Faith and Salvation

A few weeks ago in Faith Development we began to talk about the stages of Faith. We discussed specifically stage 1 faith from age 2-6 and stage 2 faith from age 7-12. In the course of our discussion the topic of conversion and baptism was brought up. There seemed to be a push in our churches to have children make professions of faith when they we in stage 1 or early stage 2. This push could be problematic because in stage 1 faith children cannot separate imagination from reality. In stage 2 faith children have an overwhelming desire to belong in the community of which they are a part. Therefore a profession of faith in stage 2 would more then likely come from that desire to belong. That decision can lead a child to question their salvation later in life when they have reached a new stage in their development and cause them to reject their faith as false or constantly feel the need to rededicate their lives so they can be sure they are saved.

These practical problems bring up some very interesting topics in which we as Christians need to be talking about and reflect on theologically. What do we need to do to be more intentional with the way we teach our children and what does that lead us to theologically?

I think that some of this problem can be solved if we realize that salvation is not the same thing as being a Christian or being baptized or making a profession of faith. When we put all those ideas and concepts into one act we feel the need to rush people and children into them. We rush them because we think that if they die before they become a Christian, be baptized and get “saved” then they will go to hell. When we realize that is not the case then the pressure is relieved and children can make these big decisions in a more developmentally appropriate way.

The idea that being “saved” and being a Christian are separate may be hard for some people to understand. We were brought up with the ideas being identical. In fact they are not. Simply put the world was and is “saved” by the Grace of God through Jesus dieing on the cross and his ensuing resurrection. That is the Gospel. You don’t have to do anything to be saved. That is why it is called grace. We always want to make it some process that we do or some formula that we believe but in reality being “Saved” has nothing to do with anything that we do or say or believe. Thank God for that because our actions, thoughts and beliefs change all the time as we develop in life. Being a Christian is different.

God calls some people on the earth to be God’s agents here and now. God does this because God loves humanity and wants to show us that love. Therefore throughout history God has elected certain people to be blessed in order to bless those around them. The Bible tells us this in the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In fact the Bible is the story of God doing this throughout human history. Sometimes the people that God calls do not do what God wants them to do. They become “at ease in Zion”. They stop blessing others and simply say that they are God’s people so everyone else must be bad and are going to hell. They confuse being “God’s people” with being “saved”. When this happens God sends prophets to call the people of God back to the work of God. Sometimes the people listen, most of the time they don’t.

Eventually God called Jesus to this task. God and Jesus had a very special relationship. In fact in some way God became incarnate in Jesus. The leaders of the people did not like the message that Jesus told them. So they killed Jesus. But Jesus did not stay dead. God raised Jesus because in some way all the sins of the world died with Jesus and Jesus was reborn anew. To this day some people are called by God to continue the work that Jesus had started and made possible. Those people are called Christians. Not all Christians do the work that God has called them to do. Some Christians have become “at ease in Zion” and are confused about what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be saved. It is our job to help enlighten them and the world about the difference.