Salvation

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term for salvation, guwon (救援), means "to rescue and help." In Christianity, salvation refers to the deliverance of human beings from sin and its consequences—death and separation from God—so that they are reconciled to God and receive eternal life. Protestants generally regard salvation not as the result of human merit but as the grace of God given through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection, and they confess that people receive it by faith. The branch of theology that deals with salvation is called soteriology. Soteriology describes the various aspects of salvation, including justification, being declared righteous before God, and sanctification, the process of being transformed in holiness.

Biblical and Historical Background

In the Old Testament, salvation frequently appears as an event in which God delivers his people from oppression and danger, as in the Exodus. The New Testament broadens this to include the forgiveness of sins through Christ, declaring, "For by grace are ye saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8).

Salvation was a central issue in the Pelagian controversy of the fifth century and in the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Martin Luther and John Calvin emphasized justification by faith. The Catholic Church emphasized human cooperation with grace and the role of the sacraments. Later, within Protestantism itself, Calvinism and Arminianism continued to debate predestination and free will.

Salvation in Korean Churches

• Presbyterian: Following the Reformed tradition, Presbyterians emphasize God's sovereign election (predestination). They teach the "perseverance of the saints," the doctrine that those who are truly saved will be preserved to the end.
• Methodist and Holiness: Following Wesleyan theology, these churches emphasize the grace first given to all people (prevenient grace) and the human response to it, and they place great importance on sanctification following salvation. Holiness churches proclaim the Fourfold Gospel of regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming.
• Full Gospel (Pentecostal): Full Gospel churches emphasize baptism in the Holy Spirit along with salvation. They are widely known for the message of the Threefold Blessing—the prospering of the soul, prosperity in all things, and good health—which Pastor David Yonggi Cho preached on the basis of 3 John 1:2.
• Baptist: Baptists hold that those who have been saved by faith receive baptism by immersion as a confession of that faith; they do not regard baptism itself as conferring salvation.

In Korean churches, the phrase "Believe in Jesus and be saved" and the prayer to receive Christ (often called the sinner's prayer) are widely used in evangelism. Denominations differ in their emphasis on the question of assurance of salvation, that is, whether believers can be personally certain that they have been saved. The Salvation Sect, which emphasizes personal realization and the specific moment of being saved, has been declared heretical by a number of denominations, while the group itself maintains that its view of salvation is grounded in Scripture.