You’re looking at it all wrong
Thoughts on someone else’s blog
I have, for some time, thought that people’s ideas about salvation are just too small. The achievements on the cross by Jesus Christ go way beyond personal salvation. I have also been thinking about social holiness (which is not the same as the social gospel), but that will have to wait for another blog.
Whilst thinking about this, I came upon “blogs by an Australian pastor1“, Les Henson. Two of his blogs from earlier this year, on what he calls a cockeyed view of salvation, have got me putting my own thoughts together. I have summarised Les Henson’s blogs as lists to help separate them from my thinking. The title “You are getting it all wrong” does not relate to Les Henson’s blogs, I think they are getting it right.
First of all, though, a definition from Wikipedia:
In religion, salvation is the saving of the soul from sin and its consequences. It may also be called “deliverance” or “redemption” from sin and its effects. … Religions often emphasize the necessity of both personal effort—for example, repentance and asceticism—and divine action (e.g. grace).
Les Henson’s blogs, a summary:
- Seeing salvation as an escape route is wrong
- That leads to a limited engagement with the world in which we dwell
- That also leads to environmental vandalism. If we are longing to escape from this world, there is no requirement to care for God’s creation
- This view ends up in a kind of Platonism that sees the physical world as evil and the spiritual world as good
- This is an unbiblical dualism that makes a false distinction between the physical and spiritual
- It should motivate us to open up our lives to the reality of the kingdom on a daily basis
- Salvation is ultimately becoming fully human as we are recreated into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ
- Jesus came to undo everything that was lost in the fall and restore the whole of creation, including ourselves, to our full humanity
That is the sort of thing I have been thinking about. That personal salvation is only part of the plan to restore the whole of the world to God. This is redemption, which means exactly the same as a theological word as it does when redeeming alone. It is setting everything, yes, everything, back to how it should be. In the end, it is not about you, not about me getting those cosy feelings, but about us under the power of God through the Holy Spirit, helping to bring about the redemption of the universe.
Les Henson goes on:
- Salvation is much more expansive than forgiveness of sin and personal salvation.
- It includes: the renewal and restoration of the whole of creation
- It includes: the tearing down of all structures and powers that hold people and creation itself in bondage
- It includes: the re-conforming of our thinking, worldview and identity to mind of Christ in all areas of life
- It includes: the re-conforming of our thinking, worldview and identity to mind of Christ in all areas of life
- It includes: the overturning of all injustices and the alleviation of poverty
- It includes: the reconciling of all things and all relationships;
- It includes: the reconciling and restoration of everything that has been defaced and distorted in the fall
- All this takes place in this world and ultimately in the next.
- We must overcome the idea that salvation is all about us
Food for thought.
My thoughts go further than this, into the idea of what John Wesley called Social Holiness. That is the idea derived from such Bible passages that speak of us, the church, as a holy nation, the Bride of Christ, etc. We are not just saved alone, we are being saved together as part of the Church. This is something from the early Evangelical preaching that I would like to see restored in the preaching of the Evangelical churches.
1The link no longer works, and I am unable to find any trace of the website.
Making an ass of myself 
Hey, me was thinking and analyzing how the apostles, specially paul, suffered and sacrificed to serve Christ in the work of the salvation of human race. His legacy still echoes tangibly in our contemporary age. Not only the old apostles but also the classic revivalists have also played their part in paying the cost to bring people to the kingdom of God. So this brings me to question: even if God has offered salvation freely to people, we need to pass through some some persuasive process to accept the gift of salvation. This persuasive process ofen may include the prospective believer passing through sufferings. So from God’s side it is free but from human side we might have to pay a lot to bring ourselves into this freely given salvation.
So once we get saved and join the secured eternal life’s kingdom, we might get the feeling of regret about the negative things we pased through and the scars they left. But that is how it is. We must set our perspectives towards the eternal horizon and the start living gratefully by fearing God and obeying Him. We surely have to be thankful objectively because what we achieved is infinitely invaluable. So however regrettable our past looks, we must acknowledge the one who chose us from the beginning. May be things have been orchestrated to make happen the salvation we have received. We should remember the fact that there are those who are not choosen!! So let’s cheer up joyfully and thankfully for the Great Salvation!!!
Hi Abreham
The whole idea of Christian Salvation is that Christ has done it all. Everything. There is no need for anyone to go through suffering in order to be saved.
Once saved , then we have to live it out. There are many places in the world where people are persecuted, imprisoned, refused employment and even executed for believing on Jesus Christ. They are not saved by their suffering, they are suffering because they are saved.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is once, for all time, and sufficient for all.
Thanks for replying to this old post from 2018.
Steve.
Hello Sir!! I appreciate the reply to my comment. I partially agree with your idea. I and many have had hard times before we accepted Christ. Had I not been in the negative situation I was, I would have kept being disdainful I guess. So it might be logical to conclude that sufferings can play part in bringing people attention to Christ. And even after we accept Christ, we tend to hear His saving wisdom when we are passing through hard times. It is possible to get His gracious councils when we act in goodness, when we pray, and when we worship in the Church. But there is an ego in each of us that make us walk imperfectly, and during those times it is the sufferings that tend to open our eyes and ears to the saving Word of God.
So, even though the suffering has directly nothing to do with the salvation, it tends to turn us to the direction of the Way where we receive our salvation of soul.
But I am not giving credit to bad times, neither do I seek them. But it is the second option. If we can’t keep doing His will to get ourselves close to Him peacefully, then the bad times will try. So it is ‘have it the easy way or the hard way’ kind of thing.
Have a great time!!