I remember the first time I thought I was “saved”. I was either five or six, living in Houston, TX, sitting along the back row in my Christian school’s chapel service. I know I wasn’t sitting with the rest of my class, though I don’t remember why.

The chapel speakers that day were missionaries to South America or South East Asia – it was somewhere with a rain forest. Near the end of their presentation, they did a fairly standard hellfire-and-brimstone-evoked alter call, not in the Billy Graham sense where respondents comes to the front, but of the typical closet-Baptist close your eyes and raise your hand variety.

Terrified by the prior-divulged information about my eternal prospects, I prayed, raised, peaked (who doesn’t?), and spent the rest of the day assuring myself that I had listened to and followed the instructions perfectly well.

I do not remember if that was my first “gospel” presentation. I don’t doubt that my parents and Sunday school teachers had provided me with at least the basic contours of the passion and resurrection narratives by that point in life. But it remains my earliest memory of connecting the work of Jesus to the notion of salvation.

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I want to spend a few posts (final tally pending) on the idea of salvation. For many raised in the Church (broadly defined), that Christianity is concerned with humanity’s salvation is taken entirely for granted.

It’s worth noting, however, that despite the assumed reality of salvation in the Christian schema, a closer examination of both the individual beliefs of contemporary Christians (regardless of denominational affiliation) and the spectrum of belief throughout Church history reveals anything but clarity as to the particulars of Christ’s saving work.

To be sure, it is God in Christ who saves. The cross is central, with the prior life and ministry and the subsequent resurrection often making near-top billing alongside the Jesus’ death.

But the how of salvation, the from what (sin? death? Satan? ourselves), the for what (heaven? relationship with God/others?), and even the temporal when of it all has remained elusively debated for two millennia.

I titled this post, “The God Who Saves”, after a book of the same title by my friend, theologian David Congdon. I will be drawing heavily from this book in the upcoming posts on this subject.

Later this week, I have a guest post of my own appearing on the blog “Die Evangelischen Theologen“, a theology blog run by another theologian and close friend of Congdon’s, Travis McMaken. Travis’ blog is actually doing a week long spotlight of “The God Who Saves“, with the first post, an excellent overview, having landed yesterday.

Additionally, I recently preached a sermon on the topic, also titled after Congdon’s book.

Suffice to say, this is a topic that has been on my mind and heart a great deal of late, especially in light of great turmoil our country and world has experienced in the last year.

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I am going to wait until my guest post drops (perhaps tomorrow) to really dive into the subject. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the initial post on DET on the subject. It may go over some heads (I certainly had to wrestle with it the first time I read it), but I think it’s worth engaging.

For something considered so central to the Christian faith, the particulars of salvation are too often taken for granted.

Following this next series of posts, I do want to get back to the subject matter I was starting to explore before my extended hiatus, the question of “progressive” Christianity and how that label fits and does not fit with my own faith journey. I had begun to mine that topic here, before life lead me to take an extended break.

I actually think this new look at salvation will be an excellent lead in to the revisiting of the “progressive” label. After all, my views of salvation have certainly evolved, but I maintain that I still hold to a distinctly Christian view of human salvation.

In the mean time, feel free to comment, here or on Facebook, about the linked articles or the topic more broadly. I’m curious as to what other thoughts people have concerning salvation, and even more interested in what emotions might be evoked when our taken-for-granted assumptions on the subject are challenge.

Grace and Peace.