Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend andbe spent in this work. And go always, not only to those thatwant you but to those that want you most. Observe: It is notyour business to preach so many times, and to take care of thisor that society; but save as many souls as you can; to bring asmany sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and with allyour power to build them up in that holiness without whichthey cannot see the Lord. 2The last sentence of this quotation leads us to Wesley's secondcharacteristic definition of the purpose of Methodism: "What may wereasonably believe to be God's design in raising up the preacherscalled Methodists? Not to form any new sect; but to reform theNation, particularly the church; and to spread scriptural holiness overthe land." 3Making disciples, saving souls, reforming the nation, and spreadingscriptural holiness over the land: four different descriptions of the taskof a Methodist church! How are they related to one another and whatsort of mandate do they give for our work today? The Discipline triesto put them all together by saying, "Whenever United Methodism hashad a clear sense of Mission, God has used our church to savepersons, heal relationships, transform social structure, and spreadscriptural holiness, thereby changing the world. In order to be trulyalive, we embrace Jesus' mandate to make disciples of all peoples." 4I would like to explore the biblical roots of this statement, whichmust be clear if the church's mission is to have its full resonance intoday's world. I will do this by dealing with three questions:1. What is the biblical meaning of salvation?2. What is the biblical description of the mission of the church?3. What does this mean for our task as United Methodist Churchtoday?What Is the Biblical Meaning of Salvation?"What must I do to be saved?" the jailer in Philippi asked Paul andSilas, according to Acts 16:30. What he originally meant may bedisputed. Was he asking for help in a difficult situation? Did he needprotection once he discovered that he had obviously maltreated themessengers of a mighty God and had provoked God's wrath? Or did20 QUARTERLY REVIEW / SPRING <strong>1999</strong>
he, having basic doubts about his condition in the face of God,therefore ask with regard to his eternal salvation?The Greek word soteria ("to be saved") has a broad field of meaning.This is taken into account by most translations. "Your faith has made youwell" is a formula which is often used by Jesus and could be translatedliterally: 'Your faith has saved you." 5 We find this translation in Eph. 2:8:"By grace you have been saved through faith," and in many other placeswhere the context seems to indicate that a religious connotation is atstake. 6To be saved means primarily to be rescued from the wrath that iscoming (see 2 Thess. 1:9; Rom. 5:9). But soon the formula comes todescribe the more general acceptance into the salvific communion withGod (John 3:17). The point is that biblical language has no unifiedconcept for what we call "salvation" today.Furthermore, no single biblical term conveys the entire breadth ofthe early Christian notion of salvation. Everything that is told aboutGod's saving activity for his people in the stories of the Bible, in boththe Old Testament and the New, is relevant to the question. In mybook Call and Response I have attached the crucial points of the NewTestament teaching of salvation to three areas of tradition. 7Althoughsuch classifications may appear overly schematic, I want to keep tothem in order to be able to represent the data as differentiated as isnecessary and as clearly as possible.The Gospel of the Kingdom. The essence of Jesus' teaching onsalvation is found in his announcement of the coming of the kingdomof God. The Synoptic Gospels are unanimous in their witness thatJesus' proclamation that "the kingdom of God has come near" (Mark1:14) stands at the very center of his teaching. Whereas John theBaptist's teaching emphasized that the Kingdom would bring God'sjudgment, Jesus declared that the kingdom would bring God'ssalvation. Another basic summary of Jesus'teaching, Luke 4:18-19,reflects the proclamation in Isa. G\\\ff. "The Spirit of the Lord is uponme, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. Hehas sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight tothe blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of theLord's favor" (cf. Luke 7:22). What is meant by this may be explainedbest by the first Beatitude: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours isthe kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20, probably the original version of thisBeatitude; cf. the parallel phrase in Mark 10:14, which says that thekingdom of God belongs to the children).PROCLAIMING SALVATION—MAKING DISCIPLES 21
Page 2: Editorial BoardTed A. CampbellWesle
Page 8 and 9: add to it add to it To add complete
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Page 13 and 14: ulbs into the bright sunshine. But
Page 15 and 16: and reinforces the individual's ide
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Page 19 and 20: marketed to consumers. To achieve t
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methodology is made up by a body of
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Douglas W. RuffleHoliness and Happi
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holiness and happiness, shall cover
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letter that he would send financial
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emphasis on a "lifestyle" evangeliz
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Wesley saw the need to bring "real"
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Kenneth G. DavisStill Gringo after
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considered her casual demeanor to b
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like to give attention to the lumin
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into the light of these luminarias.
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ecause I cannot be other than what
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one might choose to look at the som
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Jesus was not, however, a crowd-ple
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coming of the kingdom (9:35), they
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about Jesus has been forever known
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Although the message comes from the
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would strike at the very fabric of
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these little ones." The parallel an
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(16:18-19) was vying for recognitio
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July 18,1999—Eighth Sunday after
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Matthew's "little apocalypse" descr
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Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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