Soteriology is the heart of Christian doctrine about how we can be made righteous or, to use another word for it from the Bible, how we can become justified so that when everything becomes known about us on the day of God’s final judgement, the verdict is “not guilty”. Common sense demands that this is a question of whether the offenses that we have given have been amended. Or, to use the biblical term, whether our offenses have been atoned for.
Given the gravity of the subject, it is not surprising that “…the means of justification is an area of significant difference among Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism” (Wikipedia).
Even among Protestants who adhere to the Reformation creed of sola fide (justification by faith alone), disagreement continues to exist, which can be boiled down to this question: Is justification only about a so-called imputed righteousness, namely the righteousness of Jesus Christ that God counts as righteousness on behalf of everyone who believes him? Or is Christ’s righteousness also infused in his followers in any tangible manner, according to the measure of their faith that unites them to Christ? And if so, can this change atone for anything?
As it is impossible here to do justice to every tradition, this short study series instead focuses on a few texts that have been foundational for the doctrine of justification irrespective of differences in interpretation, with the goal to encourage further personal study:
Compilations of helpful texts on justification by faith:
Other selected chapters that focus on this subject:
- Galatians 3:1-22 Justification by faith alone
- Galatians 3:23-4:20 Sons of God: What else if not a question of identity?
- Galatians 4:21-31 Children of Promise
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