Intersections – Salvation (2)

As indicated by the title, this post is the second of two. If you have not read them first, you should do so. Click HERE to read.

In my previous post my salvation journey was described as amovement from “YES,but” to “YES”. In this post, I hope to flesh out the space between “YES,but” and “YES”.

Before addressing the space between, let me say that both “YES” are the same but very different. Each is a declaration that I am saved by the grace of God through Jesus the Christ. Perhaps that paradox is analogous to my marriage. At the conclusion of our vows 57 years ago; I could answer, Are you married? YES. Asked the that question today, my answer would be the same YES. I think you can understand how different the two “YES” are.

To fill the space between “YES,but” and “YES” I think it’s helpful to use the metaphor of “middle tint” I introduced in an earlier post. The source document is available HERE.

The landscape between “YES,but” and “YES” requires middle tint to assure an observer’s eyes are drawn to most important subject of the painting, salvation through Jesus Christ. Without middle tint any painting will be dull and flat, and lose it’s potential for dramatic impact.

The work of painting the expanse between my baptism and today has not been my mine but the hand of God working in my life. A work not yet complete.

LoadIng her brush with color from the palette of God’s word, the Holy Spirit began to slowly but surely, build the middle tint of my landscape. With each stroke, salvation came into sharper relief, creating a more beautiful and profound image. First came the startling hues of grace, followed by the deep shades of incarnation, simultaneously blended with the tertiary color of Jesus’ life and teaching. Inevitably came the sharp hues of sanctification, soften by the reassuring tint of the Kingdom of God.

For me, the depths of salvation have not been plumbed but the transactional nature of salvation at my baptism has been transformed by God’s work as we have walked together these 50+ years. The following thoughts of Jason Zahariades express well the result of my transformation.

Salvation is the process of restoration to what humans were created to be. Rather than sin being the breaking of God’s Law, the root of sin is the movement from being to non-being. Sin is the distortion of our humanity, of who we are supposed to be as God’s image on earth. Rather than being truly human, sin makes us subhuman. So the problem of sin is much deadlier and sinister than mere guilt or disobedience. It is the warping, distortion and brokenness of who we are as human beings. It is the full corruption of my mind, heart, body, soul and relationships. In this light, I don’t just need to be forgiven. I need to be healed. I don’t just need assurance of admittance into heaven in the future. I need assurance that who I am in the present is being transformed out of my desperate and destructive subhuman existence and into the image and likeness of God as I was divinely intended to live.

So salvation isn’t primarily about guilt and forgiveness. It’s about brokenness and healing. It’s about delusion and illumination. It’s about distortion and transformation. It’s about death and life in the here and now. As a follower of Jesus, I truly cannot say, “I am saved.” I can only say, “I am being saved.”

Jason Zahariades

The truth is that every theological system that allots to man some responsibility in the saving of his own soul inevitably ends up by making man his own savior.(Unknown)