Am I saved, or am I being saved? Talking Theology via email…(with several guest authors)

I’m kind of hopeful that this kind of post will take off and be a staple of the blog. I composed an email this week (copied below), and sent it out to a few people that I thought might be interested in a nice, deep Biblical discussion. The response back has been great, and I’ve copied most of it below. First up, my original question: 

Hello all, Consider this: 

1 Peter 1 3-9

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

I find that verse 9 to be quite striking. In fact, I have always found the NT teaching of salvation to be very interesting when compared/contrasted to what the modern church teaches about salvation. For us, we always emphasize the instant aspects of salvation - the one time thing that happens suddenly. I certainly believe that is an aspect of salvation, but verse 9 above seems to also see salvation as a continual thing that is ongoing. 

In the ESV, it says: 

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This thinking goes along with these verses also: 
 

Philippians 2:12 

 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

Phil 3:12-13

 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
 

Romans 5:10 

10For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

(Note the future tense, “shall be saved”) 

1 Timothy 4:16

16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

(Again, note the future tense: “you will save”) 

I wonder about the practical aspects of this teaching in scripture. Perhaps we have all heard the thought that the Bible teaches we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. I think the Bible certainly uses verbiage consistent with that idea, but we rarely teach it, and only emphasis the instantaneous transformation. What we we missing when we do so? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Again, I am interested more in the practical aspects of this understanding, rather than the theological ones. How should this impact our evangelism and counseling? How does it impact our discipleship? I might turn some of our discussion (if we have any) into a blog post. 

I close with a solemn warning and a promise: 

Philippians 1:6 (the promise) 

6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Romans 11:22 (New International Version) (the warning) 

 22Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

thanks for reading…..Chase

That was the original email. For ease of reading below, I have put each persons response in bold typeface, and left my own comments and linking sentences in regular print. Verses are in italics. Here are some responses:  (CLICK THE READ MORE LINK TO READ THE ENTIRE POST):

Read more

Agape Newsletter Volume 3 #1 Happy New Year!

Hello all, and welcome to the promised second mini-newsletter of the week.

I hope you had a wonderful New Years celebration with your family and enjoyed some black eyed peas, and turnips and such. I’m writing to let you know what’s going on this Sunday, as well as give a preview of what’s to come at Agape this month, so let’s get started.

This Sunday, we are going to continue to talk about God’s call for us in 2009, and specifically, we will are going to talk about how we, as the people of God, are going to triumph in 2009 by being smelly. (Yes, you read that right!) What in the world does that mean? I hope you join us Sunday morning to find out!

Next Wednesday, we will renew our study and discussion of Matthew, specifically chapter 12. What does it mean that the nations will put their trust in the name of Jesus? This is a clue for us as we consider how to reach northeastern Jefferson county with the gospel! The next Wednesday after that (January 14) will be our first Food Pantry of 2009, and Cindy and the Missions Team would love to have your help. Arrive at 5:45 (or sooner) to help them feed the hungry and minister to the lost! The next Wednesday after that (January 21) will be our monthly Wednesday night food and fellowship. For more upcoming events, visit our calendar online: http://agapepinson.com/calendar_of_events.htm

Finally, Angel Food orders are due by January 11…more info at: http://agapepinson.com/angel_food_ministries.htm

*****     Here’s some great advice for those who are making New Year’s resolutions, and looking back at 2008: “As we consider our goals and hopes for 2009, how about putting this one at the top: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). It’s impossible on our own, but are we willing to lean on Christ and trust him to work it into us? Are we even willing to have this sort of heart? Jesus followed up his words on true discipleship with a warning about counting the cost, which means that “For me to live is Christ” might include letting go of personal goals, dreams, and hopes along the way. Are we willing–willing enough to pray this week that God will work into us a Philippians 1:21 heart throughout the coming year?” Source: http://purplecellar.blogspot.com/2008/12/2009-disciples.html

*****      Pop quiz: Which world leader, thought by many to be a dullard, reads the Bible from cover to cover each year, as well as dozens and dozens of deep history, philosophy and nonfiction works? Frankly, I was surprised by President Bush’s reading list. He leads the country, and still has time to significantly out-read most all of us: http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB123025595706634689.html

*****     Seven great resolutions from David Jeremiah: http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/12/the-best-new-ye.html

*****     Here’s a cool video of the stars taken in Namibia. You can see a lot more stars from Africa since there is less light pollution at night. It is breathtaking! http://www.theskyinmotion.com/

*****     Interesting article on the faith of Kurt Warner, the 37 year old pro bowl quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals. Interesting note from the article: “During a visit to the “Oprah Winfrey Show” to honor Masters champion and fellow Iowan Zach Johnson a couple of years ago, Warner purposely mentioned Johnson’s faith in the second of three sentences, believing the show’s editors wouldn’t be able to cut the sentence and eliminate the religious reference. But when the show ran, the second sentence was gone.”Anytime you mention Jesus or faith, people are turned off,” Warner said. “I think it scares a lot of people.”  How about that?! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/sports&id=6572434

*****     This won’t be funny for everybody, but for some it should be quite amusing: I think My Wife’s a Calvinist (video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZdoSG0IdNE “she likes Spurgeon more than she likes me”.  ;)

Love you, and see you Sunday!