Purpose of Salvation
I have been chewing on a question for about 3 months now. The question was asked by John Piper at Passion 2011 in Atlanta. Piper has always been and interesting speaker to me but until recently I saw him as confusing and too intellectual. God has been using the ministry of Desiring God, Piper’s ministry, to challenge me spiritual and to get some thoughts on theology flowing.
The question is “Do you feel more loved by God because he makes much of you? Or do you feel more loved by God because he enable you to make much of Him?”
This question is from a message called “Getting To the Bottom Of Your Joy”
One statement stood out to me…
“millions of nominal Christians have never experienced the fundamental alteration in the foundation of their happiness. To be born again regenerate is to experience at the bottom an exchange the most fundamental thing that happens at new birth. My self as the source of all my joys my self being made much of ceases to be the bottom and God becomes the bottom.” – John Piper
That statement makes sense to me. When we look at the way “Christians” are living their lives it is easy to see that they/we are living out a very self-centric salvation. We believe that Jesus came to die for my sins. The first thoughts of a lost person who is being drawn by God are selfish because that is who we are at the very root. But it is when we stay at this point, salvation being about us, that Christians just don’t get it.
When we stay at the point that salvation is first of all about us then the purpose of Christ death on the cross is fulfilled when we are saved. We can see that many Christian believe this because of the way they live out their salvation. Again if salvation is about us then there is no reason why we should live out our faith in the world. To see the error in this?
But when we realize that Christ main purpose for dieing on the cross was the same purpose he was sent to earth, then it changes the way we should live out our salvation. We are saved not to sit in a pew but we are saved to give glory to God. So when we see our purpose of salvation about God’s glory we should be more apt to share his glory outside the walls of the church building.
Let me ask you again.
“Do you feel more loved by God because he makes much of you? Or do you feel more loved by God because he enable you to make much of Him?”
