I’ve wanted to post my article on salvation in my weblog, rather than just linking it to a PDF file. But I don’t want to take up the whole front page and overwhelm anybody who stumbles along!
So click below for the extended entry, and (hopefully) enjoy. Comments are extremely welcome.
Introduction
Our understanding of the gospel influences more than just our eternal destiny. It reaches into our everyday lives and influences, and it touches all of creation. Perhaps most practically, it touches the behavior of all who claim faith in God.
There is a great deal of spiritual apathy in the younger generation of the Church. Many of them simply don’t seem to care about their spiritual condition (whether they are unsaved or are simply not drawing closer to God). But the Church seems to offer no clear remedy or sufficient experience in order to help in a revival of spirituality. It seems as though we blame it on their hearts, not our approach. Yet I am convinced that one of the sources of this apathy is our beliefs about and approach to presenting the gospel. And while this problem is likely a cause, by no means would correcting it completely resolve the apathy among our youth. In any case, an effort in the right direction should contribute to its reversal.
A Reduced Gospel : : Making it Too Easy
If we tell younger children that God wants them to �receive Him,� �ask Him into their hearts,� �accept Him as their personal Savior,� or some otherwise only partially acceptable (albeit easy to understand) statement, in their minds that is all that is required of them in order to please God (or, more importantly to them, �get to heaven�). Works-producing faith is an afterthought, a mere expectation. They’re �in� as long as they’ve �said the prayer.�
Some would respond that, even in the �simple prayer of salvation� paradigm, works is not only expected, but also required of true, saving faith. But the problem is the approach, not the theology behind it. What results is a generation of youth who assume that, while they are supposed to be good because they �accepted Christ,� obedience isn�t necessary, because they�ve already done enough to save them from hell.
Salvation isn’t a step to reach or something to get (even if it�s free). Salvation is a transforming process, rendered by grace through faith, made possible by Christ. And this does not only exist at one moment, but starts with the Holy Spirit�s calling, results in a conversion, and continues in a life-changing direction.
The reductionist approach has failed us. We should remember some things when presenting what God requires of people in order to have a restored relationship with him (Colossians 1:15-23). For one, that a life of faithful obedience is and will be a part of their lives from then on. Two, that final, “resting” salvation (see Hebrews 3-4) is dependant on a heart condition, not an act performed (namely, a prayer they were �sincere� about) at age [whatever]. And third, that to �get them saved� at such an early age may be counterproductive. You may be thinking, He can�t be serious! Yes, I�m serious. While conversion at a young age is possible (and indeed wonderful), many children do not fully understand the message that Jesus came to proclaim. They become part of something they might someday regret. Yet we insist on �getting them in,� all the while ignoring God�s providence and sovereignty in these matters. People commonly object by bringing up Jesus’ saying you must have the �faith of a little child,� implying that we are supposed to seek out the conversion of younger children. But that wasn�t an all-out endorsement for encouraging conversion at a young age. At best it means we need to have the kind of faith that children have�a totally devoted, dependant faith. This certainly allows for a legitimate conversion at a young age, but it does not necessitate such a conversion.
An Ignorant Gospel : : Some Things We Missed
Jesus calls us to make disciples, not mere converts. If we are truly concerned with making disciples, we will want the conversions to be authentic and fruitful. The �simple� approach really isn�t a solution to the eternal needs of mankind. In fact, this approach may have produced as many negative results as it has positive. What we have preached as �the good news of Jesus Christ� may not be as good as Christ himself intended it to be.
The �plan of salvation� we have been accustomed to is not untrue or invalid; it is just incomplete. When many of us present the gospel, we present it from Romans, Ephesians, or Acts, but we rarely attempt to preach the Gospel Jesus Himself presented. If we do, we only cite verses that use the �simple� words (which are no doubt full of meaning), primarily revolving around the term �believe.� And yet Jesus teaches us that to believe means more than to make an acknowledgement in our minds.
The following are facets of the Good News that we have left out, misunderstood, or totally ignored. These are things Jesus Himself either spoke of, demonstrated, or lived in light of.
The Kingdom of God
Despite theological differences as to what the Kingdom of God really means, this was Jesus� primary teaching. He went around teaching principles of the Kingdom, inviting people to become part of it. People interested in Him often misunderstood it to be an earthly concept, so He had to correct their thinking, showing them it was primarily a spiritual kingdom, something they are to be a part of in this life.
To enter God�s Kingdom is to become a follower of Christ, for when we become His disciple, we are entering His Kingdom. He is our Lord, our King, or Master, our Authority. We are not �saving ourselves,� as many would have us think. We are becoming part of a undying revolution. We are His people set apart to be like Him to bring about a restoration of creation, something longed for since the Fall of mankind into sin.
Eternal Life Begins Now
Having eternal life does not only mean that once we die we�ll live forever if we �get saved.� We have life now, in his Kingdom, in His power, nature, and authority. It is a Kingdom in which we are servants of the King, and with His divine power, we can have victory over sin and live a King-glorifying life.
To believe otherwise is to assert that there is no rhyme or reason to living or behaving as faithful subjects here on earth. If our eternal destiny is only about the afterlife, then what occurs before death is inconsequential. There is no disparity between having faith and living faith. We are living as citizens of His Kingdom now, not just in the future (see Philippians 3:20).
Discipleship
Jesus didn�t come so that He could get a bunch of people �on the Jesus train.� He came to call people to become committed and faithful subjects of His Kingdom, people who were all about His glory and a revolution of life. If Jesus simply came to �save us from hell,� then why did He not simply say so? Why did He go around preaching about Kingdom life now?
Even His final commission before He ascended to heaven was to make disciples. Perhaps we�d be better off calling each other disciples rather than believers, which only assumes part of the role. It tends to neglect that the person is a disciple, a follower, a seeker, a student. We�re not supposed to make mere believers, but total followers.
The Glory of God
We approach people as though salvation were all about them: �Confess Christ as Lord so you won�t go to hell!� �Say this prayer so you can go to heaven!� �Come to church so you can be blessed!� The benefit seems to be only about us. We arrive at the problem from a negative angle: save people from hell. But Jesus seemed to be more about the positive angle: bring people to Me. And while the human perspective is certainly important, our approach robs us from what our goal really is: to bring people into God�s Kingdom. Notice it�s about God�s purpose on earth, not our eternal well-being, although that is certainly a desirable component.
If people are approached with the idea that salvation is all about them, God can easily be robbed of His glory. Their need to become part of his Kingdom is not just because they don�t want to go to hell, but because they are not yet glorifying Him for Who He is: the King to be worshiped.
The Sovereignty of God
We acknowledge God�s sovereignty because we can�t deny it, yet we hold to it so frivolously. We seem to take upon ourselves the salvation of others, as if it�s the only thing God left up to us on this earth. �You take care of their salvation, I�ll take care of everything else,� is the presumed command He�s given us (or at least that�s how we act). Yet Jesus makes it clear that God is at the controls when it comes to salvation, not just the rest of life.
This is clearly one of the most ignored aspects when trying to understand and present the gospel. While this is only the divine perspective of salvation, without a proper understanding of it, we can become easily frustrated, depressed, or unnecessarily guilty.
The crucial difficulty with �the plan of salvation� (as commonly understood) is that, while it speaks of Christ, Christ doesn�t always speak through it. Christ didn�t lay out a �plan,� He called people to follow him. He didn�t give us a step-by-step manual for achieving eternal life. We have imposed such an idea onto Scripture, leaving people with what John MacArthur calls a �Gospel Lite.� If Christ is the central figure in salvation, why do we leave out so much of what He taught about salvation?
The point is not to dissuade children from becoming followers of Christ. Rather, it is to prevent the producing of so-called Christians who have no real-life transformation due to their so-called conversion. We must recognize that children who “make a decision” at a young age simply may not understand the whole story. Obviously there are mature children who do understand. But most of the children out there are “scared of hell” and only think of “this is how I get to heaven” when they are presented with the “gospel.”
Pastor Brian McLaren makes an insightful point on the topic of salvation:
Is salvation for you a one-time experience? Or is it a lifelong journey? Is it about rescue from your uncomfortable circumstances (as it was for the ancient Jews), or rescue from this world after death (as it is for many modern Christians)–or is it about being rescued from a life that is disconnected from God and God’s adventure, both in this life and the next?
I call this phenomena a moment-in-time event, where typically a prayer is said, and the person is now “saved” (i.e. they’ve done what was necessary to save themselves from hell). But the act does not save them, nor is the gospel all about being saved from hell. If it were, Jesus would not have taught all that He did about living in the Kingdom of God.
What’s the point? Encouraging young students to get saved at an early age can be antithetical to what we want them to become: faithful, committed, and loving disciples of Christ.
So what should be our approach in making disciples, particularly with children? I believe it starts by telling them the whole story of salvation, not just the propositions that are easy to understand and affirm. Doing this will make them feel more �at home� and less like they�ve entered a movie twenty minutes late and have no clue what�s going on.
The Whole Gospel : : An Affair of the Heart
The Kingdom of God can often be difficult to understand, especially for children. But they do know what it means to be a part of a family or part of something greater than themselves. Why do young boys often dream of becoming firemen, cowboys, or other kinds of heroes? Perhaps it is because becoming a hero is like becoming part of a story big enough to live in, a story greater than ourselves. God�s Kingdom is much like a story greater than ourselves. And not only are we part of the Story, we are dynamic characters, changing throughout the telling of the Story. It feels wonderful to be part of the Story, because we are being changed by the Author and main character of the Story.
Consider this summary of the Story, condensed (and slightly adjusted) from Brent Curtis� and John Eldridge�s book The Sacred Romance.
Once upon a time there is God, Who before time delighted in Himself and enjoyed a joyful and romantic relationship among the persons of the Trinity. This love overflows into Creation, a magnificent and delightful world that, among all things beautiful, God designs a creature that is so like Him in many ways and is His prized creation. He loves him more than anything else in the world. In fact, God is such a Romancer that man and his wife dwelt with Him every day in perfect communion.
Although this Sacred Romance was amazing beyond comparison, this man and his wife lost for a few moments their vision for the beautiful Author and Romancer of their Adventure, and was taken in by the romancing of the Evil One. While God could no longer fellowship with His Beloved on earth, He promised to send a Prince to capture, win, and protect their heart in a battle of Good and Evil. As time unfolds God gives His most-loved creatures more details about this Promise and, as it turns out, this Prince will be God Himself.
The Prince finally comes to earth, and with Power from Heaven forever defeats the power of Evil, and begins to win back the heart of his Beloved. By defeating the Enemy, He rescues them from the shackles and power of Evil, and, by wooing and recapturing them, gives them a new Spirit, a new Passion, and a new Adventure. He gives them (or even more so, He becomes to them) all things Beautiful and Sacred. And while being his Beloved in no way relieves the current attacks of the Evil One, they know they are free from its Power, and with all certainty they know that their Prince will finally destroy the Evil One forever. They stay loyal to their Prince because they know that they will one day ride into the Sunset with Him forever.
Only when we enter the larger Story can we have an intimate Romance with the Prince that will not only shape our destiny, but will also change our lives and the lives of those around us. We must invite children to give everything to this Romancer, Jesus Christ, because He wants all of us�our mind, our emotions, and our will. We must invite them to become characters in the Story we all dream to live, a Story so large that it transcends life in the here-and-now and becomes an Adventure anyone would be willing to go on. And if we cultivate their hearts as they grow older, we will help them realize and understand that this means playing an active role in the Kingdom of God on earth.
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