“Saved by works or saved by faith?”: It is one of the oldest debates in Christianity (albeit not the most helpful). By now, I hope it is becoming clearer that the idea of “being saved” refers to far more than simply one’s fate after death and relies neither on obedience to a divine law nor...
Tag: what is salvation
Understanding the Bible 27: Who Truly Belongs to the Community of Salvation?
One of the most troubling images in Jesus’s teaching is the sorting of the sheep and the goats (the “sheep” being the “righteous” who are rewarded with eternal life, the goats the “unrighteous” condemned to punishment). At first glance the stakes appear to be “heaven” and “hell,” with our human actions the determining factor in...
Understanding the Bible 22: Why It Matters Jesus Can Calm a Storm at Sea
While the biblical story centers on God’s rescue of humanity, Gen. 3 (the Garden of Eden story) makes is clear that the entire cosmos has been affected by the curse of sin. Nature itself is broken, and thus the project of salvation must include the restoration the entire created order. In this episode we take...