The apostolic gospel: Comprehensive Salvation

The doctrine of salvation describes important spiritual significance for the Christian. Salvation represents a central theme of the activity of God and the storyline of creation. For the individual, the story of salvation plays out on a personal level. While salvation is a great mystery of individual (and corporate) experience, its theology not limited to a single moment of repentance. The popular gospel presents salvation as a single prayer, while the apostle’s gospel represents salvation in terms of justification, sanctification, and glorification.

The saving work of God in the story of mankind has its consummation at the cross of Christ. When asked when he was “saved”, an orthodox priest replied, “at 3 in the afternoon on a Friday, about the year 33 AD.” This answer could be the same for Abraham or any other patriarch. All of humanity finds salvation at this moment, within the humanity of Christ. The law of the Old Testament did not justify men before God. Instead, Abraham “believed God, and it was accredited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3). Galatians 3:24 “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”

Our salvation is “in” the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By expressing faith in Jesus Christ, we are transformed by His supernatural power to save. This process of transformation is called sanctification. Because sanctification is a work of Divine Grace, it is central to God’s plan of salvation for the pilgrim. This process is usually carried out by the breaking of independent will through hardship and persecution. By faith, we partake in sufferings of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:17)

As we partake in the crucifixion of the carnal nature through the perfect work of Jesus Christ, we share in His victory over sin. For the orthodox, this process is described as Christlikeness, glorification, theosis, or deification. We do not become God in essence, but we do become like God in nature. 2 Peter:

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For the Christian, hardship and suffering is recognized in the context of the sovereignty of God. It is a provision for what is required for a godly life, the plan of sanctification into Christlikeness. Sanctification is followed by glorification.

1 Peter 4:13 But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

For the orthodox Christian, “salvation” represents a complete and comprehensive theological and practical concept. A high view of the sovereignty of God interprets our experiences as a means of Grace, a path of Salvation in the story of redemption. While the popular gospel represents religion without sacrifice, the apostle’s gospel describes salvation as entering in and partaking in the life of Christ: His life, death, and resurrection.

Guardian of virtues

Eastern Orthodoxy is the longest standing Christian tradition. Much of Orthodox spirituality is gleaned from the apostolic tradition of the first centuries of Christianity, including the desert Fathers. Saints such as Anthony the Great lived a monastic way of life, a form of Christianity that provided an anchor for the Church during political storms and the corruption of the Church by wealth. The suspicion that they had for worldliness and pride proved to be a safeguard against spiritual pitfalls. It is an ancient Christian tradition that the virtue of humility acts as the guardian of all others.

“The Jesus Prayer” is constructed from Christ’s parable in Luke chapter 18. Christ tells how the prayers of the Rabbi do nothing to free the heart from pride, but the prayer of the tax collector justifies him before God. It is this prayer of the sinner that provides the Christian the correct orientation of his heart before God. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” By this context of justification, the road of salvation can be journeyed by the pilgrim on his way to Christlikeness.

The virtues of peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control flow from this place of being justified before God. Admitting to God that we cannot produce this fruit of the Spirit due to our fallen nature, allows Divine Grace to manifest in spiritual fruit as a gift from God. The seed of pride and pomp uproots the work of Divine Grace, producing false piety and false religion.

True religion is found in humble acts of charity. Distancing oneself from the addicted and helpless creates a false paradigm of grace. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalms 34:18). It is by identifying oneself with the spiritually bankrupt that we can have our debt forgiven and participate in Christ’s work in bearing the burdens of mankind.

The Great Iconographer

Icons and idols may be easily mistaken for one another. In Christianity, an icon is a symbol representing something sacred or revered, while an idol takes the place of the Triune God. While God hates idolatry, He desires for His people to honour, respect and love His image on earth.
God made an image of Himself when he created man and woman (Genesis 1:27). It is this icon of God that we are commanded to venerate (Romans 16:16).

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” says Paul. This type of veneration often occurs with family photographs. Kissing someone is an expression of deep respect and love, and evokes strong feelings. But are these feelings too strong and do they diminish our affections for God? Because of our fallen nature, humans can easily forget the Creator for His gifts. Many things in this world could take the place of God, whether we have an image of it or not.

It would be a simple solution to destroy all man made images and artwork, including all photographs ever taken. While this interpretation of the second of Moses’ ten commandments would be effective in eradicating “graven” or man made images, it would not guarantee that men would not make little gods (Exodus 20). Food is an idol for many obese people, but they do not take photos of the buffet and display them in their homes.

Idolatry happens in the heart when we fail to recognize the Giver, placing the gift or thing above God. This takes the order of creation out of context, failing to bring the glory back to God. When the glory and honour remains on the created, creation is disordered, and our humanity is cut off from the Divine nature: the glory of God.

Loving our neighbor as ourselves rebirths the Divine nature in our souls. It is as if we are loving Christ Himself when we venerate and honor our brothers and sisters. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40).
When we do this, we are transformed into the image of God, taking on the Divine nature of God’s Christ. It is this loving of God by loving our fellow man, that the created order is restored, and Christ is formed within every man.

Futility of third party sexual management

Westerners can quickly and easily evoke strong feelings associated with freedom of choice and personal autonomy. Wars were won to end tyrannical government. Human rights groups continue to leverage the law against local oppressors. While western laws are designed to protect human sexual autonomy, western religion may unknowingly trample the value it claims to protect. To legislate that one cannot engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, and then to disqualify them from marriage, is to manage and control another’s sexuality.

Third party sexual management would not be so futile if the management would be responsible to empower and equip others to manage themselves. However, this is not the focus of many church circles. The religious culture is preserved by shaming others into obedience to the societal norms and behavior. The focus is on appearances and having the formal authority maintain the moral authority.

Unfortunately, in these sects, responsibility is only taken until social mores are violated. Then the blame shifts to the “perpetrator”. The irony is that it is the religious management that is the perpetrator. Failing to equip and empower young people to manage their own sexuality is asking for trouble. Third party sexual management is simply a ludicrous idea.

The transformational power behind Christ’s teachings was not third-party moral policing, but turning the eye of the soul inward. When Christians speak of “conversion”, this event is not a coercion from a third party, but an ownership of the person for their own actions. When one faces their humanity in the face of Christ, one can experience conversion in any part of their personal lives.

The current religious trend of managing youth sexuality should be replaced with a trend of spiritual guidance, education, empowerment, and assistance for youth to make decisions about their own sexuality. By creating an environment of Christ’s presence, youth can look within their own humanity with the eyes of Christ, gaining spiritual understanding and directive from the scriptures. This approach would be free from spiritual abuses, being a true expression of the freedom that we have in Christ.