Salvation – it’s not just about you
We are currently in the season of Lent. This is a time when we would traditionally pay more attention to themes such as confession, sin, and sacrifice. This is an important area of our lives because sin kills things. That’s simply what it does. But, the flipside is that salvation heals things.
Here, though, is what I want to unpack today: Sin isn’t just what we do (actions), it’s also part of our systems and relationships (systemic).
Pentecostal theologian, Amos Yong at Fuller Theological Seminary, put it this way:
“Sin itself is undeniably social in character. … Because all creation labors under the bondage of sin, human creatures struggle with sinful relationships, life systems and environments from their conception. But, if sin has this inextricably social dimension, then so has sanctification.”
He goes on to write that,
“The purification from sin and the consecration to holiness therefore inevitably have to involve the reconciling of alienated relations, the redemption and renewal of social structures, and the healing of the world.” (1)
What this all means in theological jargon is this: Salvation isn’t just about you and your sins; it’s about everything in the world – that in and through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He wants to save not only us from our personal bad actions, but also the broken relationships we have accumulated in the broken social structures around us.
What this means is that salvation isn’t only individual, it’s also relational and cosmic. Meaning it involves everything. And, this is really good news.
Jesus is not just interested in saving you, but also in saving your broken relationships, and the broken systems in and around us. Jesus is about a salvation that involves all the different aspects of “us.” Sin has a social dimension to it, and so does sanctification or salvation. Jesus wants to save every area of brokenness in the world, including our relationships and systems.
I write all this to remind us of one thing during Lent: That, yes, the world is broken and we can see it all around us – we don’t need to deny it. However, we can work against it, because Jesus is interested in saving every bit of creation.
Of course, we should confess our sins and brokenness during Lent. We absolutely should invite Jesus to work in our lives – to convict us, heal us, and transform us.
But, we should also ask how we might partner with Him in the healing of the world, because salvation has never been about just “you,” but about all of “us.” Sin does have a social dimension to it, but redemption does too.
So, during Lent, as we focus in on our sin and brokenness, let us not forget the broken systems of the world and the relationships around us that need to change. Because, while we might sometimes forget this, Jesus certainly does not, so neither should we.
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1. Amos Yong, Renewing Christian Theology - Systematics for a Global Christianity. Pg. 125
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