I just ran across a blog post from a progressive Christian blog, where the emerging church is discussed and described as “a much more progressive Christianity– instead of focusing on the “sin & salvation” model, it takes the view that Christ didn’t judge but helped people to be all they can be. Very much sharing the progressive view of humankind, that we’re born good and can be made better.” (The Emerging Church)
The post goes on to talk about practice being more important than belief. This has been a contention of mine for awhile, that Jesus focused more on practice than belief. Of course, there’s not a neglect of faith or belief in the teachings of Jesus, but Evangelicalism have tended to favor a skewed interpretation of being saved by grace through faith and neglecting the place of works in salvation.
The question is, are we saved to heaven or are we saved to a new life? This is a serious question. A new life implies a change in our actions and deeds. I’m reminded of Dallas Willard’s teaching that grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. We cannot earn salvation by doing good things, but doing good things is a part of our salvation and continued transformation into the life of Christ.
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