I was just wondering what other people think of the whole idea of "Salvation of the Soul" as refered to in James 1:21 "Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility recieve the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." NASB
-Isaac
The soul in the context of James 1:21 is that part of mankind which will never die. A person's soul has one of two destinations in the hereafter; heaven or hell. There are no other options.
The Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23; 5:12). The only exception to this is infants and children who have not reached a point of maturity where they are accountable to God.
The bible gives one punishment for all sin and that is death (Romans 6:23). Death in this case means eternal damnation in Hell. Man sins and the penalty is death. There are no exceptions. God who is righteous and absolutely just and fair demands this penalty for sin. He wanted to give man a second chance so he provided a means by which man can be forgiven. Since we owed our lives for our sin, the only way out of this was for someone else to pay this death penalty for us.
Jesus Christ left heaven, came to earth, lived as a man and died in our place for our sins. He paid the death penalty we owe for the sins we committed. God played a definite role in man's salvation and man has a role to play as well.
Man did not deserve this second chance, cannot merit it and cannot pay for or earn it under any circumstances. God simply offered this from his great capacity for love, mercy and concern for mankind. This is known as God's grace. Grace is defined as a beneficiary disposition towards someone which is neither deserved or merited in any way. God's grace was God reaching down to fallen man and offering Him a hope and way of salvation from the death penalty owed.
Man's role to play in this is faith. Faith is fallen man reaching up towards God in hope. It is vitally important to realize that Faith is a verb and it does not in any way shape or form mean faith alone. In fact, James 2 flat out states in words which are impossible to misunderstand that salvation is not not by faith alone (James 2:24). Faith is understood in the Bible as a comprehensive term meaning that which man does in response to God's gracious offer of salvation.
Jesus Christ Himself said in Matthew 7:21, Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
A response by man to God's gracious offer is required in order to receive salvation. This response is summed up nicely in Hebrews 5:9 which speaks concerning Jesus, "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Obedience to the will of God by faith in Jesus Christ is how we are saved. It is important to keep in mind that our works will not save us apart from our faith any more than faith will save us apart from works. It takes both. This is no way militates against salvation being by Grace. Our salvation cost God the life of His only begotten Son. Our works will never repay that debt nor will they ever in any way be sufficient to save us. In the end, no matter what we may do on this earth in obedience to the will of God, we will not have re-payed that which was sacrificed on our behalf. In the end, it will not be our works that bridges the gap between us and heaven, it will be God's grace.
I appreciated your question. I hope my reply served to answer your question and I hope you will seek more of God's truth through study of His word.
Thank you
