There is SO much more to say about Universal Redemption, but, for so long as invincible ignorance holds that Redemption and Salvation are roughly identical, what purpose is there in discussion? Of all the mental straightjackets to which “Christian orthodoxy” ever brain-chained it’s sheeple, this is perhaps as good as it gets. Logic is lost on lemmings. And just as Protestant Christianity took most of it’s doctrines straight from it’s Roman Catholic progenitor, so also Universalism has taken many of it’s tenets of the faith from the inanities of the RCC or from its Protestant bastard offspring. Redemption and salvation were NEVER even in the same ball park of etymology, and to claim that that they are, takes a special level of selective ignorance and mental paucity.

While in fundamental evangelical circles, the two terms in English have become synonymous, in the Greek they as alike as day and night. Salvation in the Greek means wholeness, to be made whole – “wholed” so to speak and so forth, but ALWAYS has to do with health, holistic etc. Redemption on the other hand in Greek epitomizes the idea of making a purchase.

The concept of redemption in the NT is communicated using at least three distinct words. (1) exagorazo – or meaning to buy out from, Could mean to buy something at the market… (2) loo-tro’-o – or the act of paying a ransom, and (3) loo’-tron – the thing being offered as the bargaining chip or purchase price.

Thus, redemption and ransom are closely linked and reference the act pf buying something.Now, the act of being redeemed is certainly a KIND of salvation in the same way of dodging a bullet or avoiding being killed are  different kinds of salvation. But those things are not total and complete salvation, any more than red light or blue light by themselves are either light or a rainbows. And as he Greek word sozo means health, these two words are essentially AND generally, very different in both meanings and effects.

Modern Christianity holds that being saved is the act of passing from death unto life. Futurist Universalists hold that this will not occur until we are long dead and are purified by fire. But more on that in a moment. A lot more hinges on the question of where / when / how was humanity reconciled to God. A lot more can be learned by rereading those passages to do with reconciliation. Christians commonly agree that redemption of humanity occurred at the Cross, before then using every trick and pretzel like explanation why that was not a finished work, how you could, and probably will end up in Hell, especially if you are unlucky to be 95% of humanity….. AAARRRGGGH! But I agree that the irreversible effect of God’s redemption of humanity occurred t Calvary.

IF that is true, but not everybody is saved, OR saved YET… then logically, Salvation ≠ Redemption must have different qualities and results.

Salvation through the New Testament is a clearly evolving issue and by no means presents as a unified belief.

Jesus tells the rich young ruler to give his wealth away in order to inherit eternal life, he tells the adulteress “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”,, and Nicodemus to believe in John 3 – and He says whoever endures to the end shall be saved..

In fact, Jesus pulls at so many threads, that in the end, ” When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

But after the Apostles get hold of it, it gets even more squirrelly. You would expect better, wouldn’t you? LoL

In Acts 2, we read this, “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But what’s that actually mean?

Then in Acts 16 we hear Paul saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”. WHAT???? Household salvation?

In 2019, however, the definition of what comprises salvation differs as much as the denomination, sect, or schism to which you adhere. It will ALWAYS be an echo chamber with its own brand of confirmation bias, where one’s acceptance by the group is ALWAYS directly linked to your level of agreement / disagreement with the currently accepted message of he group.

And so we ask, “will the real salvation please stand up?!!”.

So we can confidently start from the position, that Salvation has something to do with wholeness and healing. There is only one thing of which we can be sure as we proceed and that is that given the plethora of Biblical data and the confusion of Modern Christianity, and given that we have drunk as much of the cool-aid as we have, the answer is going to be somewhere between impossible and right down to outright surprise.

My conclusions after much reflection are these.

Salvation is assured.

Salvation is, as many Christians teach, progressive.

Outside of that most of the proof texts used by Christians, describe the source or the effects of salvation than what actually salvation is comprised of.

Bottom line for myself. is that Redemption of all humanity occurred at the cross, and to extend redemption to anywhere in the future, is more self-serving than substantial.

Salvation is the step by step realization the reality and effects of my redemption.  As we realize more and more, of the fullness of redemption and how having been made ONE with God and all humanity, our acceptance of others change along with becoming God in the earth.

Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!

~ Fanny Crosby