I believe there are some underlying assumptions about what we consider to be salvation in Western theological traditions, which can limit our ability to effectively join God in the things that God is doing.
Theological assumptions: legal versus relational salvation
I have been trained in theology within a Western education system, which has a tendency to view salvation as a legal reality rather than a relational reality. The Protestant tradition is thoroughly immersed in legal language, frameworks, and metaphors, which create mental lenses through which we read and interpret the Bible.
Paul certainly used legal metaphors, but arguably as one illustration among many to an audience that was familiar with legal terminology in the context of both the Mosaic Law and the Roman legal system. So too Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, and Luther. Each made use of legal language in their theologies and heavily influenced Western Protestantism.
The result is that the “legal relationship” framework has, in many areas, become a non-negotiable bedrock of a lot of our theology which has significant flow-on effects that shape our soteriology (what we believe about salvation), our missiology (what we understand missions to be), our discipleship (how grow in our participation as sons and daughters in the Kingdom) and our ecclesiology (how we understand life of following Christ together).
However, as I read Scripture, it seems to me that a relational lens is far more prominent, stronger, and more fundamental to the overarching biblical narrative (think Adam, Abraham, David, Jesus, Pentecost, Galatians). By “relationship”, I mean actual, living relationship, not just a legal or contractual obligation.
If salvation is legal
If salvation is fundamentally legal, it requires a clearly worded contract/presentation and an official response. A legal relationship is very concrete and it can easily be verified by people outside of the relationship. However, it reveals nothing about the quality of the relationship. Once the contract is signed, the parties can easily disengage relationally even as they fulfill the technical aspects of the contract. As long as the terms are kept, the contract holds.
If salvation is relational
However, if salvation is fundamentally relational, quality and substance are central. It is an invitation to move from our current status of separation (that is, anything less than the fully integrated life with God that Jesus prayed about in John 17:20-23) to a relational reconciliation and reintegration of our lived existence with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To abide (John 15:1-17).
From that renewed relationship flows fullness of life, purpose, and blessing for the blessing of many.
An initial response to the relational invitation might be invisible. It requires only a change of heart and posture toward the one wooing us—the Spirit of God. A dream can prompt a positive response as powerfully as the sharing about Jesus from a Christian friend. A positive response to the Holy Spirit's invitation starts in the heart, and flows outward in the choices they make. Much of this may not be visible to an outside observer – particularly in the early stages.
Implications of a relational perspective
A genuine living relationship will flourish or shrivel on any given day depending on the choices we make. Those of us with spouses understand and experience this in our marriages—the quality of this relationship shapes our life. Intimacy can strengthen or weaken every day according to our willingness to lean in or pull away.
Christ’s work has overcome the barriers between us and God, and allows us to confidently come before His throne of Grace. Our God is gracious, patient, righteous, holy, and fundamentally relational. His offer of an eternal, life-giving relationship is there—daily—awaiting our response. What happens next depends on our willingness to listen, trust and yield to God's Spirit (by the day, hour, and minute).
The quality and depth of our relationship with God will shift, evolve, and hopefully deepen over time, with perseverance from both parties. Both our intellectual knowledge and our experiential knowledge about the one who seeks our affection will accumulate and inform us, resulting in further changes as we make adjustments in conformance with his will. We are formed by our relationship and transformed in our relationships together in God. Over time we mature into the full stature of Christ.
This framing seems to me to be consistent with the biblical narrative and Jesus’ example and leads to important questions about the “how” of conducting such a relationship. This, is the essence of discipleship and becomes the pressing question.
Furthermore, viewing salvation with a relational framework integrates and clarifies a number of areas:
- It highlights Jesus as the one who not only announced the availability of this kind of relationship with God (“the Kingdom is here!”) and made it possible through his death, resurrection, and outpouring out of the Holy Spirit, but who also lived out an intimate relationship with the Father in the face of all the limitations, temptations, and opposition that we experience. It underscores His humanity without detracting from His divinity in a way that is deeply encouraging to us as we seek to walk in the same kind of relationship with the Father.
- It makes sense of our separation from God and the reality of human lostness and the reality of God’s eternal presence and activity everywhere.
- It clarifies our role in God's ongoing work towards saturating the earth with the knowledge of His glory (Habbakuk 2:14). “Being” and “doing” are integrated in listening to the Father, trusting and obeying Him, and enabling others to do the same.
- It highlights that Creation is divided not between “the Christian” and “the lost” but between those listening, trusting and obeying God and those who are not. Sadly, many lack an awareness of the power of God’s Kingdom available to us, the kind of relationship just described, and an understanding of how to take hold of it for God's glory.
My ministry focus is movemental discipleship in urban settings (that is, discipleship using processes that can enable replication through any community). The relational perspective sheds light on the effectiveness of evangelistic and discipleship methods like Discovery Bible Study (DBS). When facilitated well, they fundamentally empower social networks to get to know God, to listen to God, and to respond to God in trusting obedience within the context of their community.
Practical applications in discipleship
A relational perspective of salvation offers a potentially compelling link between biblical theology and the phenomenology of disciple-making movements, shedding light on the effectiveness of evangelistic and discipleship methods like DBS. When facilitated well, they fundamentally empower social networks to get to know God, to listen to God, and to respond to God in trusting obedience within the context of their community.
A relational perspective also offers a means of evaluating movement quality as well as quantity. Whereas a legal perspective of salvation focuses on a one-time point of decision - the signing of the contract—a relational perspective of salvation focuses on the daily condition of the eternal relationship.
As we consider discipleship and evangelism, a relational perspective of salvation helpfully shifts our focus to a lifelong relationship with God and active participation in God's purposes in response to His invitation.
We might celebrate the moment of decision, but it is what follows next that is of vital importance. As Paul said, "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” (Colossians 2:6 ESV). What this looks like practically will depend very much on whether we view salvation through a legal or relational lens.
Scott Crawley, with his wife and three children, has served in cross-cultural ministry for the last 25 years, most of which has been spent in cities in Asia. He and his team (urbanwheatproject.org) serve indigenous Asian leaders who carry a burden for their cities, serving and discipling the majority who are not engaging with Jesus via traditional wineskins. He blogs on urban mission for practioners and urban catalysts at https://www.praxeissingapore.org/blog
The views expressed in this or any other opinion article do not necessarily reflect the views of Christian Daily International.
