For the first 20 or so years of my life, I understood salvation as one concrete idea: that Jesus died for my sin on the cross.<\/p>\n

Substitutionary Atonement is what we call it.\u00a0 Jesus took our place.\u00a0 He was our substitute and paid the price for our sins.<\/p>\n

But before too long, I discovered that I was terribly mistaken.<\/p>\n

Not about Jesus dying for our sins.<\/p>\n

But about thinking that was all salvation meant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In its fullest sense, \u201cSalvation is \u2018God\u2019s deliverance of those in a situation of need\u2026 resulting in their restoration to wholeness.\u2019 It is restoration because salvation does not offer something new; it is God\u2019s original intent for creation.\u201d (Introduction, The Lord is Our Salvation)<\/p>\n

The best word I can find to describe that original intent, the life that God intends for each of us is the word shalom.<\/p>\n

It means completeness, wholeness, well-being.<\/p>\n

And God\u2019s work of salvation in Jesus Christ rescues us from whatever hell we might experience in our lives that has destroyed shalom, so we might experience life and life abundant once again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christ dying and paying the price for our sins is one piece of that work of salvation.\u00a0 But it isn\u2019t the only one.<\/p>\n

In fact, in the Western world, there are three major understandings of what the cross means, all different ways of talking about how Jesus saves us.<\/p>\n

These are called atonement theories.\u00a0 They describe how we become at-one again with God\u2026 how we are brought back into shalom\u2026 how we experience wholeness once again.<\/p>\n

The first is the one most of us grew up being familiar with \u2013 a Forensic understanding of salvation.\u00a0\u00a0 These theories say we are like a defendant on trial and have been found guilty of breaking our covenant with God. So, a penalty must be paid.\u00a0 Jesus knows we are guilty and out of love, pays the price for us.\u00a0 He satisfies the debt we owe.<\/p>\n

The second is called Moral Example.\u00a0 This grouping of theories claims that the cross is the natural outcome of the life of Jesus, who spoke truth to power and dared to love those who society rejected.\u00a0 And in his life and death, Christ shows us how we should live, too.<\/p>\n

The third of the major groupings is called \u201cChristus Victor\u201d \u2013 Christ as the Victor!\u00a0 This theory claims that in the eternal battle for good and evil, we are imprisoned by sin and held captive by Satan.\u00a0 Jesus defeats death and evil on the cross and we are set free.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Throughout this season of Lent, we are going to see how this isn\u2019t a debate or competition about which of these sets of theories is right, but that each and every one of them is a part of the whole.\u00a0 Taken all together, they describe how God continually and relentlessly works to bring us salvation, to restore us to shalom.<\/p>\n

I want to share with you one more scripture this morning as we hear the word.<\/p>\n

In 1 Peter, chapter 3 we hear:<\/p>\n

^{17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>It is better to suffer for doing good (if this could possibly be God\u2019s will) than for doing evil.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n}

^{18\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous\u2026\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n}

^{19\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>And it was by the Spirit that he went to preach to the spirits in prison.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n}

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Right there, in three verses, all three of these major theories are at play.\u00a0 Be like Jesus and suffer for doing good\u2026 He died because of our sins\u2026 and he went down to hell and preached to the spirits in prison.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This morning, we are going to focus on the idea of being rescued.\u00a0 1 Peter tells us, and the Apostles Creed affirms that Jesus descended to the dead.\u00a0 He went down into hell after the crucifixion to preach to the spirits held in the prison of death.<\/p>\n

The verses go on to say:<\/p>\n

In the past, these spirits were disobedient\u2014when God patiently waited during the time of Noah. Noah built an ark in which a few (that is, eight) lives were rescued through water. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As we remember in our first reading this morning, the whole world was drowning in sin\u2026 and eight lives were rescued through the water.<\/p>\n

With the children, we remembered the promise God made right then and there, a promise to seek forgiveness and not punishment.\u00a0 God put the rainbow in the sky as a reminder that never again would life be destroyed, that God wants to restore us to life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But I sometimes wonder about those souls who weren\u2019t rescued.\u00a0 Whatever happened to them?<\/p>\n

1 Peter tells us, \u00a0God\u2019s rainbow promise extends even to those who died in the flood.\u00a0 They were trapped by their own sin, imprisoned by Satan and death,\u00a0 but through the cross, Jesus wins the victory over death itself and even the unfaithful disobedient spirits of the ancient world were given the opportunity to hear the message of God\u2019s love and offered shalom.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how powerful God is.\u00a0 That is how mighty Christ\u2019s victory is.<\/p>\n

And if Jesus can rescue disobedient spirits from hell itself, than Jesus can rescue you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maybe you are struggling with an addiction that just seems to have you in its grip.\u00a0 Jesus can help set you free.<\/p>\n

Maybe bad habits and a poor attitude have been dragging you down.\u00a0 Jesus can lift you up.<\/p>\n

Maybe you are swimming in worries and fears and feel lost in that sea.\u00a0 Jesus will keep you from drowning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Ash Wednesday, we were reminded of our sin, our mortality, our finite natures.\u00a0 We are all sinners.\u00a0 We are all made out the dust of the earth.\u00a0 And we can\u2019t save ourselves from drowning in all of the dirt and muck of this world.<\/p>\n

But Jesus can.<\/p>\n

And just as God took the dust of the earth and formed us as his people, God can take the dust of our lives and make something beautiful out of it.\u00a0 God can rescue us from even the dust of death and raise us up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve talked about some big words and some big concepts this morning. Atonement.\u00a0 Christus Victor. Salvation and Shalom.<\/p>\n

And sometimes the only antidote to being overwhelmed by new information is to look at pictures of puppies.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

These puppies are rescue dogs and these amazing photos capture them on the day they were rescued\u2026 on the day they were brought home from the shelter.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

They transform from these sad and pitiful creatures, to vibrant and life filled friends.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

They come to find themselves at home, loved, taken care of.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

And this is what God wants for us.\u00a0 God wants to rescue us from the hell we experience in our lives.\u00a0 God wants to save us from our guilt and addiction, from our sin and temptation, from our fears and our failures.<\/p>\n

God wants to bring us home.\u00a0 To restore us to shalom.\u00a0 To wholeness. To life and life abundant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jesus is strong enough to save even the spirits in hell and Jesus can save you.\u00a0 Jesus can transform you.\u00a0 Jesus can set free this entire world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is interesting that Mark\u2019s account of the wilderness\u00a0 is not a long series of temptations and failures, but a few words about faithfulness:\u00a0 Jesus was tempted by Satan.\u00a0 He was with the animals.\u00a0 The angels took care of him.\u00a0 No drama. No mistakes.\u00a0 No surrender.\u00a0 And in the midst of it all, Satan just disappears.\u00a0 Jesus transforms even the wilderness, the time of testing and struggle, into shalom \u2013 a place where all are cared for.\u00a0 Pheme Perkins writes that even before his ministry began, Jesus had already broken Satan\u2019s power on this world.<\/p>\n

And Jesus can enter the wilderness of our lives, the prisons we construct for ourselves, and can transform it too.<\/p>\n

Now is the time.\u00a0 Today is the moment.\u00a0 Let Christ set you free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first 20 or so years of my life, I understood salvation as one concrete idea: that Jesus died for my sin on the cross. Substitutionary Atonement is what we call it.\u00a0 Jesus took our place.\u00a0 He was our substitute and paid the price for our sins. But before too long, I discovered that…<\/span><\/p>\n

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