Salvation 2

I am reading Genesis for Lent, and the Rabbi who translated and has provided commentary made note that God remains hidden in the text. In other words, God is MYSTERY! Reading his note I was really confronted with the 'other side' of theology. Too often in our efforts to give name to what we do know about God (He has, after all, revealed all we need to know for salvation) we overstate our theories and explanations. This is a typical human error. I do it all the time. You probably do it occassionally as well. The purpose of theology is prayer and worship. In understanding more about God we are driven more enthusiastically to praise and thank Him (and obey). We know God can be trusted so we invest ourselves (in faith and love) to His care.

What we say about God is usually best understood as analogy. In other words, it "kinda is and kinda isn't" accurate. It is more like a directional indicator. It is way to think about God without (the error) of thinking we totally understand or grasp God. Infinity is not graspable and God is infinite!

So the questions raised yesterday (about Grace and imputed righteousness) flow out of the awareness that these concepts are "figures" or "images" or "metaphors" which helpd us gain insight into what God is up to. They are also aspects or angles on it. God's activity, however, is much deeper, broader and wider than any one image.

The Law Court is an analogy. We are 'like' criminals, guilty everyone, standing before a judge. (The image is literally true, but it is also a metaphor) The problem with any metaphor is it can only highlight and emphasize part of the picture. The Law Court does not, for example, include the idea of marriage. The marriage covenant is another metaphor for God (in Hosea salvation is welcoming back an errant wife!). Likewise there are numerous other images: lost sheep, errant children, wounded/dying, citizen/alien, business debt, animal sacrifice, model/imitation and the list goes on... I want to look more in depth at some of these, but suffice to say that each image is limited and it reveals and hides at the same time. So we are wise to not put too much emphasis or weight on any single Biblical model for salvation (or grace or faith). I hope to gain insight and provide insight into the word salvation, grace and faith. Your comments are helpful here or at jeff@standrewscollierville.org