A Reasonable Salvation

The purpose for writing this work is, as Peter urged, "[to] be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks ... a reason of the hope that " we have in Christ. We endeavor, therefore, starting at Creation to explain Calvary as reasonable and reasonably meaningful for faith. Not every theory of the Atonement greets our public with an interest that can lead to conviction, and while God could use our words spoken with sensitivity from a sanctified heart [1 Peter 3:15] it should sound reasonable to want to speak in a language God can inspired and use to draw hungry hearts to Himself. It cannot be wrong to search for a Bible based pathway to the Cross that explains God's justice and love in a reasonable way. But to get closer to Calvary, we must get closer to God, and that is only possible in prayer and the prayerful study of His Word. And we will never in this lifetime be totally understanding of God's reasonings [Romans 11:33]-nor should we. Calvary must remain a matter for faith, but the Biblical answer to life, our reason for life, is to be found in the Cross because when God drew up the blueprint for humanity, He had that lonely hill of suffering in mind. Who we were created and who He is are forever linked in God's mind and heart. Somewhere, therefore, in the nature of God, in the unfathomed depths of His inexhaustible grace, lies the secret to His passion. Perhaps, in eternity a thousand timeless years from now, we may begin to unravel the mystery of Godliness [1 Timothy 3:16], but-truthfully?-I think not. It will take "the ages to come [that] He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." [Ephesians 2:7]. A word about God's "covenant faithfulness." God always planned through Jesus' crucifixion to restore His original vision of Eden. God's over-comers [Revelation 12:11] will be invited to "eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" [Revelation 2:7]. We have, metaphorically, taken a step back from looking at a few trees-those isolated events in which the awesome power of our God was on display-to scope out the forest around them. There is a larger picture here than the return from Babylon or the Exodus. There is throughout prophetic history the thought of restoration on God's heart and mind which the disciples, no doubt, picked up on at Jesus's ascension [Acts 1:6]. We must step back far enough to see Eden in our peripheral vision on both ends of that history.