Get Out of Jail Free

This is a blog post and is an excerpt from the working book manuscript by Matthew Ayers titled Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross and Kingdom.  I thought the concept of our standard teaching, at least from most Baptist pulpits, is significant as Matt is obviously trying to lead to a point that there is a lot more to knowing Jesus than just getting our "fire insurance".

This, for far too many Christians, sums-up Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection.  Believe in Jesus and you’ll be issued a “Get Out of Hell Free” card. Really? Is it really that one-dimensional?  Does this sum up the sixty-six books of scripture, the promises to Abraham, Israel, David, the Disciples and the church today?  Is this what it’s all about?

To borrow the phrase that Paul repeats again and again in Romans in response to the conclusions not to be drawn from his teaching, “By no means!” (Rom 3:4, 6, 31, 6:2, 15, 7:7, 13, 9:14, 11:1, and 11).

How have we ended up in a place where our theology grants license to promote the gospel as synonymous with a Get Out of Jail Free card?  I’m sure the answers are many, but the bottom-line, I believe, is that we have tragically lost sight of the salvation narrative.  Sandra Richter said it well with this, “most Christians have not been taught that the story of the Old Testament is their story…The church does not know who she is, because she does not know who she was” (Richter, Epic of Eden, 17).  Paul does not make this mistake.  If we read Paul without the Old Testament in perspective, we will misinterpret all over the place.

One of the central pillars for reconstructing the proper framework for interpreting Paul and his doctrine of holiness is the salvation narrative, the big picture, God’s single plan.  But what do we mean by “salvation narrative”?  In a phrase, the salvation narrative is the story of God’s single plan to re-establish his reign through his chosen human agents in the creation; to renew the world and its righteous governance.  To borrow N. T. Wright’s language, what we’re talking about is “God’s World Renewal Project”.  This is the story of scripture. God’s plan to restore and renew the creation from its condemnation and corruption that came as the consequence of human disobedience and moral autonomy.  This story of God’s mission is what we will regularly refer to as God’s World Renewal Project.  It is only when we have this larger framework in mind that the concepts of covenant, cross, kingdom, and holiness come clearly into focus.

This concept of God’s World Renewal Project is fundamental for putting together the big picture.  In fact, it is the big picture.  Understanding Paul, holiness, whatever it may be, means reading Paul against the backdrop of this salvation narrative.  If we discard the salvation narrative, we end with a one-dimensional, out-of-balance theology.  We end up, sadly and wrongly, thinking about salvation as being solely about me and Jesus and our language ends up sounding a lot like this: “Jesus died to forgive my sins so that I can go to heaven”.  While this statement is true, it is incomplete and heavily out of balance with the thrust of the gospel according to scripture.  The gospel, the full gospel, Paul’s and Jesus’ Gospel, is much deeper, richer, and more profound than this.  It is about so much more than where we spend the after-life.  The full gospel is a rich, and complex thing that cannot and should not be flattened out by removing or neglecting the long story of God’s enduring and faithful plan to redeem the creation.

So what is there to this Jesus beyond His work of life, death, and resurrection that we should get to know?  Why would the Bible talk so much about walking with our Lord when all we need to do is believe in His Son and we're covered, right?  How well do I know Jesus?  How close do I want to be to Him really?  Am I consumed with how I can walk with Him "closer still"?  Why not?

The Matt says, "It is about so much more than where we spend the after-life" and I agree.  It is about our life now.  When Jesus says so many times "Heaven is like ...", I believe He is describing how we can be now when united closely with our Lord.  Knowing Jesus is about how we live this minute, this hour, this day.  If heaven is being with God forever and I can have God's Spirit with me now, then I should be able to walk in heaven today.  And I should not be slack in seeking, looking, or searching for that close walk with Jesus at all times.