What is Salvation (For)?

It seems to me salvation in the Christian faith may be emphasized in 3 or 4 ways. Individuals, congregations and denomination emphasize one or more of these ways which follow the tradition of any of these groups. While we cannot insist that only one is correct, it seems to me we should be reminded to examine what our options are and see if we as believers should consider if our emphasis of salvation corresponds to Jesus' life, teaching, and the life of the early church and NT writings.

A basic meaning of salvation is to be saved from our sins and sinful life with its consequences. Some churches emphasize this aspect so that every service must help persons in the audience to know how to be saved and to having an “invitation” for persons to make a public stand- perhaps literally for Christ and repentant from sin. This is to ACCEPT Jesus as Lord and Savior. The point here is that while this is certainly important, it  is only one option of emphasis to experience salvation.

A second option is to assume that the church's main public stance on salvation is to worship. When we are in corporate worship or in personal ”devotions” we worship him with thanksgiving and surrender ourselves to him  This may be the stance of the saved, at whatever level of understanding or maturity the worshiper has come to at any point. Commitment is assumed but not focused on. To give God the glory is the meaning and chief expression of our salvation.

A third focus may to be a part of a fellowship and a commitment to that fellowship and to live out the Christian life in the cooperate life of the church. Believers have so much in common, and their commitment to each other and the establishment of faith is paramount to salvation. The Amish may be the best example of this concept of salvation. Unity is very important and pattern and specificity is an expression of them of being saved. Yet assurance of salvation is not important, in this understanding but being a loyal obedient church member is the best one can do, trusting God for our eventual salvation. When you join the church as a member, you are moving toward full salvation by God's grace. 

A fourth understanding of salvation and expression is seen in working out one's love to God and commitment to him by being in service in the world. The goal is for all people in the world to know God's love and accept the life and faith which we have from our Lord Jesus. If “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” then the highest repression of being children of God is to give ourselves in love to the world so that they “will not be lost but have eternal life. The typical expressions of this nature of salvation are in witness, missions, and service to humanity. It is expressed in the belief of being “saved to serve” as the basic expressions of our salvation. If you can keep your salvation to yourself, it is very narrow and self-centered and hardly real.

These four options of chief emphases are not mutually exclusive  but illustrated so that a choice can be made on how we may best express the meaning of salvation as we find it in the teachings of Jesus, the “Acts of the Apostles and the NT writings. The forth option, which is the most drastic for the church and believers, assumes all the others, but spells out a perspective  that makes the other come in line to accompany the Salvation of the world which is the central function of the church in the pattern of God's love for the world. All of the first 3 expressions of salvation are supportive to the end purpose of God in saving us. We are not saved just for own sake or to have a good life in the fellowship of the church, but to carry out the purpose of God in sending Jesus into the world- to save the world.

     

When one seeks to help the church really be saved and live out salvation in the fourth dimension, it soon becomes evident that the church need to be greatly overhauled in all its expressions and functions. Worship is affected.. Preaching is different. The outlook on the world is different. Is the best we can do to just shift emphasis gradually? When someone affirmed our years of service in Belize, I responded that we were only doing what everyone should be doing, only in another place. This writing is to set us to thinking what salvation is and what we are saved for. This needs much exploration