Persuasive Essay On Salvation

Salvation – Who Gets It? Three summers ago, I attended a Christian, theological debate camp with other youth from Arkansas. While the entire week was a wonderful learning experience, the actual debate and discussion in and among the various small groups I was a part of was frustrating. The debate topic was salvation, which was fascinating, yet touchy to approach because it is literally a life-and-death matter. Although each of the campers attended similar debate seminars and theology plenaries, it was clear that many of the students just did not get it. They developed strong feelings for the position and beliefs they held on salvation and were not open to the ideas of others. The fault of many students was that they based their ideas solely on emotional grounds, making statements such as, “A good God would not condemn unbelievers for their unbelief because that does not seem ‘good’ at all.” I found it impossible to empathize with the purely emotional stance of those specific students. I aim to revisit the topic of salvation so that I can gain additional insight and respect for ideas that I do not believe personally and to build an intellectually and emotionally balanced case for the necessity of the Church

In defining “salvation,” the New Oxford American Dictionary says, “Those who have faith receive salvation; they are reconciled to God in the present and saved from the perils of future judgment (Stevenson and Lindberg).” In this text, those who have faith are the body of the Church. The New Testament standard for Church “membership” is through repentance and confession of sins against God and faith that God raised Jesus from the dead (English Standard Version, Romans 10.9-10). With these terms defined, a remaining priority is the explanation regarding what Christians wish to base Christian doctrine