CONCERNING JUSTIFICATION [Salvation] In the 17th Century reformers made frequent use of the printing press. In those days, pamphlets flew about like leaves in October. One side would publish a document, provoking a flurry of rebuttals from the other. And each rebuttal was answered with a published defense. In this way, entire debates were conducted in print. In one such debate Christ is dichotomized into the Inward Christ (i.e, the Christ we know in our experience) and the Outward Christ (i.e. the Christ who lived and died in Roman-occupied Judea). For many Christians throughout the centuries salvation rests entirely on the outward activity of Christ. Salvation rests entirely upon one specific act in history -- upon the moment when Christ died at Calvary. By emphasizing the Inward Christ, it is feared this thought would distract people from this central truth. One leader writes: The charge that we deny the person of Christ, and make him nothing but a light or notion, a principle in the heart of man, is very unjust and untrue; for we own that appearance of him in his body of flesh, his sufferings and death, and his sitting at the Fathers right hand in glory: but then we affirm, that there is no true knowledge of him, or union with him, but in the seed or principle of his life in the heart, and that therein he appears, subdues sin, and reigns over it, in those that understand and submit to the teaching and government of his Spirit. In other words, they were not trying to diminish the historical Christ – they were trying to make this same Christ real and present in their current experience. One Apologist points out that there are two complementary metaphors about Christ in the New Testament. In one metaphor, Christ is described as the sacrifice. His death somehow erases our guilt. He suggests that some Christians want to stop here, because they dont really want transformation. They simply want to be excused. But the second metaphor describes Christ as the vine -- the source of nourishment for each of the branches. He says that we must incorporate both images into our understanding of Christ. Christ must be a source of nourishment for us, and not just the scapegoat for our sins. To be nourished by Christ, we must allow Christ to rule from within. We must seek Christ as our present teacher and guide. It is by doing this that we are truly reconciled to God. The word Justification is a word with fine theological pedigree. Basically, justification gets at the idea of being reconciled to God. A person reconciled to God is said to be justified in the sight of God. Someone who is Justified is not really someone who is merely excused. Rather, the justified are made Just. Being justified (or reconciled to God), is not a process whereby God overlooks our imperfections. Rather, it is a process whereby God restores us. It is a process whereby we are transformed into the people we were created to be. And the power behind this process is the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Salvation is wrought out by Christ as he is within. Here are some questions to consider: 1. In your experience, is there a connection between the outward, historical Christ and the inward presence of Christs Spirit? 2. Do you feel as if you have had a new start based upon your relationship with God? How has this new start come about? 3. What does the death of Christ mean for you? 4. Which metaphor resonates most with you: Christ as sacrifice or Christ as the nourishing vine to our branches?
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:10:15 +0000
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