Salvation

Ever since the Philippian jailer asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" people have wondered what salvation is and how it works.

Salvation has always been a somewhat mysterious thing for me. My dad has a picture of the church where he was saved. He can point to a day and time when it happened. I am not so sure about my own story. I told the Ministerial Board (when I was going through ordination) that I was saved in Vacation Bible School. That is not incorrect, as it is one of the many times I repeated the "Sinner's Prayer," after have the fear of Hell put in me.

I have a basic understanding of what most mainstream theological traditions believe about salvation, but it is oversimplified. The thing is that oversimplification are often quite accurate.

As I said, I repeated the "Sinner's Prayer," periodically through my childhood and teenage years. I want to take a look at it all through various lenses of interpretation.

First, my Calvinist friends would say that I was only saved once, because once you have been saved that is it. You are done. So, I could have been saved the first time I said the prayer. All the others were meaningless because I was already saved. The thing is, though, it may not have been sincere the first time. It does not really count until it is sincere. Even though, I was sincere every time I prayed it. Why else would I bother?

Second, my Catholic friends (and even a large segment of Protestants) would say that I was not saved until I was baptized, which occurred in the Spring of my freshman year in high school. I, again, cannot remember the date. (I imagine that I have a certificate, or something, lying around the house.) All the prayers and everything really did not mean anything until I was put in the water. And, I was immersed for those who discount sprinkling and pouring.

Third, my fellow Arminian-Wesleyans would insist that if I was saved, I must have back-slidden, again repeatedly. We can be saved, then back-slide, then get saved, then back-slide, then get saved... You get the picture. I always hoped that if I died, I died while I was saved, not back-slidden. We push the boulder up the hill, only to have it roll down.

To be sure, I am not questioning whether or not I am saved. My point is this: what do we really know about salvation anyway? Do we really know anything about the mechanics of it? Does everyone have to be saved the same way? I mean, if a boat sinks, some people are rescued by helicopter. Some are rescued by swimming to shore (assuming land is nearby). Some are saved by other ships. Some are saved by life rafts. Some are never saved. Does any theological tradition have a monopoly on the understanding of salvation, to the exclusion of everyone else?