Questions on Christianity

Christians constantly talk about salvation and being saved but what exactly is salvation? The theological definition of salvation, according to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, is: “Deliverance from the power and penalty of sin”. The problem is this definition does not tell us how we obtain this deliverance.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary in BibleSoft’s PC Study Bible gives us more details on what salvation is:

The salvation that comes through Christ may be described in three tenses: past, present, and future. When a person believes in Christ, he is saved (Acts 16:31). But we are also in the process of being saved from the power of sin (Romans 8:13; Philippians 2:12). Finally, we shall be saved from the very presence of sin (Romans 13:11; Titus 2:12-13). God releases into our lives today the power of Christ’s resurrection (Romans 6:4) and allows us a foretaste of our future life as His children (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14). Our experience of salvation will be complete when Christ returns (Hebrews 9:28) and the kingdom of God is fully revealed (Matthews 13:41-43).

So why does most of Christianity only emphasize the first aspect of salvation—belief in Christ? Are the other two aspects of salvation of no consequence? Why did God include these other aspects of salvation in the Bible?

In this blog we maintain that when we stand before the judgment seat of God everyone will be judged based upon the knowledge they had and how well they lived up to that knowledge—did they fear God and do what was right (Acts 10:34-35). Because of this belief, we are often asked why Christians should share the gospel with others since belief in Jesus and his work for us is not essential to go to heaven.

The definition of “gospel” is the good news. The good news is that Jesus died for our sins; he bore the burden of all of our sins past, present and future. We do not need to worry about doing something to atone for those sins. We are free from our sins and the only thing we need to worry about is what kind of person we want to be—do we want to be like God or do we want to continue to follow our own sinful, selfish nature. Here again Jesus provides us with an example of the new life God wants us to live.

So why would we not want to share this good news about what Jesus has done for us and about the example he provides for us? When something good happens to us, we share it with everyone. Why not what Jesus has done for us?

The book I am reading, The Sun in the Church, mentions that the early Christians were more interested in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus than his death. [1]  Even today, Easter Sunday is celebrated more than Good Friday.

So why does our theology emphasize the death of Christ for our sins and barely mention the resurrection?  Why is the symbol of Christianity the cross and not the empty tomb?  Back in July 2011 this blog quoted James A. Fowler who asked why we do not have a resurrection theology.

The answer is because it is easier to live a crucified Christ theology (we just ask God to forgive us our sins) than it is to live a resurrection theology (changing our soul so it becomes like God).  Christ is our example.  He died for our sins but he did more than secure our forgiveness, he was raised to a new life and he wants us to experience that new life as well.

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[1]   J. L. Heilbron, The Sun in the Church, Cambridge, MA:  Harvard University Press, 1999, p. 27.

In this blog, we make the assertion that salvation is not through belief in Jesus and his death and resurrection for our sins but rather by changing our soul so it becomes like God.  In my discussion with Christians, they raise the following three objections.

God is sovereign and can do whatever he wants which includes making salvation only through belief in Jesus (e.g. Paul, in Romans 9:14-21, states that God will have mercy on whomever he wants).  However, II Peter 3:9 states that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  Once again Christians must read and interpret the entire Bible and not just pick out verses that suit their theology.  That God is sovereign and can do whatever he wants is without question.  That God is a God of love and justice is also without question.  God will not act contrary to his character.  If that is true how can God condemn people to hell for eternity even though they have never heard of Jesus or they do not have sufficient information to convince them of Jesus’ reality?  He cannot and therefore our theology of salvation must change to match the character of God.

Ignorance is no excuse.  Romans 1:18-20 states that all men are without excuse because God’s eternal power and divine nature can be clearly seen and understood though nature.  Ignorance of the law is no excuse in our society because there are ways we can find out what the law states—we can search the web, go to a library or talk to a police officer, judge, or elected official.  We do not have that option in regards to Jesus and his death and resurrection for our sins.  God made us finite and knowing the reality of an event that has occurred only once in human history is difficult.  One other point:  The Romans 1 passage refers to belief in God, not belief in Jesus and his death and resurrection for our sins.

People are not condemned to hell because they do not believe in Jesus but because they have a sin problem.  While this might be the case, it still does not speak highly of God.  God has a solution to this sin problem through the person of Jesus.  The question is:  Why does he only inform a minority of the people on earth of the solution?  We humans will take extraordinary actions to save someone from physical harm.  So why would God not do the same for our eternal fate?

These three objections raise one question we Christians must answer:  Will we make God fit our theology or do we make our theology match the character of God?

Why did God entrust Christians to spread the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection for our sins?  It is now over 2000 years since Jesus died and rose again and yet a majority of the people who have ever lived have never heard of the God of Israel or of Jesus. [1]  God obviously knew Christians would not communicate to every person on this world in every age.  So why did he structure his plan of salvation in this manner?

Most Christians do not ask this question.  They just accept the standard Christian doctrine of salvation on faith.  That is fine if you have already heard and accepted Christ, but what if you had never heard of Christ?  Would you think it would be fair and just of God to send you to hell even though you had never heard of Christ or if your culture/religion told you Jesus was just a great moral teacher?  Most people just accept what their culture/religion tells them; they do not have the time to fully question because they are too busy making a living.  If we Christians expect our religion to be taken seriously, we must address this question.

Saying God is sovereign and can do whatever he wants is not an answer.  It is true God can do whatever he wants but it would not be in keeping with God’s character—he is a God of love and justice—for him to condemn people who have never heard.

I have proposed a solution—Jesus death and resurrection for our sins applies to everyone who has ever lived; everyone’s sins are forgiven (see John 1:29, John 3:17, John 4:42, John 6:51, Romans 5:18, II Corinthians 5:14-15, Hebrews 2:9, I Timothy 2:5-6, I John 4:14, 1 Timothy 4:9-10, I John 2:1-2, Romans 5:6-10).  However, the Bible teaches not everyone will be saved.  So how are we saved?  The Bible contains over 70 verses which state salvation is through belief in God, or through our conduct, motivation, repentance, persistence, and development of our abilities (see the tab on the home page of this blog titled “What the Bible Says about Salvation”).  God requires that our soul be changed so it becomes like him; he requires the renovation of our soul.

So, where am I wrong?  Let’s have a discussion.

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[1]   John Sanders, What about Those Who Have Never Heard?, Downers Grove, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 1995, p. 9.