Course 10 · Theology and Tradition
Salvation and Eschatology
Study how Christians understand sin, grace, justification and election, and what they hope for in the resurrection, the judgment and the new creation, comparing the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant answers.
Overview
This course is the third of three on systematic theology. It asks two large questions. The first is how human beings are saved: what is wrong with humanity, what God does about it, and what part, if any, human beings play. The second is where history is going: what Christians believe about death, resurrection, judgment, heaven, hell and the renewal of all things.
The first half begins with sin and human nature, including the doctrine of original sin and the debate between Augustine and Pelagius in the early fifth century. It then moves through grace and free will, justification, sanctification, predestination and election, redemption and adoption. These topics were the center of the sixteenth-century divisions of the western church, so the course reads Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Arminian and Orthodox statements in their own words, noting where the disagreement is real and where the same words carry different meanings.
The second half covers eschatology, the doctrine of the last things. It examines the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, heaven and hell, and the new creation. It explains the main millennial interpretations (premillennial, amillennial and postmillennial) and the wider range of Christian eschatological traditions, including the debates about the fate of the unevangelized and about whether all will finally be saved.
Throughout, the course separates what the creeds affirm, what the churches teach in different ways, and what is a matter of personal interpretation. Technical terms such as imputation, concupiscence, synergism and monergism are explained when they first appear. By the end you will be able to compare major Christian understandings of salvation, grace and final judgment fairly and in writing.
Objectives
- Explain the doctrine of original sin in its Western and Eastern forms and the debates about it.
- Describe the Augustine and Pelagius dispute and the church’s response in the fifth and sixth centuries.
- Distinguish monergism and synergism and state where Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed and Arminian traditions stand on grace and free will.
- Explain justification in Catholic and Protestant teaching and describe what the Council of Trent and the Reformers each said.
- Compare Calvinist and Arminian accounts of predestination and election, stating each in its own terms.
- Explain redemption and adoption as biblical images of salvation and relate them to sanctification and, in the East, to theosis.
- Describe what Christians affirm about the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, heaven and hell, and the new creation.
- Compare the premillennial, amillennial and postmillennial interpretations of Revelation 20 and describe how they differ.
- Identify the main Christian eschatological traditions and mark which beliefs are creedal and which are debated.
- Write a fair comparison of major Christian understandings of salvation, grace and final judgment.
Course outline
Module 1 Sin and Human Nature
Define what Christians mean by sin, the fall and original sin, and see how the traditions differ in understanding them.
Topics
- Original sin
- Human nature and fallenness
Lessons
Module 2 Grace and Free Will
Follow the great argument about how God’s grace and human choice relate, from Augustine to the present.
Topics
- Grace and free will
Lessons
Module 3 Justification and Sanctification
Compare what Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians mean by being made right with God and being made holy.
Topics
- Justification
- Sanctification
Lessons
Module 4 Predestination and Election
Study how Scripture speaks of election and how the traditions have interpreted it.
Topics
- Predestination and election
Lessons
Module 5 Atonement, Redemption and Adoption
Place the work of Christ within the whole of salvation and study the biblical images by which it is described.
Topics
- Atonement
- Redemption
- Adoption
Lessons
Module 6 Death, Resurrection and Judgment
Study what Christians confess about the end of life, the rising of the dead and the final judgment.
Topics
- Resurrection of the dead
- Final judgment
Lessons
Module 7 Heaven, Hell and the New Creation
Compare Christian teachings on final destinies and on the renewal of all things.
Topics
- Heaven and hell
- New creation
Lessons
Module 8 The Millennium and Christian Eschatological Traditions
Read Revelation 20 and the wider biblical material, then compare the major systems for the last things.
Topics
- Millennial interpretations
- Christian eschatological traditions
Lessons
Suggested schedule
| When | Work |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Module 1: Sin and Human Nature |
| Week 2 | Module 2: Grace and Free Will |
| Week 3 | Module 3: Justification and Sanctification |
| Week 4 | Module 4: Predestination and Election |
| Week 5 | Module 5: Atonement, Redemption and Adoption |
| Week 6 | Module 6: Death, Resurrection and Judgment |
| Week 7 | Module 7: Heaven, Hell and the New Creation |
| Week 8 | Module 8: The Millennium and Christian Eschatological Traditions |
| Week 9 | Independent assignment and self-assessment |
Readings
Required
- Augustine of Hippo, The City of God
A huge answer to the charge that Christianity caused Rome’s fall. It shapes Western thought on history, politics and the church.
How to use it: Read selectively: the books on the fall and on sin (around Book 14), and the final books on the last judgment, the fate of the wicked and the resurrection (Books 20 to 22).
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will
Luther’s reply to Erasmus on free will. A vivid statement of the Reformation view of grace.
How to use it: Read selectively to hear Luther’s argument against free will and its relation to grace.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
The most influential Reformed theology. Book IV is the best statement of the Reformed view of church and sacraments.
How to use it: Read the sections on the fall, on justification and on predestination (Books 2 to 3) as the classic Reformed account.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Council of Trent (1545-1563), Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent
The Catholic response to the Reformation on Scripture, justification and the sacraments. Read it as a Catholic statement of its own position.
How to use it: Read the decree on original sin and the decree on justification in the Catholic Church’s own words.
Read the canons and decrees (Hanover College) In the library - Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The authoritative modern summary of Catholic teaching. Read it to understand what Catholics actually claim, in their own words.
How to use it: Read the sections on grace and justification and on the last things, including purgatory, to hear the present Catholic position.
Read online (Vatican) In the library - Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith
The classic confession of English-speaking Reformed and Presbyterian Protestantism. It is printed in Schaff’s volume of Protestant creeds; use the contents list to find it.
How to use it: Read the chapters on the fall, on free will, on effectual calling and on justification, and the closing chapters on the last judgment.
Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library
Recommended
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
The great medieval summary of Christian theology. It is long; use the questions assigned in each course rather than reading straight through.
How to use it: Read selectively in the treatise on grace and on the last things for the medieval Catholic synthesis.
Read online (New Advent) In the library - Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
Augustine’s account of his restless search for God. Read Book I and then Book VIII, the story of his conversion.
How to use it: Read for Augustine’s own experience of the will and of grace, which is the personal background to his later arguments.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, The Heidelberg Catechism
A warm, pastoral Reformation catechism. A good short example of how Protestants teach the faith to beginners.
How to use it: A shorter Reformed statement on sin, grace and salvation.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3: The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches
One volume that collects the major Protestant confessions (Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and others) so you can compare them side by side.
How to use it: Use it to read the Augsburg Confession, the Canons of Dort and other Protestant statements side by side.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies
The first great defense of apostolic teaching against Gnostic rivals. Essential for the question of how Scripture and tradition relate.
How to use it: Read selectively in Book 5 for early views of the resurrection and the new creation.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church
A classic exposition of Eastern theology as lived and prayed. Advanced.
How to use it: For the Orthodox teaching on grace, the fall and theosis.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God
A major scholarly argument about what the first Christians meant by resurrection and why they believed it happened. Long and demanding.
How to use it: A scholarly study of the resurrection hope in the ancient world and the New Testament. Read the introduction and conclusion first.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (5 volumes)
A major history of how doctrine developed across all three great traditions, to the modern age.
How to use it: Use for the history of doctrine on grace and the last things. Read selectively.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - James Arminius, The Works of James Arminius
The writings of the Dutch theologian whose followers presented the Remonstrance. The best source for the Arminian side of the debate with Calvinism.
How to use it: Read selectively for the Arminian account of grace and free will.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions
Wesley’s standard sermons on grace, justification and holiness. A clear statement of the Wesleyan view of salvation.
How to use it: Read the sermons on justification and on salvation by faith.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Second Council of Orange, The Canons of the Council of Orange, on grace and original sin
The council that endorsed Augustine on the need for grace and rejected both Pelagianism and the semi-Pelagian view that the first step toward faith is ours. Read it beside Augustine, Cassian and the later debates among Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed and Arminians.
How to use it: Read the canons on grace, which stand behind both Catholic and Protestant debates.
Read the canons (Fordham Medieval Sourcebook) In the library - Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church, Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
A common statement by Lutherans and Catholics that the 16th century condemnations on justification do not apply to the other side’s present teaching. Read it for what it states and for what it leaves open, since many Lutheran and Reformed critics disagree with it.
How to use it: Read the 1999 statement and the notes on what each side still holds separately.
Read the official text (Lutheran World Federation, PDF)Read online (IARCCUM archive) In the library
Passages in the Scripture Study
- Genesis 3:6 The fall: the first sin and its setting.
- Romans 5:12 Sin entered through one man and death through sin. Central to the doctrine of original sin and the center of a long debate over its translation and meaning.
- Psalm 51:5 I was brought forth in iniquity; often cited in the discussion of inherited sin.
- Ephesians 2:8 By grace you have been saved through faith, not your own doing.
- Romans 3:28 A person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
- James 2:24 A person is justified by works and not by faith alone; read alongside Paul in every account of justification.
- Philippians 2:12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you.
- John 6:44 No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him.
- Romans 8:29 Those whom God foreknew he also predestined; the center of the debate about foreknowledge and election.
- Ephesians 1:4 God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
- 1 Timothy 2:4 God desires all people to be saved; used in arguments for the wideness of God’s will.
- Romans 8:15 The Spirit of adoption, by whom believers cry Abba, Father.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 The dead will be raised imperishable at the last trumpet.
- Matthew 25:46 The judgment of the nations; a central text for the discussion of eternal punishment and eternal life.
- Revelation 20:4 The thousand years; the text at the center of the millennial debate.
- Revelation 21:1 A new heaven and a new earth.
Independent assignment
A Fair Comparison of Christian Understandings of Salvation, Grace and Final Judgment
- Purpose
- To compare the major Christian understandings of salvation, grace and final judgment accurately and fairly, so that a member of each tradition would recognize their own view in your account.
- Instructions
- Choose five positions to compare: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed and Arminian or Wesleyan. State briefly the sources you will use for each position.
- Create a comparison table in your notebook with these rows: what is wrong with humanity, the role of grace and free will, justification, sanctification, predestination, assurance, and the last things.
- Write a section on original sin and human nature that states the Western and Eastern accounts and the main points of disagreement.
- Write a section on grace, free will and justification, using the Council of Trent, a Lutheran or Reformed confession and at least one Arminian or Eastern source. Quote or cite specific statements.
- Write a section on predestination and election that states both the Calvinist and the Arminian arguments in their strongest form and explains the Catholic and Eastern views.
- Write a section on the last things covering the resurrection, the final judgment, heaven, hell and the new creation, and the three main millennial views.
- Identify three points where the traditions appear to disagree but may be using words differently, and three points where the disagreement is real.
- State which positions the creeds settle and which they leave open. Give an example from the ecumenical creeds.
- Close with a paragraph that states your own tentative conclusions, if any, separated clearly from the descriptive sections.
- Required sources
- At least one Catholic, one Orthodox, one Lutheran or Reformed and one Arminian or Wesleyan source, from the required readings or elsewhere.
- At least eight of the Scripture passages for this course.
- At least four of the required readings.
- Length and scope
- About 3,500 to 5,000 words, or twelve to sixteen pages, plus the comparison table. Keep it in your own notebook or document. Do not send it anywhere.
- Questions to address
- How does each tradition describe what is wrong with humanity, and what remedy does it name?
- What does it mean to say that grace comes first, and how does each tradition place human response?
- What do the words justification and righteousness mean in each tradition?
- On which points would a member of each tradition say that I have described their view fairly?
- Which differences concern words, and which concern substance?
- Expected output
- A written comparison with a table, five fair accounts of the traditions, a section on the last things and a labeled statement of the writer’s own conclusions.
- How it will be evaluated
- It states each position in terms that its own adherents would accept.
- It cites primary sources for each tradition and does not rely on critics.
- It separates creedal agreement, denominational teaching and personal interpretation.
- It identifies real disagreements and verbal ones accurately.
- It covers sin, grace, justification, election and the last things.
- It is clear, well organized and written in plain language.
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Presenting Catholic teaching as though it were salvation by works, or Protestant teaching as though it rejected good works.
- Equating the Calvinist and Arminian positions with caricatures, such as God forcing choices or humans saving themselves.
- Treating the Orthodox tradition as a version of Catholicism or Protestantism.
- Mixing the question of what is true with the question of what each tradition teaches.
- Using a single modern writer as the voice of a whole tradition.
Knowledge check and self-assessment
What is original sin, and how does the Eastern understanding differ from the Western?
In the Western tradition, following Augustine, original sin is the condition of guilt and corruption inherited from Adam, which affects all people from birth. In the Eastern tradition the emphasis falls on inherited mortality and a weakened nature, sometimes called ancestral sin, and people are held responsible for their own sins. The two accounts overlap, and both agree that humanity needs Christ. Translations and interpretations of Romans 5:12 are part of the dispute.
What was the dispute between Augustine and Pelagius?
Pelagius, a British monk active in Rome in the early fifth century, taught that human beings can obey God by their own natural powers, with God’s help understood largely as teaching and example. Augustine replied that the will is damaged by sin and that grace is needed for any good and for the beginning of faith. A series of church councils, including Carthage in 418 and later the Council of Ephesus, condemned Pelagian teaching. The Synod of Orange in 529 affirmed grace while stopping short of Augustine’s strictest views on predestination.
Explain the difference between monergism and synergism.
Monergism holds that God alone works to bring a person to faith, so that the human will does not cooperate with the first act of grace. It is associated with Lutheran and Reformed teaching. Synergism holds that God’s grace and the human will cooperate in salvation, although grace always comes first. It is associated with Catholic, Orthodox, Arminian and Wesleyan teaching. The categories simplify, and each tradition uses its own careful qualifications.
State the main difference between Catholic and Protestant teaching on justification.
Protestants of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions teach that a sinner is declared righteous by God through faith alone because of Christ, whose righteousness is credited to the believer, and that good works follow as fruit. Catholic teaching, as set out at Trent, holds that justification includes both the forgiveness of sins and an inward renewal by grace, and that the believer cooperates with grace through faith, hope and love. Recent ecumenical statements claim substantial agreement on the basic truths, while acknowledging differences that remain.
Compare the Calvinist and Arminian accounts of election.
Calvinists hold that God chose some persons before creation, not on the basis of foreseen faith, and that grace brings them infallibly to faith. Arminians hold that God elects those whom he foresees will believe, and that grace is offered to all but can be resisted. Both traditions hold that salvation is by grace. The difference concerns whether election is unconditional or conditional, and whether grace can be finally resisted. Both claim support in Romans 8 and 9 and Ephesians 1.
What does the church affirm about the resurrection of the dead?
The Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds confess the resurrection of the dead, understood as the raising of the whole person in a transformed body at the return of Christ, not only the survival of the soul. Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians 15 as the sowing of a natural body and the raising of a spiritual body. The traditions differ on what happens in the interval between death and resurrection, and on purgatory, but agree that the final hope is bodily.
Describe the three main millennial interpretations.
Premillennialism holds that Christ returns before a literal thousand-year reign on earth. It takes historic and dispensational forms. Amillennialism holds that the thousand years in Revelation 20 describes the present age of the church, with Christ reigning from heaven, and was the dominant view in Augustine and in most Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed teaching. Postmillennialism holds that Christ returns after a long period of gospel-driven flourishing. All hold that Christ will return and judge.
Name three views of hell found among Christians and say what the creeds settle.
The traditional view holds that hell is conscious, eternal separation from God. Annihilationism, or conditional immortality, holds that the wicked finally cease to exist. Hopeful universalism, found in some Eastern and modern writers, holds that one may hope that God will save all, while a stronger universalism claims that all will be saved. The ecumenical creeds affirm a final judgment and eternal life, but do not define the nature of hell in detail. Councils condemned some forms of universalism, notably in the sixth century.
Judge your own progress
- When you finish the modules, answer the knowledge questions from memory, without notes. Aim for 70 percent or better; if you score lower, reread the relevant module and try again.
- Write your comparison (the independent assignment). Wait three days, reread it, and mark every place where you described a tradition from memory or from its critics instead of its own sources.
- Check your work against the evaluation criteria in the assignment. Rate each criterion as strong, adequate or weak and write one sentence on how you would improve each weak one.
- Return to the key ideas of the course after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. At each point, explain aloud the Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Arminian and Orthodox views of grace and free will in a minute each.
- You can state each major position on grace, justification and election so that its own adherents would recognize it.
- You can distinguish what the creeds affirm from what the traditions teach in different ways.
- You can explain the main eschatological systems and the arguments for and against each.