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Salvation - The Coptic Orthodox View of Salvation in Christianity
Some questions that arise:
Saved from What?
"He has delivered us (saved us) from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14
We are saved from Eternal Judgment. Judgment starts here and now.
Judgment starts now when we do not exercise Faith, Hope, and Love and we continue to live in darkness, manifested by sin.
We are judged by the Commandments of God
Why do we need salvation?
Because we broke the Law of God and fell under Judgment
The question arises, how then are we judged?
There is a moral law that governs all humanity. Those without God’s commandments are under natural laws (such as honoring parents and not stealing). But the believers who are within God’s covenant are under His laws. The law of the Old Testament was the 10 Commandments carved in stone. In the New Testament, Our Lord upgraded the commandments to the Sermon on the Mount. But, He also gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can have the law written in our hearts to want to follow the commandments from the heart.
“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law.” Romans 2:12
Some Stories of Judgment and Salvation
1. Lot was saved from the fire of Sodom
2. Hebrews from the Egyptians
3. Noah from the sin that corrupted the Earth
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-40
The day of the Lord was an ever-present prophetic truth in the Old and New Testament. As Christians, we are only saved by: Jesus Christ.
St. Paul says, all are under Judgment, Jews and Gentiles alike, they all sinned are in need of the Glory of God. Only by the blood of Christ do we escape judgment. We claim the blood of Christ through the Mysteries in Faith.
Is it enough to believe it in your heart and confess with your mouth? We believe it is through the Mysteries (Sacraments). The proof of this belief is in the Gospel of St. John. Nicodemus confessed that he believed in Jesus Christ, but it was not enough.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water and spirit he can not enter the kingdom of God…” John 3:3-8
The Mystery of Baptism saves.
“…Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 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…1 Peter 3:20-21
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4,5
How was Noah saved, through the water or the ark? He was saved spiritually from sin by the water which cleansed the earth, and physically from drowning by the ark. Noah himself could not save himself from the corruption. God’s main purpose was to save Noah from the corruption that was overwhelming the earth. In this story, water was death that saved Noah.
The faith of the Orthodox Church teaches us that when we are asked, are you saved? Our answer would be: I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be saved.
+ I HAVE BEEN SAVED.
+ I AM BEING SAVED.
+ I SHALL BE SAVED.
How Have I Been Saved? In Baptism.
In Baptism, I receive Justification, Sanctification, and Adoption into God’s Family
How am I being saved?
+ CHURCH MYSTERIES!
+ Commandments
We exercise faith in the mysteries and in obeying the commandments. The Grace of God comes through the mysteries to help obey the commandments.
St. John the Baptist cried in the wilderness saying, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.” Luke 3:8
We must bear fruits worthy of repentance, as St. John the Baptist said.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called…” Ephesians 4:1
How shall I be saved? When Jesus returns, our future salvation is not a matter of faith but a matter of hope.
“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28
What does this mean? The hearers of Christ are warned about catastrophic events that will come to pass at the end of the world. Yet the Lord says to His disciples, that those days will signal their final redemption and salvation.
First point: Our Lord speaks of our redemption drawing near, indicating that the moment of redemption is still to come at future time. Whether you think of this verse in the spiritual or physical sense, we must acknowledge that the salvation and redemption we attained would need that final redemption to be completed. There are many verses in the New Testament that speak of salvation as a matter of hope, meaning in the future.
"And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed," Romans 13:11.
"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation," 1 Thessalonians 5:8.
Second point: In all stories of salvation, including the prophecy of the final days, salvation and judgment happen simultaneously. Some people are being saved while others are being judged at the same time.
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," John 3:19.
The Day of Judgment = Day of Salvation
Examples:
Passover- death of the 1st Born of the Egyptians = Exodus of the Jews from Egypt
Flood- death of the corrupted generation= salvation of Noah and his family
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” Philippians 2:12
“Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” Romans 4:18
What is the difference between Hope and Faith? Faith is 100% assurance. Hope is less than 100% assurance. What is the place of works and faith in our salvation?
“You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” James 2:24
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28
Salvation is not achieved by just confessing by our mouths, but through active participation in the Mysteries (sacraments).
Mysteries and Commandments - Faith in Action
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father.” 1 Thes 1:3
+ Faith is Specific (it isn’t vague)
- God is able to resurrect from the Dead
- God Raised His Son from the Dead
- He is able to save me through Mysteries
Salvation always includes 2 Agents: one that destroys sin and one that saves physically
Example: Red Sea Exodus
In our Baptism, the water kills our old nature, and the Spirit gives us life to be the children of God, and in that second that person is immersed in the water and surrenders to God, and transformation happens in the nature of that person. In our baptism, Christ, via the priest, breathes into our noutrils the resurrected life of Christ by the Spirit.