Copyright 2010 Josh Cooper
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
Believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
But in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-7, ESV).
Me: Previously, you said we (humans) were created in your image to experience intimate relationship with you, with each other, and creation; and that the first humans, Adam and Eve, sinned and were subsequently exiled from the garden. What is sin? I have often heard that Adam and Eve’s sin was that they were disobedient or that their sin was a sin of pride – is sin disobedience?
God: What is disobedience other than a violation of the relationship between two beings. Remember the time when your son hit your daughter and you taught him that hitting her was wrong and that if he continued to hit there would be punishment for disobedience because hitting hurts? But then a moment later, he hit her anyway and you put him in a time-out. Your son’s disobedience was a violation of the integrity of the relationship between him and his sister as well as a violation of the relationship between you and him because you explicitly told him not repeat the hurtful behavior, but he did. The relationship broke down and needed repair. This is what I’m talking about. The goal is always maintenance of the integrity of the relationship between beings. Sin is a violation of relationships and the process of repair is called repentance. Repentance begins with the decision to return to relationship and to choose a way of life that creates wholeness. Therefore, restoration of the relationship is about being restored to life.[1]
Me: Why is Jesus central to the repair process? Say more about that.
God: It has been my desire to redeem and restore all that has been marred and broken in this world that I created which I love. In a sense, sin is a power in and of itself which holds all of creation captive. Prolonged captivity leads to death – an eternal separation between Creator and creation. So I sent my Son, Jesus, on a rescue mission to seek and save the world from eternal death. Jesus is the true priest, as the Book of Hebrews testifies, the true mediator between me and creation. Jesus is the second Adam, who reenacts the work of the first Adam to bring life rather than death as Scripture says, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.”[2] In Jesus, there is a replay of the history of salvation.[3]
Me: What do you mean when you say “salvation”? You mean heaven?
God: When I say “salvation” I mean rescue from death in sin to life just as my servant Paul says, “God has rescued you from the power of darkness and transferred you into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom you have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”[4] Salvation then is not about getting a one-way ticket to heaven, but it is about being made alive in Christ through whom you have received redemption from your sins. Christ is the only one who could repair the relationship damage that has been done because of sin. Elsewhere in Scripture it is written that you were “rescued in hope.” What this indicates is that salvation is a past action –something that has already taken place through Jesus Christ. But this salvation remains “in hope” because you will still look forward to the ultimate future salvation when Christ returns.[5] I mean the whole point of what Jesus did in person, in the present, has long-term, future implications. He was not rescuing people for a disembodied eternity but rescuing people from the corruption and decay of the way of the world presently is so that they could enjoy that renewal of creation in the present as well as look forward to the day of His return when all of creation will be fully restored and set aright just as Scripture affirms, saying, “See I am making all things new.”[6]
Me: If Christ is not rescuing us for a disembodied eternity with you, where does this idea come from?
God: That is a very good question and an important one indeed. You see, contrary to popular belief, not all “paths” lead to me. The reality is there is a pervasive dysfunctional belief system about me and the meaning of life. The belief that all “roads” or “paths” lead to God is an example of this dysfunction. Other examples include the belief that I want people to be good, nice and fair to each other, “as taught in the Bible;” or the belief that the primary goal of the human life is to be happy; or the belief that I don’t need to be particularly involved in people’s lives except when they need me to resolve a problem; or the belief that good people go to heaven when they die.[7] Notice in all of these beliefs that there is no mention of sin, no mention of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, nor mention for the need for a mediator. So there is this sense that the central conviction is humans should be happy, be good to each other, and play nicely – and that I somehow consent to this.[8] This belief system is a cultural “worldview” – a way of making sense of the world around us. My word, the Bible, on the other hand offers a different worldview for better understanding my relationship to the world. In contrast to popular belief, my word affirms my ongoing restorative action through the nation of Israel, through Jesus Christ, and my work continues today through my Holy Spirit and the church. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t teach people to be good, nice, and play fair so that they may have eternal life in heaven. Rather, I teach through my word, through my Son, and through the Holy Spirit that love of God and love of neighbor are the ideal. But, this not some generic love in which one can just make up; but it is love grounded in participating in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. In other words, there is no love of God and love of neighbor outside the path of Jesus – at least not as I define it. Consider for a moment the great commandment. Jesus said, “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”[9] But the question that remains unanswered at this point is, “Just how are human beings to love?” Thankfully Jesus is the answer to this question. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this – that someone lay down his life for his friends.” [10] The kind of love that you are to exhibit in your life is self-sacrificing love for the sake of others. This is the kind of love that Jesus demonstrated by being crucified on a Roman cross. Jesus laid down his life in full accordance to the will of the Godhead, and in so doing I was pleased to reconcile all things to myself and make peace through his blood.
Me: So if I understand this correctly, contrary to popular opinion, following the path of Jesus is the road that leads to you. And the Jesus path is paved in a life of self-sacrificing love just as Jesus demonstrated by his life and death. Jesus did this according to the divine will and in so doing made peace between you and humanity. Is it accurate to say that there was not peace between you and creation before Christ?
God: Remember Adam’s sin was a relationship violation which gave birth to death and death spread to all because all have sinned and fallen short of my standard.[11] So it became necessary for me to accomplish what the sacrificial system could not. The Old Testament sacrificial system was a shadow of the redemption offered through Christ’s blood. It was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins; therefore, Jesus came to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself.[12] He presented himself in your place before me, to appease my wrath with full satisfaction by offering himself on the cross and pouring out of his blood for the cleansing of your sins.[13] For your sake Jesus bore your sin though he committed no sin so that in Christ you might be reconciled to me. He endured all of this for the forgiveness of your sins.[14]
Not only did Christ’s sacrifice first bring about reconciliation and secondly forgiveness of sins as a once and for all sacrifice, but thirdly, he actually conquered Satan, sin, and death through his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection as Scripture affirms, “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose – to destroy the works of the devil.”[15] Fourth, Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross heals you. First Peter 2:24 says this concerning Jesus, “He himself bore your sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, you might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
Me: If Jesus removed sin by for us and then those sins are crucified on the cross when Jesus died as an act of self-sacrificial love, how does someone receive forgiveness?
God: In order for me to redeem those who are far away – or my spiritual enemies – Jesus first had to reconcile them through his death on the cross. But they are not reconciled to me automatically. No one is actually saved by Christ’s atoning sacrifice apart from faith in Christ. Only by faith in Jesus can a person actually be reconciled to me relationally. Only by faith in Jesus Christ can a person be justified before me.[16] Only by faith in Jesus Christ can a person be saved and regenerated by my grace and mercy.[17]
Me: So how does someone receive this kind of faith?
God: My servant Paul once said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”[18] With the outpouring of my grace faith is possible. Salvation through faith is not something that can be earned. Grace works ahead of you to draw you toward faith, to begin its work in you.[19] Only when sinners cooperate with grace can they begin to yield themselves to the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit.
Me: It has to be all about grace doesn’t it? I mean if all people are sinners dead in transgressions and sins, then people are incapable of reconciling themselves to you through Christ. But Christ’s death actually did reconcile you to sinful humanity. Sinners then are saved only by Christ’s death and not by their own decisions or actions. Grace then is a gift, the vehicle, given by you which enlivens faith.
God: That’s a good start. You are beginning to understand my reconciling work in the world.
Me: How many will you save through Christ?
God: As many as possible.
Me: Who will be saved?
God: The elect.
Me: Who are they?
God: Those who have faith in Christ.
Me: What about those who don’t have faith in Christ.
God: Those who don’t have faith will be eternally separated from me. The Bible calls this Sheol in the Old Testament and hell in the New. In any case, it’s a separation.
Me: Sounds sad and painful.
God: It is. I do not desire that for anyone. My desire is that all would be saved through Christ.
Me: Where is Christ now?
God: After Christ’s resurrection, he appeared forty days longer to his disciples in order to make himself fully known to them. After those forty days, he ascended into the heavens where and was seated at my right hand. Jesus intercedes as your advocate on your behalf. He will remain at my right hand, until the hour I of my choosing in which Jesus will return to earth as Judge with a mighty host of angels on the last day to judge all those living and dead.
Me: We’ve talked a lot about Christ’s role in the redemptive process. What about the Holy Spirit’s role in this process? What does the Holy Spirit do with regards to reconciliation?
God: Good question. Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes:
1. Barbara Brown-Taylor,Speaking of Sin, (Boston: Cowley Pub., 2000), p. 59.
2. 1 Cor. 15:21-22
3. J. Todd Billings, The Word of God for the People of God, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub., 2010), p. 165.
4. Col. 1:13-14
5. N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, (HarperOne, 2008), p. 200.
6. Ibid., 192.
7. Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton, Soul Searching: The Religious Lives of American Teenagers, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 162-3.
8. Billings, 139-40.
9. Luke 10:27
10. John 15:13
11. Romans 3:23
12. Hebrews 10:4, 9:26
13. http://www.carm.org/belgic-confession#Article21/
14. Eph. 1:7
15. 1 John 3:8
16. Romans 5:1
17. Titus 3:5
18. Eph. 2:8-9
19. Thomas C. Oden, John Wesley's Scriptural Christianity, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), p. 246.
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