Jesus saves

1
Jesus saves?

• Session 3 The Classic theory
• The Satisfaction theory

2
Many Salvation Theologies

• More than 13 different theologies throughout
  church history
• 2 Classic and Satisfaction
• More than 50 theologies today
• 2 Feminist and ecological
• 1 Modern Lutheran

3
Earliest version of the classic/ransom theory

• Adam and Eve sold humanity over to the Devil at
  the time of the Fall
• Justice required that God pay the Devil a ransom
  to free us from the Devil's clutches
• God tricked the Devil into accepting Christ's
  death as a ransom (the Devil did not realize that
  Christ could not be held in the bonds of death)
• Once the Devil accepted Christ's death as a
  ransom, justice was satisfied and God was able to
  free us from Satan's grip.

4
Classic Theory

• Emerged from church fathers in first 400 years of
  Christianity (Origen, Irenaeus, Augustine)
• Dominant in slightly different forms for first
  1000 year of Christianity, until Anselm, Crusades

5
Whats wrong with the world?

• We are in bondage to powers beyond our control
• Sin, death and the power of the devil/evil
• We are in bondage to powers opposed to human
  freedom, well-being

6
How should it be? (salvation)

• We should be free from bondage
• Jesus Christ fights against and triumphs over
  powers of evil
• Gods power is stronger than the powers that keep
  us in bondage
• God engaged in cosmic conflict on our behalf
  against these powers, Satan
• Final cosmic victory is won
• Victory brings divine blessing, justification,
  life

7
What is Jesus role?

• God is at work in Christ
• To die and rise again
• Jesus dies as a result of his work and message of
  the Kingdom of God
• Social prophet
• Advocate for justice
• Critic of ruling authorities
• God raises Jesus from the dead Jesus is the
  VICTORIOUS CHRIST!

8
What is Gods role?

• God enters the world of sin and death through
  Christ
• God is the actor in deliverance, reconciliation
• Gods love, grace, mercy remove sentence of
  bondage and death
• Movement of God to Humans

9
What is our role?

• Receive the gift of salvation when we unite our
  lives to Jesus
• Life free from the powers of sin, death, devil

10
Satisfaction Theory of Salvation

• Developed by Anselm of Canterbury (12th century)
• Deliverance from guilt of sin
• Catholic system of penance
• Most popular theory still today

11
Whats wrong with the world?

• We break Gods law
• We are guilty sinners, in need of forgiveness
• God needs payment, satisfaction because of our sin

12
How should it be? (Salvation)

• Satisfaction of Gods honor needs to be made by
  Jesus sacrificial death on the cross
• Legal balance restored
• Human relationship with God restored, human sin
  forgiven by God

13
What is Jesus role?

• Make a payment to God on humanitys behalf
• Die to satisfy Gods need for justice
• Be the substitution for us

14
What is Gods role?

• God needs justice, payment
• God receives work of Jesus human sacrifice
• God is remote
• Gods power to forgive is limited to forgiveness
  through Jesus sacrifice

15
What is our role?

• Believe in what Jesus did for us
• Receive the forgiveness offered to us by God
  though Jesus death

16
Satisfaction Theory

• Satisfaction theory held by
• Calvin, Zwingli, Lutheran orthodoxy
• Martin Luther did not like this theory of
  atonement. His followers did like it.
• Martin Luther preferred the Classic theory

17
Discussion

• What do you think about these two theories of
  salvation?
• Are either of these two theories of salvation is
  close to what you currently believe?