The royal proclamation is not simply the conveying of true information about the kingship of Jesus. It is the putting into effect of that kingship, the decisive and authoritative summoning to allegiance. Paul discovered, at the heart of his missionary practice, that when he announced the lordship of Jesus Christ, the sovereignty of King Jesus, this very announcement was the means by which the living God reached out with his love and changed the hearts and lives of men and women, forming them into a community of love across traditional barriers, liberating them from the paganism which had held them captive, enabling them to become, for the first time, the truly human beings they were meant to be. The gospel, Paul would have said, is not just about God’s power saving people. It is God’s power at work to save people.
(N. T. Wright, What Saint Paul Really Said, pp.66-67)
In light of the above quote, one might wonder what role the person hearing the gospel had in the process of salvation. As one hears the royal proclamation announcing the lordship of Jesus Christ, is he or she automatically “saved”? The answer to that question is found, in part, in the words “the decisive and authoritative summoning to allegiance.” Those hearing this announcement are asked to accept its truth. They are being asked to accept that Jesus is Lord of the whole earth. If Jesus is Lord, then all those hearing the gospel are called to respond by following him as the determining factor of their lives. “Allegiance” implies “following.” Christianity was originally called “the Way” (See Acts 9:1-2; 19:9; 19:23; 24:14; 24:22). Following Jesus involved a way of life. However, I would suggest that for Paul the process of salvation was included a lot more.
First, one must accept the truth of that message. And the foundation of that truth was the unconditional, indiscriminate, self-giving, and infinite love of God fully revealed in Christ and especially in his death and resurrection. In the words of the great theologian Paul Tillich, we must accept the fact that we are accepted. There is nothing we must do to secure God’s love of us. We are loved, each of us and all of us. As we accept that good news, we are liberated to embrace a different kind of life. Accepting such an announcement involves faith. Intellectual belief has very little to do with what the New Testament calls faith. The two components of biblical faith are trust and fidelity. We trust that God loves us in the deepest ways we could ever imagine. Jesus reveals to us that God is love. As we trust that message, we realize that we are also called to trust the person and way of Jesus. Such trust requires risk, humility, courage, and effort. When we trust someone, we are willing to take a chance with that person and act on the belief that he or she can be trusted with our very being. Trust involves a relationship, and in the case of our trust in Jesus, it involves a commitment of our very lives to him and his way of compassionate love. And that leads to the second component of faith in the New Testament: fidelity. Faithfulness is a sign of a trusting relationship.
It is essential, however, to realize that our faith does not cause God to love us. Our faith is a voluntary response to the original and foundational love of God. God’s grace is primary and precedes every response on our part. In fact, such grace enables every stage of our faith journey. A passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians confirms such a premise: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for Her good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). These words reveal the paradox of “salvation”—God’s grace is primary and necessary at every stage but so is our acceptance of the good news of God’s compassionate and unconditional love and our faithful response. Such a paradox may seem illogical, but everyone who has accepted such glad tidings can bear witness to its truth. God reaches out first at every step of the way with grace and love, and yet we choose to respond. However, even our response is in some way dependent on God’s initiative according to Paul: “for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for Her good pleasure.”
All of the above is the way I read Paul and his understanding of the gospel and the process of salvation. We in our time and place must decide how much of his perspective is still valid and helpful for us. But before we can make an informed decision on that question, we need to look at the different ways the New Testament referred to and understood the salvation which came through Jesus and especially through his death and resurrection. A variety of metaphors were used by the New Testament writers: medical, diplomatic, financial, legal, cultic, sacrificial, and familial in background. Not all of these metaphors will be helpful for 21st century Christians. We must always remember (even though we habitually forget) that these early Christians, including Paul, were trying to make sense of the Christ Event. Some attempts were more successful and helpful than others. Each generation must try to make sense of the Christian faith in its own time and place.
Our next article will look at the nature of metaphors and survey the different metaphors used in the New Testament for the salvific nature of the Christ Event. We will be surprised to learn that the meanings we often associate with some these metaphors were never intended by the writers of the New Testament.
