The Breadth Of Salvation

All too often, the Christian understanding of salvation has been one-dimensional, reducing all that God has done for us to a single conception or idea. Tom Greggs, one of today's leading theologians, offers a brief, accessibly written, but theologically substantive treatment of the doctrine of salvation. Drawing on the broad tradition of the church and the Christian faith in explaining the Christian understandings of salvation, Greggs challenges the contemporary church to be captured afresh by the immeasurable height, depth, and breadth of God's saving actions.

Atonement. For some this word is the heart of the Christian faith. For others, it is irrelevant for Christianity and how they live their Christian lives. Often we do not see "the breadth and depth" of the atonement in the gospel. Christian D. Kettler, in his fourth book on "the vicarious humanity of Christ," suggests that we consider that the atonement is not only a vicarious death in our place and on our behalf--whether in the form of a "penal substitute" or a "moral example"--but also his vicarious humanity, having atoning significance for all of our lives, indeed, all of reality: the church, the world, and the self. These essays are collected from several years of Kettler's thought on the doctrine of the vicarious humanity of Christ and its implications for all of life and reality, seeking to demonstrate that the doctrine of the atonement is not to be restricted to one small part of the doctrinal agenda, but has profound implications that theology sometimes does not explore. These issues include the nature of culture, aesthetics, creation out of nothing, spiritual formation, emotional weakness, the priesthood of Christ and creation, genetic engineering, and trusting in the "ideal" self.

Romans is one of the few books in the New Testament that was not composed as a pastoral response to specific, localized problems. Instead this letter was written primarily to challenge and ultimately correct widespread misunderstandings about Christianity held by mid-first-century believers. Some of these beliefs are embraced even now. Paul's central focus in Romans is the means of obtaining salvation. Point by point, he systematically builds his case by articulating who needs salvation and why, the role of the law, God's response to the sin problem, resolution of the legal issues presented by sin, and the effect each has on the Christian's life. This devotional commentary divides the entire text into short passages that are followed by a detailed, user-friendly exegetical explanation and practical application to everyday life. The lives of such men as Martin Luther and John Wesley, whose writings helped shape Western history, were changed by the study of Romans. It will change your life as well. Book jacket.

Edward Horae, through this work, attempted to consider whether the Gospel, as revealed in Scripture, is really broad or really narrow. He stated that while openly admitting that the most general statement of the Gospel is most probably the truest, it is yet to be decided which statement really is the broadest and on which side can the narrowness be found. He tried to answer this question by applying the tests of breadth and fulness to the message of salvation as revealed in the Gospel.

Christopher J. H. Wright sets the concept of salvation in its biblical context, showing its global implications for how God's redeemed people relate to one another and the world they inhabit.

Barth, Origen, and Universal Salvation offers a bold new presentation of universal salvation. Building constructively from the third- century theologian, Origen, and the twentieth-century Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, Tom Greggs offers a defence of universalism as rooted in Christian theology, showing this belief does not have to be at the expense of human particularity, freedom, and Christian faith. Examining Barth's doctrine of election and Origen's understanding of apokatastasis, Greggs proposes that a proper understanding of the eternal salvific plan of God in the person of Jesus Christ points towards universal salvation. The relationship between the work of the Spirit and the Son in salvation is central to this understanding. Universal salvation is grounded in the person of Christ as himself historic and particular, and the Spirit makes the reality of that universal work of Christ present to individuals and communities in the present. The discussion includes creative suggestions for the political and ecclesial implications of such a presentation of salvation.

The Bible promises the renewal of all creation--a new heaven and earth--based on the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For centuries this promise has been sidelined or misunderstood because of the church's failure to grasp the full meaning of biblical teachings on creation and new creation. The Bible tells the story of the broken and restored relationship between God, people, and land, not just God and people. This is the full gospel, and it has the power to heal the church's long theological divorce between earth and heaven. Jesus' resurrection in the power of the Holy Spirit is the key, and the church as Christ's body is the primary means by which God is reconciling all things through Jesus Christ. Jesus' ultimate healing of all creation is the great hope and promise of the gospel, and he calls the church to be his healing community now through evangelism, discipleship, and prophetic mission.

After writing and teaching on the subject for nearly thirty years, this beloved professor of theology presents a major volume on the atoning work of Christ.