Salvation is here

It can be popular in Christian circles to emphasize that Jesus message does not stop at merely salvation and emphasize a redemption of culture.

In many ways, I agree with this and applaud it- Christians need to be fighting injustice, working to end poverty, and caring for the downtrodden, but this cannot come at the expense of watering down the Gospel.

Christ’s salvation and the implications of that are the heart of the Christian message. Anything good we do, any love we share, must come out of a full realization of salvation and the relationship with God we enjoy because of this. Salvation- Jesus’ death on a cross and resurrection three days later- is the watershed of history and humanity- the single most important event ever.

In order to fully operate with the power of Jesus Christ- to complete his ministry on earth- we must bring love and redemption in one hand and the hope of salvation in the other. They are not complete without each other. But salvation and relationship with God must be the nourishment that the Christian depends on in order to minister in love and redemption.

Romans 3:25-26 comes to mind: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

The justice of Jesus Christ (love and compassion) only comes through his salvation.