Although my public speaking class is over, I can easily recall most of the spiritual sermons that were delivered (mine was on lectio divina, and I posted it on this blog sometime ago). The majority of the sermons focused on evangelism (except for one, which focused on intimacy with God; I loved it!), and the common thread, the common statement, made by those giving the speeches, was that evangelism means convincing people that they're going to Hell but God's got a ticket for them to go to Heaven. It made me cringe in my seat. While those speaking are certainly not wrong, they're missing the bigger picture.
Leading a house church sometime ago, the question came up in discussion, "What is salvation?" There was silence throughout the room and I thought to myself, "You've got to be kidding me: we're talking about evangelism and no one can define salvation?" Finally, one of my friends piped, "Does it mean we're going to Heaven?" I told her, quite frankly, "Heaven's a part of it, sure. But it's not the entirety of salvation, though many think it is." So we took the time to diverge from the topic of evangelism and dived into the topic of "What is salvation?"
In order to answer that question, one must look at the reason why Christ came. Christ was the Messiah. This means that He was the One sent by God to "set things right" between God and man. If something has to be "set right," then it must be broken. So what is broken? If we look in Genesis, we see that there are three intimacies that existed before the Fall: intimacy with God, intimacy with each other, and intimacy with creation. Come the Fall, these intimacies were shattered. All throughout the Old Testament, we see God trying to rekindle intimacy with His people, the Jews, but they, for the most part, don't want it; and for those who do, sin keeps getting in the way. 2000 years ago Christ came, showed us what real life was like, then died a servant's death and rose again. Through his death, we are forgiven. This forgiveness means that we can now be intimate with God, intimate with others, and intimate with creation. This is the Kingdom of God in all its trappings!
Salvation, then, is reconciliation with God. It is deliverance from a dead life and entrance into a real life. It is our lives being "set right" with God, with others, and with creation. Salvation is us being reunited with Christ in His Kingdom, a Kingdom which exists now among us and in us and continues into eternity. Where do Heaven and Hell fit in? Heaven and Hell are the continuations of the life we choose to live now. If we choose to become a part of Christ's Kingdom, our eternal destiny is in a new heavens and new earth, a paradise, alongside all of the renewed creation, alongside all the others who followed Christ, and alongside the Triune God. If we choose to deny the Kingdom, if we choose to deny Christ, we will live outside God's Kingdom for all eternity, and that is Hell.
And all of this is possible not through being better people, not through our own willpower or determination, but through the beautiful grace of Christ:
Leading a house church sometime ago, the question came up in discussion, "What is salvation?" There was silence throughout the room and I thought to myself, "You've got to be kidding me: we're talking about evangelism and no one can define salvation?" Finally, one of my friends piped, "Does it mean we're going to Heaven?" I told her, quite frankly, "Heaven's a part of it, sure. But it's not the entirety of salvation, though many think it is." So we took the time to diverge from the topic of evangelism and dived into the topic of "What is salvation?"
In order to answer that question, one must look at the reason why Christ came. Christ was the Messiah. This means that He was the One sent by God to "set things right" between God and man. If something has to be "set right," then it must be broken. So what is broken? If we look in Genesis, we see that there are three intimacies that existed before the Fall: intimacy with God, intimacy with each other, and intimacy with creation. Come the Fall, these intimacies were shattered. All throughout the Old Testament, we see God trying to rekindle intimacy with His people, the Jews, but they, for the most part, don't want it; and for those who do, sin keeps getting in the way. 2000 years ago Christ came, showed us what real life was like, then died a servant's death and rose again. Through his death, we are forgiven. This forgiveness means that we can now be intimate with God, intimate with others, and intimate with creation. This is the Kingdom of God in all its trappings!
Salvation, then, is reconciliation with God. It is deliverance from a dead life and entrance into a real life. It is our lives being "set right" with God, with others, and with creation. Salvation is us being reunited with Christ in His Kingdom, a Kingdom which exists now among us and in us and continues into eternity. Where do Heaven and Hell fit in? Heaven and Hell are the continuations of the life we choose to live now. If we choose to become a part of Christ's Kingdom, our eternal destiny is in a new heavens and new earth, a paradise, alongside all of the renewed creation, alongside all the others who followed Christ, and alongside the Triune God. If we choose to deny the Kingdom, if we choose to deny Christ, we will live outside God's Kingdom for all eternity, and that is Hell.
And all of this is possible not through being better people, not through our own willpower or determination, but through the beautiful grace of Christ:
You are everything that is bright and clean, and you're covering me with your majesty. And the truest sign of grace was this: from wounded hands redemption fell down, liberating man. - David Crowder, "Wholly Yours"
1 comment:
Great post bro.
Post a Comment