The Goal of Christian Salvation

What is the highest goal of Christian salvation? In our witnessing, do we find ourselves frequently conveying to people the benefits of becoming a Christian, rather than the goal? Afterall, in today's culture, everything needs to be "marketed" and what better way to "market" Christianity by selling the benefits? And the benefits are quite easy to name - abundant life on earth and eternal life after death; sometimes healing; peace and joy, grace and mercies that are new every morning etc....

But have we really conveyed the goal of Christian salvation? Being a faith that has been handed down through the centuries, I am quite convinced what the early Church and early Christians believed and practised have somewhat been lost through the centuries. In fact, I am quite convinced the Church today needs to recover this truth - the goal of Christian life is RENEWAL and REGENERATION. Without a full grasping of this truth, I fear we may end up at heaven's gate, realising that we have sorely missed the point...

Apostle Paul has been most clear and consistent in his theology and writings to the early church - our goal is Christian "regeneration", becoming a new creation, having a new life. Share with you an appalling truth - it took me many years after being a Christian (15?) to realise the essence of 2 Cor 5:17 "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new"....

But how do we realise our need for regeneration when we don't see ourselves as we truly, really are? Self-knowledge and self-discovery is a journey. My husband has been quick to caution me too that being too inward-focussed also has its downside - one can easily become self-adsorbed, overly self-critical...which is true.

But I still feel it is so critical that we know ourselves to the full extent that we are known by God. This is impossible without help from the Holy Spirit. Watchman Nee calls this a form of "revelation".

We need to constantly remind ourselves that each of us are unregenerated vessels (maybe more positive way to put it is "yet-to-be-fully-regenerated") who are still very much work-in-progress, then we will be less demanding of ourselves and of others. Many times when I have conflict with a fellow Christian, I just imagine two deformed clay jars clanging at each other (no wonder Paul wrote about "clanging cymbals" in 1 Cor 13). Such a sorry picture, isn't it? But that's what we are!

Today I shy away quite a bit from being too close to certain Christian company, especially those who profess to be "mature" Christians who try to "speak" into other people's lives, "play God" in their lives, etc. . I know I am being negative. But I think we really ought to know ourselves.. and as of now, this deformed vessel realises she is so deformed, she is staying away from her fellow broken jars... a bit self-defeatist in mentality but till I can find a better approach, I prefer to keep things this way and the reason is yours truly is so fully aware that she is so guilty of her own charge...