Psalm 62
Psalm 98
Isaiah 12:1-4
Isaiah 51:1-8
Lamentations 3:19-26
Zechariah 9:9
Luke 1:57-80
Luke 19:1-10
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
2 Timothy 2:8-13
Hebrews 2:10-18
1 Peter 1:3-12
Since I have chosen 12 verses, this leaves me one day to study each passage. If I finish early, I will use the extra time to create an overall summary of the Bible's teaching on salvation. Otherwise, I will move on immediately to the next topic study without summary.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
My Top Salvation Verses
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Surely, you know that merely looking at the verses that contain the word "salvation" does not encompass the multitude of verses that teach or explain salvation in the bible.
ReplyDeleteYou could broaden your word search to include terms such as repentance, redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, atonement, sanctification, heaven, cross, sin and their variations to name just a few.
No doubt the 12 verses you have chosen will provide much to reflect upon but they will not give you a complete picture of the biblical teaching on salvation, but merely scratch the surface.
I point this out because these kinds of word search approaches, while helpful places to begin, do not really cover the biblical teaching on the given topic and may mislead the naive to think they have actually covered the subject in the bible.
To just read the verses with "salvation" mentioned does not give you the deep theological and historical understanding of salvation. To understand salvation one has to understand Israel's history, the covenants God made with various individuals and with Israel, the biblical teaching of sin, the concepts of atonement and sacrifice and forgiveness and redemption, the teachings on faith and obedience, the nature of God's mercy and faithfulness, the distinctions between corporate and individual salvations, the sovereignty of God over history and finally the eschatological promises of God beyond human history and destiny.
Of course in personal evangelism we have to present a shorthand version that can be grasped very quickly and touches on sin, mercy, forgiveness, atonement and faith. My hope is that we will all realize that this shorthand gospel while effective and powerful is just the beginning of understanding. Perhaps your reflections on these 12 verses will dig a little deeper and bring forth some insights.
God bless.
Your caution is wise.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment.
There is no way to summarize everything the bible teaches about salvation in 12 posts.
My goal is not to be comprehensive but reflective.
Thank you for your feedback!
Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI have only looked at a couple of your posts. It seems you alternate between personal reflections like one would write in a journal and other posts sound like you are writing for an audience to be instructive or helpful.
As a teacher it is no doubt easy to fall into the didactic mode whether intentional or not. However, all the writing gurus tell us to always know our audience for more effective writing.
If I may offer a thought about this it seems to me that on a subject such as salvation and given your choice of verses a more personal reflective mode might in fact be the most instructive for you and your readers. To offer the alternative of either an expository or theological treatment requires a more thorough and comprehensive analysis in order to be faithful to the text.
Personal reflection, while ideally reflective of the true intent of the verse, doesn't require the analysis that an expository approach would have.
As Paul said to Timothy in Titus 2:7,8 "In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned..."
Personal reflection allows us to follow Paul's exemplary style as he mentions in 2 Timothy 3:10,11. "You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings..."
I look forward to your thoughts.