvation in mediate theology. In mediate theology, Christ is the only way to salvation though his saving death and resurrection. Through saving faith a believer inherits a new birth and a right standing with God. When the believer comes to trust in Christ for salvation he receives the

Vicarious atonement and salvation by grace (cf. 1 Pet. 2:24, 2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 4:25, 1 John 2:2, 4:10; John 11:25-26; 14:6; Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:21, 5:4; Rom. 3:20; 4:1-11; 10:1-13).

Within the first few pages of “On Christian Liberty,” Luther creates a paradox that causes readers to think deeply about their own role as believers of Christ. In it, he claims that a Christian is: “…a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none while, at the same time, being a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all (pg.2).” Through faith, the most important part of a person’s salvation, a Christian gains freedom and liberty. However, a Christian becomes a servant of all through love, subjecting themselves to the needs of others as Christ did.

themselves with their own works. Salvation is a matter of God’s choosing those who will

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The Scriptures are clear that there is no other name by which man can be saved but by Christ alone (Acts 4:12). One can only be delivered by the power of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” The same exclusive statement is made in John 10:7-8 when Jesus said, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers.”