Soteriology in 1 Peter and 2 Peter

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Soteriology in 1 Peter and 2 Peter

Soteriology is the study of God’s salvation for mankind through the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter in his letters 1 Peter and 2 Peter talks of the deliverance of mankind from death and sin by Jesus dying on the cross. The death of Jesus on the cross brought redemption where Jesus saved people from sin through His blood, yet He was without sin and blemish. Both books of Peter picture redemption as a price Jesus had to pay to save people from sin and death as illustrated in 1 Peter 1:18-19 and 2 Peter 2:1. People receive deliverance through personal faith in Jesus (Criswell, Web).

1 Peter describes what deliverance through the blood of Jesus brings to those who receive salvation. Salvation has assured eternal security since once it is acquired it cannot be lost as long as one lives a godly life as indicated in 1 Peter 1:3-5, “we were born again to new life that never dies”. In addition, salvation offers believers the membership to the royal priesthood since, before God, every believer becomes a priest. Believers also become eternal heirs of Christ’s future (The New Life Bible, 1 Pet. 1:4).

2 Peter urges believers to continue pursuing and enjoying the freedom from sin and death, which they acquired through Jesus Christ (Criswell, Web). The book pictures salvation as deliverance from world’s defilements and slavery to sin and corruption into eternal life through Jesus. It describes the climax of deliverance and complete redemption from slavery to sin and eternally following Jesus as a personal savior, “God wants all people to be sorry for their sins and turn from them” (The New Life Bible, 2 Pet. 3: 9). It is not God’s will for people to perish due to sin, but they should repent and live holy lives.

1 Peter talks of foreordination of Christ as the savior of mankind. God had chosen Christ to die for the sin of people that they may have eternal life way before the world was created. Foreordination is only found in the first work and not in the second work of Peter. Therefore, foreordination is only found in 1 Peter to reveal that God had planned the death of Jesus for the sake of mankind prior to the creation of the world (The New Life Bible, 1 Pet. 1:20).

Works Cited

Criswell, Kellen. Soteriology in the Middle 2. Calvary Chapel.com, May 2012. Web. 27 June 2013.

The New Life Bible. Ohio: Uhrichsville, 2003. Print.