PENSÉES: A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON SALVATION

The question “Are you a Christian?” is a question that a non-Christian individual might

ask someone who they think might belong to the Christian faith. Within the Christian circle, this

question can also be re-phrased sometimes as “Are you saved?” The question of salvation is one

that occupies the minds of many adherents of the faith. It is an important issue within

Christianity for it is the means that the community of faith uses to distinguish those who are

within and those who are without. To be “saved” is equivalent to being a Christian and as a

result, will go to heaven after their physical death; to be “unsaved” is equivalent to not being a

Christian and will go to hell after their physical death. It is then quite important to know the how

and what’s of salvation. It is also important to know what is the meaning of salvation and what

does it entail. The purpose of this paper is to discuss my own personal journey in understanding

what it means to be saved. This paper will examine how I viewed salvation in the past and my

current view on salvation. Whereas my past view of salvation only involved the spiritual aspect

of an individual’s life, my current view involves a holistic and transformational view of salvation

that not only affects the spirit, but also of the individual’s mind, body and will.

What does it mean to be saved? Among the many suggested questions within the

syllabus, this is probably the question that least appealed to me. I knew what it meant to be

saved. Salvation is about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as my personal Lord

and Saviour. It is also about recognizing that I am a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. But, in

an act of incredible love and mercy, Jesus came down to earth to die on the cross and atone for

my sins. When He rose again on the third day, He became victorious over sin and death. If I

wanted to go to heaven and have an eternal life, all I had to do was put my trust in Jesus Christ. I

needed to give him my life.

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This understanding of salvation borrows heavily from the doctrine of penal

substitutionary atonement. For me, this way of thinking about the issue of salvation has lent itself

to an expression of the Christian life that is based on spiritual and relational terms. This is what I

mean when I say that salvation is primarily seen within spiritual terms: the event of salvation is

seen as a transaction between the divine and the mortal. The Divine Being offers the gift of

mercy to the undeserving individual. The mortal being then makes a choice to accept the divine

gift that is being offered by the Divine Being. However, this transaction uses the spirit as its

main currency. Two spiritual beings enter into this binding relationship. It is, firstly, a spirit-to-

spirit engagement and as a result, the effects are relegated to the spiritual realm. Thus, salvation’s

cause and its effects have no bearing on the physical level.

Viewing salvation in primarily relational terms is to focus on the exclusive relationship of

the individual and Jesus Christ. Even though this interaction happens between two different

beings (one is human and the other is divine), it takes on a human-to-human flavour. Although

Jesus Christ is a deity, he is also presented as a human who went through the daily struggles that

are common to all of humanity. This results in a relationship to a cosmic being with humanesque

qualities.1 In the same way that one could talk to a close friend about personal problems, one can

talk to Jesus about personal problems as well. In the same way that a mother can console the

heart of a crying child, so too can Jesus give comfort to a human being who is going through a

particularly difficult time of trial and tribulation. Salvation, as I understood it, is perceived solely

within this dyadic relationship.

1
I am not trying to deny the humanity of Jesus Christ. I only mean to say that the relationship of a mortal being with
a deity is often portrayed in disparate terms. Yet, our relationship to Jesus Christ exhibits a relationship that is more
typical to the relationships that we would enjoy with a fellow human being.
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My problem with this particular understanding of salvation is that it has the ability to

present salvation as an individualistic enterprise.2 Jesus came for me. He died for my sins. As a

popular worship song declares: He took the fall and thought of me above all.3 There is a lot of

emphasis on the specialness of the individual instead of the glory of God. Humans are so special

that God would move heaven and earth to please and save them. In fact, He would even send His

own Son to die on the cross for their sake! God, the Most High and Creator of the vast universe,

becomes the supporting actor in the salvation narrative. The lead actor is humanity. It is the

human who is at the center of the salvation story instead of the jealous God who will not give

His glory to another.4 Instead of seeing the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus

Christ as a means of restoring creation back to its rightful place because that is what God intends,

creation takes the center stage instead of its Creator.5

Being unsatisfied with my traditional realization of salvation happened as I read through

Amos Yong’s The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh. Yong proposed an understanding of salvation

that was holistic and multi-faceted. Salvation not only involves the spiritual aspect of life, it

involved the physical, mental, emotional and moral aspect as well.6 For Yong, salvation can look

like the healing of a sick woman or standing up to an oppressive tyrant for the sake of the

oppressed. Salvation is not some ethereal affair that is limited to the things of the spirit; salvation

2
Here, reading Stanley Grenz’ Theology for the Community of God introduced me to the idea that salvation not only
involves being made right with God, but also with being made right with others. Prior to reading his book, I have
never considered the communal aspect of salvation.
3
Above All, Michael W. Smith
4
Isaiah 43:11, NRSV
5
I do not, by any means, advocate nor imply the idea that PSA (Penal Substitutionary Atonement) views salvation in
an individualistic manner. I am only offering a critique as to how this particular doctrine can be potentially
misunderstood by others (such as myself).
6
The verb tenses employed in this sentence was intended. I wanted to acknowledge the fact that although my
present understanding of salvation is primarily framed in a spiritual sense, a proper understanding of salvation
should involve the physical, mental, emotional, and moral aspect. Even though I did not acknowledge that these
various aspects were a part of salvation, this does not negate their truth-ness.
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is real and has tangible effects. This “total” or “all-being”7 experience of salvation piqued my

interest and challenged how I defined salvation.

Yong offers an understanding of salvation that is both exciting and daunting. It is exciting

because it provides a more robust theology of salvation than the one which I was previously

engaged in. Suddenly, salvation is not limited to personal and unseen processes that occur

between a sinful human and a holy God; it is demonstrated through public actions that are

sensual in nature.8 The sensuality of salvation goes hand-in-hand with the belief in the totality of

salvation. Just as we, humans, use all of our five senses in a coordinated and synchronized

manner on a daily basis with no careful distinction between each, so must salvation be

understood in how it totally penetrates our whole entire being. This totality frustrates one’s initial

compulsion to compartmentalize one’s life into areas apportioned to self and some apportioned

to God. This re-conceptualization of salvation, for me, is invigorating and refreshing in its

application. It is not only a secret covenant with God that produces private spiritual rewards but

can also be a public manifestation of divine intervention that can be perceived through physical

and spiritual means.

It is daunting to consider how salvation is supposed to be a pervasive agent in one’s life.

No longer can I dismiss Jesus Christ to the spiritual area of my life, He must also be Saviour and

Lord over my thoughts, words, actions and deeds. When salvation breaks out from its spiritual

stronghold and infiltrates the individual’s physical, mental, emotional and moral faculties, only

then can total change happen. It is at this point that one can be properly called as one of the

saved. Oftentimes, Christianity has been accused of engaging in behaviour modification rather

7
By the term “all-being”, I mean that it is something that affects the entire being of the person.
8
By “sensual”, I mean something that can be perceived by our five senses.
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than behaviour transformation.9 It could possibly be that the reason for this is due to a deficient

understanding of salvation. A proper comprehension of this issue can perhaps prevent Christians

from “doing good” and instead focus on “being good.” Doing is an act that the individual can

control while being is an act that can only be done by Jesus Christ’s working on the human’s

heart through the Holy Spirit.

If Yong forced me to confront my “spiritual” understanding of salvation, it is Stanley

Grenz who provoked me to re-view the relational aspect of my previous interpretation of

salvation. In his book Theology for the Community of God, he argues that salvation involves

having a right relationship with God as well as with others. By bringing the community into the

salvation program, he reminds me that being saved is not only a dyadic relationship between me

and Jesus Christ, it is a triadic relationship that involves me, Jesus Christ, and others. In the life

of Jesus Christ, one can see how he had a relationship with God the Father and with other human

beings. He performs miracles towards others with the aid of God the Father and Spirit in His life.

This triadic relationship enforces the strong idea about the totality of salvation in one’s life. If

every part of one’s being is changed and transformed by Christ through the power of the Holy

Spirit, then that individual’s words and actions will mimic that of Christ’s. Christ acted in such a

way that he exhibited a life of relationship with God and with others. Therefore, our salvation

should not only be expressed in a dyadic relationship with Christ but a triadic relationship that

involves others as well.

Having a more nuanced understanding of salvation has caused me to rejoice and be

humbled at how gracious God is in offering such a gift to human beings. While I was, initially,

captivated by the question of salvation and what it meant, years of going to church has numbed

9
This is a sentiment espoused by Pastor Mark Driscoll during one of his sermons at Mars Hill Church.
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me from exploring the topic. The answer was short and simple. Any questions pertaining to the

issue was met by the same cliché answers. After awhile, it was best to stop asking after receiving

the same stale answer over and over again. However, in reading these two books by Yong and

Grenz, my heart and mind were once again stirred into action. They presented me with an idea of

salvation that was revolutionary and transformative. It is only fitting that those would be the two

words I would use to describe what they have done to me for it is exactly what the word

salvation entails. To put it succinctly and emphatically: salvation is revolutionary and

transformative.

Yet, to give credence to the notion that this is what salvation means has implications for

us in how we live our lives. Salvation cannot be simply framed as a spiritual transaction; it must

be framed as an “all-being” transaction. Christ not only transforms your spirit, but He transforms

all that is within you. The ubiquity of Christ within the individual will manifest itself as Christ

without. Salvation changes everything. It will turn your life upside down. It is, by its very nature,

transformative. It will not stop until everything in its path is turned and re-created in the likeness

of Christ. Salvation cannot be seen as a relationship with Christ, to the exclusion of all others. In

the same way that perichoretic unity is expressed within the triune nature of God, so too must we

express that same unity with God and with others. This new understanding of salvation has

caused me to be more humble and more appreciative of what God has done for me and through

me. I guess I’m saved after all.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grenz, Stanley J.. Theology for the community of God . Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman,

1994.

Yong, Amos. The Spirit poured out on all flesh: Pentecostalism and the possibility of global

theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2005.