SALVATION
I
was reading a theology book, as I often do while sitting on an airplane.
Just one way of trolling for divine appointments, so to speak.
It
was rather quiet for the first hour of the flight. Then the man next to me noticed
the book and asked, "So all I have to do is to say a prayer and then I am suddenly
a Christian?"
An interesting question.
I explained that it is a shame that Christian salvation
is often thought of as a transaction, a sort of business deal in which a person
says certain things or does certain things and then God reciprocates by giving them
salvation.
God has already done everything that was needed for human salvation.
In Jesus, God has already saved us from our sins and has become the perfect human
on our behalf. Through the Holy Spirit, our heavenly Father opens our hearts to
know that he loves us and accepts us and wants us. The Holy Spirit makes Jesus real,
and through the Spirit, the believer comes to know Jesus and live in union with
Jesus. The resurrected Jesus is real to an authentic Christian, and through Jesus,
the believer has fellowship with the Father.
In other words, the gospel is all about knowing Jesus, not just knowing
and acknowledging facts about him.
When
the person and work of Jesus are limited to historical facts and memorized verses,
the whole point of reconciliation is lost. The good news is that God loves us and
wants a relationship of peace and joy with us. And it is through Jesus that God
has made that happen.
As
it turned out, the man I was talking to was a non-practicing Jew. His final words
to me as the plane landed were: “I highly respect what you just explained to me.
I must think about this more.”
As
we went our separate ways, 1 Peter 3:15-16 came to mind: “But in your hearts set
apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks
you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and
respect…”
Second
Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “…in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself…”
This reconciliation is not only with God, but also and with our fellow human beings.
It is a transformation of the heart, a new life that is made spiritually clean and
whole from the inside out so that we can be eternally free from all the many forms
of human dysfunction that cause conflict and pain, even though we still experience
dysfunction in this life.
When
the center of our life is made right with God, we become free to respond positively
to the ups and downs of this life in the flesh.
In
biblical language, the heart is the center of our being,
and by the gift of God exercised through faith in Jesus Christ, the heart of an
authentic Christian is centered on God.
It’s
all by grace.
In
Christ, God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. It’s a gift to
be received with thanksgiving.
I’m
Joseph Tkach, speaking of life.