What is soteriology and which models are commonly discussed?

• A. Soteriology is the study of predestination vs free will, unrelated to salvation.
• B. Soteriology is the study of sin; models include original sin and total depravity.
• C. Soteriology is the study of salvation; models include justification by faith alone and salvation as union with Christ through the Spirit, resulting in regeneration and sanctification.
• D. Soteriology is the study of church governance; models include episcopal and congregational polity.

Answer: (C)

Soteriology asks how salvation works in Christian life—how a person is saved, by whom, through what means, and what salvation produces in a person. The best choice states that soteriology is the study of salvation and then outlines two widely discussed models: justification by faith alone, where a person is declared righteous before God purely by faith in Christ (not by works); and salvation as union with Christ through the Spirit, which brings about regeneration (the new birth) and sanctification (growth in holiness) as believers live in communion with Christ. This framing covers both the mechanism of salvation (faith in Christ) and its transformative effects (being made righteous in God’s sight and increasingly holy in life). The other options misconstrue the field: one treats it as a debate about predestination versus free will without defining salvation; another reduces it to the study of sin; another shifts the focus to church governance.