Soteriological Aspects from a Pentecostal Perspective
Roger Oliveira de Mattos¹
ABSTRACT
This paper seeks to examine the doctrine of salvation from the perspective of Pentecostal theology, considering that soteriology varies according to theological traditions such as Calvinism, Arminianism, and Lutheranism. In Pentecostal theology, the soteriological perspective is predominantly Arminian-Wesleyan, according to which the grace of God may be resisted and Christ’s atonement on the cross is unlimited; that is, salvation is available to all humanity. The analysis is grounded in the doctrine of justification by faith as presented by the Apostle Paul. Pentecostalism is understood as a theological tradition that emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit; in other words, a theology in which pneumatology and the manifestation of spiritual gifts receive greater prominence. Nevertheless, saving grace is received through faith, and the individual may either respond to or resist this grace, a concept commonly associated with free will.
Keywords: Pentecostalism; Soteriology; Arminianism.
RESUMEN
Este texto busca abordar la doctrina de la salvación desde la perspectiva de la teología pentecostal, considerando que la soteriología diverge de acuerdo con la doctrina teológica (calvinismo, arminianismo y luteranismo). En la teología pentecostal, el enfoque soteriológico es arminiano-wesleyano, según el cual la gracia de Dios puede ser resistida y la expiación de Cristo en la cruz es ilimitada; es decir, la salvación está disponible para toda la humanidad. El análisis se fundamenta en la doctrina de la justificación por la fe, presentada por el apóstol Pablo. Se define el pentecostalismo como una teología con énfasis en la actuación del Espíritu Santo; en otras palabras, una teología en la que la pneumatología adquiere mayor relevancia, así como los dones espirituales. Sin embargo, la gracia salvífica se obtiene por medio de la fe, y el individuo puede aceptar esta gracia o resistirse a ella, lo cual se conoce como libre albedrío.
Palabras clave: Pentecostalismo; Soteriología; Arminianismo.
INTRODUCTION
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ for the salvation of humanity is the very heart of all Holy Scripture. Through His blood shed on the cross of Calvary, redemption from sin is granted to all who confess Jesus as Lord and repent of their sins.
However, salvation flows from divine grace, and humanity cannot attain it by its own merits. Yet human beings may choose to accept saving grace or to reject it. The theme runs throughout the entire New Testament, particularly in Paul’s letters, where the doctrine of salvation is expounded in a systematic way.
Drawing from Pauline theology, the proposed theme will be addressed from a Pentecostal perspective on the doctrine of salvation. Three of Paul’s letters in which he discusses the doctrine of justification by faith will also be briefly examined.
1. The Doctrine of Salvation
According to Dr. Pommerening (2017, p. 9): “The word salvation in Latin is composed of salvare (to make safe) and salus (good health, help). From this comes the Latin greeting ‘salve‘ as a wish for good health.” He also states that “The original meaning of salvation (from salvus, ‘healed’) can be interpreted as healing.”
After the fall of Adam, humanity lost its communion with the Creator, and all of humanity inherited a sinful nature. Humanity finds itself in a state of spiritual sickness and can do nothing on its own to find healing and salvation for the soul. This state is known in the Reformed tradition as total depravity. In the Arminian-Wesleyan tradition, it is understood that God grants to human beings what is called prevenient grace, which enables them to freely respond to the salvific call even while affected by sin.
As a solution, God devised a perfect plan, giving His only begotten Son to die for humanity in order to restore the fellowship that had once been lost in the Garden of Eden. Jesus Christ is the Messiah who came first to the people of Israel, yet they did not recognize Him. He suffered on a cross as an act of salvation, and through His blood, the sins of all who believe in Christ are washed away.
The work of salvation is a crucial doctrine of theology, known as soteriology.
Pommerening writes in his book A Obra da Salvação that:
Salvation also originates from the Greek word sóter. The term “soteriology” is a theological term composed of two Greek words: sōtēria, meaning “salvation, healing, recovery, redemption, remedy, well-being,” and the noun logia, whose primary meaning is ‘study, treatise, or teaching.’ In a literal sense, soteriology is “the study, teaching, or treatise concerning salvation.”
(POMMERENING, 2017, p. 10)
Soteriology began to be developed from the earliest centuries of the Church, especially through the theological debates of the 2nd through 5th centuries AD. Augustine of Hippo stood out as one of the principal theologians to elaborate the doctrine of salvation, particularly in relation to grace, sin, and predestination. His thought exercised profound influence throughout church history and in the development of Western theology, subsequently impacting reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. However, with the emergence of a theologian named Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch Reformed scholar, soteriology began to take on new theological contours when he decided to challenge the prevailing view of his time, strongly influenced by Calvinism.
Moreover, Arminius’s soteriological vision is the pillar of the dynamics of salvation in Pentecostal theology, which will be detailed further ahead. Briefly stated, one of the principal distinctions concerns the understanding of grace, which, according to Calvin, is irresistible; free will, in which the human being responds to divine grace — a concept called synergism; and unlimited atonement, for according to Calvinism, God has already predestined the elect, and thus only those previously chosen by God will be saved.
2. Justification by Faith According to the Apostle Paul
In the New Testament period, the doctrine of salvation is developed in considerable detail by the Apostle Paul in his letters, particularly in Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians.
In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(Eph 2:8–10, ESV)
The act of salvation comes only through faith in Christ as the sole Savior; in this act, the Christian receives the grace of God. Antonio Gilberto, reflecting on this act of salvation in his work Teologia Sistemática Pentecostal, affirms:
Salvation is by the grace of God, and not by our own effort, even though the saved are called to the practice of good works.
(GILBERTO, 2023, p. 338)
From the moment the believer receives salvation, he performs good works because he has been saved — not in order to be saved, nor to attain salvation through them.
The term justification, as described by Myer Pearlman (2009, p. 221), “is a forensic term that brings to mind a court of law. The person, guilty and condemned before God, is acquitted and declared righteous — that is, justified.“
Humanity finds itself in a state of condemnation as a consequence of original sin, and this sentence is annulled only through the saving work of Christ on the cross, which declares the person righteous once again.
In the letter to the Galatians, the theme runs throughout a context in which the Judaizers were calling into question the authenticity of Paul’s apostleship and compelling converted Gentiles to adopt Jewish practices, even though they had already accepted Christ as Savior. In doing so, they were effectively arguing that grace alone was insufficient — that the works of the Law were also necessary for justification. Paul is emphatic:
yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
(Gal 2:16, ESV)
In his letter to the Romans, the confrontation is similar; however, Paul applies his doctrine to include the Gentiles in the church alongside Jewish Christians, placing them on equal footing. In this letter, he expounds on the doctrine of justification by faith, citing the patriarch Abraham as an example, affirming that he was justified by faith in the Old Testament.
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
(Rom 3:28, ESV)
Thus, one arrives at the conclusion that the Apostle to the Gentiles grounded his theology in salvation by grace alone, through faith, and not by human merit.
3. What Is Pentecostalism
According to the Pentecostal theologian Gutierres Siqueira:
Pentecostalism is an evangelical and Christian force whose role is to restore the Person of the Holy Spirit to the leadership of the Church. It is not the creation of something new, but the remembrance of an ancient truth: the Holy Spirit is present on this earth to work for and in the Church.
(SIQUEIRA, 2017, p. 14)
Pneumatology is a highly valued doctrine in Pentecostal theology. In Pentecostalism, it is the Holy Spirit who equips believers for missionary work and causes every good work to be carried out for the glory of the person of Jesus Christ.
According to Stanley Horton (2021, p. 44): “Pentecostals possess a rich heritage in the realm of experience, demonstrating fervent convictions concerning their faith.“
Pentecostal theology places emphasis on the experience provided by communion with the Holy Spirit, which makes faith living and dynamic — not merely intellectual.
3.1 The Work of Salvation in Pentecostalism
It is important to note that Pentecostalism arose from the Protestant tradition, above all from the Wesleyan heritage. However, with regard to the soteriological question, it presents certain distinctions in relation to classical Protestantism. Although Jacobus Arminius was Reformed, as previously mentioned, his view on salvation differed from the Calvinist tradition. He questioned the doctrine of predestination and election of John Calvin, presenting his arguments on these themes.
For this reason, there have historically been associations made by the Reformed that Pentecostals would be heretics for following a Pelagian theological line. Pelagius was a British theologian of the 4th century who was declared a heretic by several church councils, most notably by the Council of Carthage in 418 AD. The reason was his doctrine regarding original sin — in which he denied humanity’s participation in it — and his view on salvation, in which he maintained that human beings could attain it without the intervention of divine grace.
However, it is known that this does not correspond to the doctrinal understanding of Pentecostals. In fact, in Pentecostalism, the grace of God is the only means of salvation, and good works are merely evidence that the person has genuinely been saved. Nevertheless, it is true that for the Pentecostal, a Christian can lose salvation, as in the case of apostasy.
In Reformed soteriology, which had John Calvin as its principal spokesman, salvation is understood as irrevocable. There are other differences, but this is the one that most causes disagreement in evangelical circles. According to Calvin, the elected believer will persevere to the end, with no possibility of abandoning the faith or living a life of sin — a doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints.
Furthermore, it is also affirmed that grace is irresistible, and once God chooses a person, He acts entirely on their behalf — a concept called monergism. Some more radical branches within Calvinism maintain that all events are subject to divine sovereignty, including the permission of evil.
The Pentecostal, in turn, holds to the Arminian-Wesleyan position, in which a person may decide whether or not to become a disciple of Christ, and that all humanity has access to salvation. It is also maintained that a person can indeed lose their salvation, whether through apostasy or by choosing to withdraw from fellowship with God, thereby grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The work of salvation is by grace alone, through faith, and was accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Regardless of doctrinal differences, both traditions agree on the conviction that salvation belongs to the perfect plan of God, who gave His Son to save humanity. Although the Reformed tradition holds that Jesus died for a specific group of the elect, and Arminianism maintains that Christ’s sacrifice covers all humanity, there is nothing a person can do to save themselves by their own merits.
The fact that a person may lose their salvation drives the Pentecostal believer toward a life of godliness and Christian commitment. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the Church advances throughout the world with the purpose of carrying out missions and evangelism. In this way, a dynamic spirituality is experienced, in order to persevere in faith and to overcome the power of sin. The enemy came to steal, kill, and destroy; yet Christ came to give life — and life in abundance. Moreover, He came to undo the works of evil and to grant salvation to all who believe in Him.
REFERENCES
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GILBERTO, Antonio. Teologia Sistemática Pentecostal: Soteriologia. Rio de Janeiro – RJ: CPAD, 2023.
HORTON, Stanley. Teologia Sistemática Pentecostal: uma perspectiva pentecostal. Rio de Janeiro – RJ: CPAD, 2021.
PEARLMAN, Myer. Conhecendo as doutrinas da Bíblia. 3rd ed. São Paulo – SP: Vida, 2009.
POMMERENING, Claiton Ivan. A Obra da Salvação: Jesus Cristo é o Caminho, a Verdade e a Vida. Rio de Janeiro – RJ: CPAD, 2017.
SIQUEIRA, F. Gutierres. Revestidos de Poder: Uma introdução à Teologia Pentecostal. Rio de Janeiro – RJ: CPAD, 2017.
