Saved!, putting it all together (or also known as part 5)

Now to put all these posts (Saved! post 1, post 2, post 3, and post 4) together and ask the question so what?

Let’s start with a controversial idea: Infant baptism.

Have you ever wondered why Methodists baptize a baby? The baby has never made a confession of faith. The baby has never thought of Jesus and his atoning sacrifice. Is it just part of an out-dated tradition?

Infant baptism makes no sense unless we think about it in terms of previennient grace. That’s a technical word for saying this: God gives us grace that goes before any decision we make. Salvation isn’t about us at all, it’s about God and the grace he gives us. Contrast that idea to how we normally think of baptism and salvation: it all  happens when we make a decision to follow Jesus.

But, when we say things like God gives us grace before we’ve ever made a decision for him or that God has been always been saving us, why would we not baptize an infant?  We’re reminded of that profound mystery of salvation. Grace.

This is also why we don’t re-baptize people. Grace. The power of baptism (and salvation) isn’t in our decision, but in God’s grace.

Let’s play with this baby’s future for a minute. Let’s say at 6 years old this kid finally gets that Jesus loves him and wants him to go to heaven so he prays that prayer from sinners-prayer.com. Is it at this point that the kid is finally “saved”?

Clearly, the kid doesn’t understand the full implications of that prayer. To be honest, I don’t know that I have a full understanding of that prayer either. Clearly this kid doesn’t know about theology and doctrine and can’t explain things like atonement, and trinity, and inspiration of Scripture. So what does it mean for a small child to pray that prayer? Are they really saved at this point?

Instead of focusing salvation on what is required to be saved (like have you prayed this prayer, or believed this doctrine) maybe the better way is to once again start with God’s grace. At this point in this kid’s life, he is simply responding to grace as best he understands.

And I think God loves that.

Let’s say that child turns 13 and is confirmed. He stands before the church and declares his faith in Jesus. He may have a better grasp on theology, but do you really think he knows what it means to trust Christ for his salvation? I doubt it. But, once again, if we focus on God’s grace we see something different. The kid is older, and is experiencing God’s grace a little differently and once again, the child is responding to grace as best as he understands.

I think this is true for our whole lives. We’re continually changing and growing and understanding God differently. At 30, we will respond to grace differently than we did at 13. We will simply have a different understanding of what God requires from us. Hopefully we continue to develop and grow, so at 50 we will respond differently then at 30. And at 80 we respond differently than at 50.  As we grow, as we mature, as we come to understand more fully, we will continue to respond to grace as best we understand. This isn’t to say that the faith at 80 is better than the faith at 6, it levels it all out to saying faith is faith and grace is grace. God’s grace prevails where our understanding falters.

So maybe salvation isn’t this one-time decision we make, but all the ways God is pursuing us and saving us and making us whole.

How liberating is that idea?

Salvation is not just this legal declaration: You are forgiven. It is the way God seeks after you. And continues to seek after you. It is the way that God lead you to himself. And continues to lead you to himself. It is the way God shows you grace. And continues to show you grace. It is the way God saves you. And continues to save you.

Salvation isn’t this prayer we pray and then wait to experience it in another world. Salvation is today, and again tomorrow, and the day after that. Salvation is God training you to say yes to his Kingdom, which we recognize  has already come upon us (in technical terms we call this Sanctification). Salvation is us learning to align ourselves with God’s mission to heal and make right.

With each step we take we are saved not just from hell, but towards God!

I love the insight into God’s heart we receive by looking at salvation like that. It frees us from legalism, because it puts all of our attention on God and his grace. It frees us from this torment of wondering if we’ve done enough because it draws our attention away from us and back on grace.

What does it meant to be saved?

One word: grace.