Becoming a Christian, Part 3

"When we examine the broad spectrum of Christian proclamation and practice, we see that the only thing made essential on the right wing of theology is forgiveness of the individual's sins. On the left it is remove of social or structural evils. The current gospel then becomes a 'gospel of sin management.' Transformation of life and character is no part of the redemptive message. Moment-to-moment human reality in its depths is not the arena of faith and eternal living." - Dallas Willard

What is our theology of salvation? What do we believe salvation really is? Consider the aforementioned bridge analogy popularized in the 4 Spiritual Laws evangelistic presentations (see Part 1). Here the problem of sin is that it separates us from God. The solution to the problem is God bridging the gap through Christ and the cross. We receive salvation, then, by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, which is done by following the suggested prayer formula.

While I don't disagree that sin separates us from God or that Christ can be viewed metaphorically as the bridge between God and humanity, this presentation of salvation seems to be one-dimensional as well as truncated or incomplete. Consider some of the New Testament metaphors for the saving work of God in Christ. Similar to the bridge analogy, some deal directly with our relationship with God: In Christ we are 'reconciled' (Rom. 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:18-19), 'forgiven' (Mt. 26:28; 1 Jn. 1:9), 'redeemed' (Gal. 3:13), 'ransomed" (Eph. 1:7, 14), and 'freed' (Rom. 6:18). Some salvation metaphors deal with the transformation of our life and character: In Christ we are 'born again" (1 Pe. 1:3), 'purified' (Jn. 17:19; Eph. 5:26), 'made alive' (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13), and made 'new creations' (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). Similarly and related to these, still other metaphors deal with our relationships with others: In Christ with others we receive 'adoption' (Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:5), become 'children of God' (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:17) and a part of 'Christ's body' (1 Cor. 12:13) in which we have 'fellowship' with one another (1 Jn. 1:3, 7). And this list is by no means exhaustive!

Is there a way to capture some of these ideas in presenting the Gospel to others? Something to ruminate on next time.