Salvation

4 August 19920 Comments

The lecture presents an Orthodox understanding of salvation as a divine act accomplished by the blood of Christ and received by the person through faith, baptism, repentance, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, with emphasis that the spiritual life is an ongoing struggle and that full salvation is manifested at the end of the journey.

Main points

No one should proclaim himself “saved” definitively; salvation is not a moment recorded with a date that closes the spiritual life, because a person still sins and needs continual repentance.
Essential elements for obtaining salvation from the lecturer’s perspective: faith, baptism (the second birth), continuous repentance, in addition to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which empowers the person for good works and leads him to spiritual life.
Baptism is not a “physical washing” but is the washing of the second birth and renewal of the Spirit, participating in the death and resurrection of Christ; through it a person receives forgiveness of sins and a new life begins.
Salvation was indeed accomplished by the blood of Christ on the cross, but its results are obtained by faith and relying on the name of Christ; it is not enough that the act is divine without the personal response of the believer.
Christian life is a continual spiritual warfare against the forces of evil; therefore beware of pride and being deceived by apparent spiritual manifestations because these may lead to apostasy and spiritual fall.
The believer must strive to “complete his salvation” with fear and trembling according to the apostles’ instruction; full salvation appears at the end of the walk and by keeping the faith to the end.
A warning against those who reduce baptism to a mere bodily rite; Scripture calls it the washing of the second birth and renewal of the Spirit, and it is necessary for entering the kingdom of heaven.
Practical conclusion: God’s work is available and accomplished, but its reception depends on the heart’s response: true faith, reception in baptism, ongoing repentance, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and perseverance in spiritual struggle to the end.