On Atonement, Mistakes and Sin

"The reduction of salvation to an atonement-only gospel is a modern mistake, especially apparent in affluent and powerful countries that would feel easily threatened by a full proclamation of the kingdom of God and all its teachings. In that private gospel, what is lost is Jesus the Teacher, who shows us the ways of his kingdom. There is no powerful lion, just a sacrificial lamb." --Jim Wallis

SM: "The problem with Jim Wallis's statement is that it leaves on the table that ugly modern evangelical rationalization, "mistake". Jesus as Savior but not as Lord is not a mistake. It is a rejection of a Gospel that calls us to death of self by following Jesus outside the gate of personal acclaim. The saved-and-proud-of-it (atonement only) culture seeks acceptance and approbation within the gate and seeks to empower government to enforce righteousness through its laws rather than by divine transformation through the renewal of the mind. Without divine transformation, we cannot know the perfect will of God in politics or religion. Outside the gate, we find Jesus and the Kingdom of God to be almost interchangeable terms."





My rsponse: Here's how I would put it: To be mistaken is to not be conformed to the Truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth. To not be conformed to the truth is to sin. So the question then becomes whether there are degrees of sin or not. Those with Reformed DNA carry the nominalist gene which reasons in terms of black and white, either/or. One either has kept the law or broken it. One is either in or out. Other Christians reason in terms of degrees and participation. They agree with Simone Weil, who wrote, “Sin is not a distance, it is a turning of our gaze in the wrong direction.” One can be far from perfectly conforming to the Truth, but still looking toward Him. It is in that gaze that we see how we fail to fully image Him, and so realize our need for His forgiveness, and His power to transform us, bringing us closer to the King, and deeper into the Kingdom. Those who turn their gaze toward anything else--nation, wealth, sex, power, etc--practice idolatry.