Soteriology Q 23 - Do the people of God attain salvation?

Question

I have a paper due, over what I believe about Soteriology, or the study of salvation. The questions are drawn from a catechism. There are 24 total questions within this paper that I will answer. On executive decision, I chose to post each of these on Answers! but.... I am going to do them about once each day. They will be titled "Soteriology - Q # ______ . " I am going to poast the remaining bit of questions today. If you would like to answer all 24, search them through my name, and answer as many as you would like to. PLEASE BACK YOUR ANSWERS UP WITH REFERENCES TO SCRIPTURE, THOELOGICAL QUOTES, ETC. I want you to be as creative as possible, and I want as many people to participate as possible. Thank you for your participation! I do not want you to do my research. I want more opinions than just people I can find on my own. In a sense, think of it more as an interview.

Answer 1

Well, yes, ...sort of.

I mean, BEFORE salvation, they're NOT the people of God.
Eph 2:1 ¶ And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;


Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:


Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others

Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled


So, from OUR standpoint, we, at one time, were NOT God's people; but BECOME God's people at a POINT IN TIME.

Jhn 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

And notice in this passage, it is not "Godly" people who attain salvation, but rather, the "un-Godly".

Rom 4:5 ¶ But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

So from our human perspective, that is, trapped in the dimension of time, there was a time in the past when we were not God's people, but we become His upon salvation.

On the other hand, from God's eternal perspective- we were always His.

Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:


Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:


Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.


Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.


So to answer a question like this, we must first ask: Do you mean from man's perspective, or from God's?

Isa 55:8 ¶ For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.


Isa 55:9 For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.


Hope that helps.

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Answer 2

The Elect is how I view the definition of the "people of God". This is not necessarily those who claim to be the people of God. They do not attain salvation as an accomplishment for themselves. Eph. 2:8 describes grace as saving us. That phrase bugs me, it sounds almost like a mockery of Christians, too close to "the People Who Were Always Here", i.e. Native Americans.

Answer 3

The people of God are those whom God has foreordained unto salvation, and it is theirs, whether they realise it or not. So perhaps from God's point of view, they attained it before they were born or the world was created.

From an earthly point of view no-one can attain salvation prior to their coming to saving faith in Christ. Even after being born again and adopted into God's family, such ones might not be at all sure of having this salvation. And those who are assured generally don't consider themselves as having attained it until they have finished their earthly course. Paul said regarding the resurrection from the dead, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. .... I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:12-14). But attaining the resurrection from the dead (the prize) is "merely" proof that one has salvation, so by faith, a believer can consider him/herself to be saved (present tense).

Paul warned the Galatian Christians to attain their goal the right way - by the Spirit and not by human effort - yet does not allow for the idea that they could lose their salvation. After warning about false gospels he chided them, "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing - if it really was for nothing?" (Gal 3:1-5) Paul also spoke of the people of God being built up "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ" (Eph 4:13) but this is not the same as attaining salvation. Immature, back-sliding Christians still attain salvation because salvation is all of God and we can do nothing to obtain it without faith. It is not dependant on our having much faith (faith the size of a mustard grain is sufficient) or of being a "good" person or a "better" person than weak brethren. It's not a competition with a minimum "pass" score.

Answer 4

I can write your entire paper in one short paragraph. Since there is no such thing as salvation (or original, or any other kind of sin), nobody attains salvation. If you can prove otherwise, fame and fortune will be yours: it has never been done before.

Answer 5

we could only say so that we attain salvation if we know by ourselves that we are living a transparent life of holiness and in God's accordance. but a sinner like us can totally confirm it when we just die and only God and You can know it