The Evangelical Universalist Forum

On grace, works and missing the point!

If you’re stuck in the whole grace - works dichotomy, you’ve missed the point! :neutral_face:

Some seem to think that the point of salvation is going to heaven when we die. Really the point of salvation is to become more like Jesus. We can have faith and that’s great but it’s only the first step towards changing us. The rest of it requires actual effort.

This is the major problem with evangelicalism today. It is so obsessed with the afterlife that it has completely forgotten about the current life.

When we realise that were not saved from hell, but rather we’re saved from sin, then the whole question of “Do I still need to be good after placing my faith in Jesus?” becomes meaningless since it’s a bit like asking “Can I go on sinning now that I’ve been saved from sin?” or “Do I still want to be saved from sin?”. It’s a bit like being pulled out of sinking sand and then jumping right back in.

This is precisely why Paul tells us to continue to work out our salvation. It is a journey away from sin and towards God and faith is just the first step.

A rejection of ECT and penal substitution really helps to crystallise this.

Thoughts?

Good post, thanks.

I’d add that the point of becoming more like Jesus is firstly to become a better person, and that means a better citizen, husband, wife, parent, child, woker, student, doctor, engineer or whatever it is that you do. Secondly it’s how we get started on what we will become in heaven.