Saved

I've been reading Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis recently, and a couple of statements he made really stuck out to me. They've got me thinking about Christianity on a deeper level. Although these inspired thoughts aren't the overall purpose of Bell's book, they have been on my mind for a while now and his statements have helped me to put them into words. My next few posts will tackle these issues.

Here's a quote from Velvet Elvis:

"...For many, Jesus was presented to them as the solution to a problem. In fact, this has been the dominant way of explaining the story of the Bible in Western culture for the past several hundred years. It's not that it is wrong; it's just that Jesus is so much more. The presentation often begins with sin and the condition of human beings, separated from God and without hope in the world. God then came up with a way to fix the problem by sending Jesus, who came to the world to give us a way out of the mess we find ourselves in..."

There's more to being a Christian than to simply be "saved".

But that seems to be what the modern church focuses on. That is the purpose of church, right? To get people saved? What are mission trips for? Sure, there are those trips that help bring food and shelter and water to those in need, but isn't evangelism about telling people the message of Christ and to accept Him as their savior?

The dominant message in Western Protestant Christianity is "You're a sinner, but if you ask Jesus into your heart, you will go to heaven when you die." Essentially, it's a get out of hell free card. We don't want to go to hell, so we accept Jesus and try not to sin. But that is far from the point of Christ's message.

Christianity is about changing people's lives. It's about letting God get involved in your life and telling you what He wants for your future. Forgiveness is important; it is the first step in a whole new way of life. But that's not what Christianity is all about. It's not about not sinning either. We should try to do those things that honor God and try to become a good representation of Christ, but sin is not the point. Christianity is not a black and white thing. It is a fluid and dynamic walk with Christ, and we stumble and learn as we go.

Another quote:

"...The point of the cross isn't forgiveness. Forgiveness leads to something much bigger: restoration. God isn't just interested in the covering over of our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally created to be. It is not just the removal of what's being held against us; it is God pulling us into the people he originally had in mind when he made us. This restoration is why Jesus always orients his message around becoming the kind of people who are generous and loving and compassionate. The goal here isn't simply to not sin. Our purpose is to increase the shalom in this world, which is why approaches to the Christian faith that deal solely with not sinning always fail. They aim at the wrong thing. It is not about what you don't do. The point is becoming more and more the kind of people God had in mind when we were first created.

It is one thing to be forgiven; it is another thing to become more and more and more and more the person God made you to be."