revjohn: "Saved from what? From ourselves mostly I expect. All have sinned and all have fallen short. So we need help and grace is that help."
There is a big difference between the benefits of transformative salvation and the OP's more basic question of what we are saved from.
Paul and James would answer that we are saved from postmortem wrath--ie. postmortem separation from God variously expressed biblically as consignment to Hell, spiritual death, or "destruction," perhaps in the sense of soul annihilation.
"Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by His blood, we will be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9)."
"Whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20)."
To duck this point and pander to a progressive agenda by concocting a psychological existential view of salvation is to move in the direction of a cultic mentality divorced from biblical anchorage. Yes. the doctrine of a punitive postmortem fate is problematic for many moderns. But we should either come clean and either explicitly reject this biblical teaching or explore the possibility of some biblical form of universal salvation.
As C. S. Lewis famously and pithily said, "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside."
revjohn: "Saved for what? For God."
True, but too vague! Redbaron should be applauded for posting this generally ignored question. Paul, of course, teaches that we are saved by grace through faith. What gets overlooked is the implication that Christians must then strive to live grace-based lives--lives that constantly express gratitude for God's unconditional acceptance and forgiveness: "Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:17)."
This means I must serve others out of a sense of privilege to be used by God, not out of a dry sense of duty that might collect applause in my mind for putting up with the shortcomings of others.
All respected Bible scholars would agree that the posted article reveals a simple-minded ignorance of both Paul's Gospel and "Gnostic individualism." I will express that critique in my next planned post.
There is a big difference between the benefits of transformative salvation and the OP's more basic question of what we are saved from.
Paul and James would answer that we are saved from postmortem wrath--ie. postmortem separation from God variously expressed biblically as consignment to Hell, spiritual death, or "destruction," perhaps in the sense of soul annihilation.
"Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by His blood, we will be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9)."
"Whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20)."
To duck this point and pander to a progressive agenda by concocting a psychological existential view of salvation is to move in the direction of a cultic mentality divorced from biblical anchorage. Yes. the doctrine of a punitive postmortem fate is problematic for many moderns. But we should either come clean and either explicitly reject this biblical teaching or explore the possibility of some biblical form of universal salvation.
As C. S. Lewis famously and pithily said, "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside."
revjohn: "Saved for what? For God."
True, but too vague! Redbaron should be applauded for posting this generally ignored question. Paul, of course, teaches that we are saved by grace through faith. What gets overlooked is the implication that Christians must then strive to live grace-based lives--lives that constantly express gratitude for God's unconditional acceptance and forgiveness: "Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:17)."
This means I must serve others out of a sense of privilege to be used by God, not out of a dry sense of duty that might collect applause in my mind for putting up with the shortcomings of others.
All respected Bible scholars would agree that the posted article reveals a simple-minded ignorance of both Paul's Gospel and "Gnostic individualism." I will express that critique in my next planned post.
