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CWV-101 Topic 5 Overview

Rescue, Redemption, and Renewal

Introduction

This topic brings you to God's purpose for humanity—to reconcile people to himself

through rescue, redemption, and renewal. You are reading the textbook to see how God

in his unlimited wisdom and power has taken upon himself to bring rebellious people to

be restored into a right relationship with him. One of the most powerful passages in

Scripture lays out in simple terms the essence of this gospel message. Here is the

Apostle Paul addressing the Corinthian church and all who read his letter:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;

behold, the new has come.18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled

us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God

was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are

ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on

behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:17-20 NIV)

The phrase "in Christ" is very common in the New Testament and crucial to

understanding the gospel. To be "in Christ" means to place your "hope in Christ" (Eph.

1:12), or in other words, making Christ the object of your faith. Paul expresses the

gospel message most succinctly in Galatians 2:16 where he says, "a person is not

justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ."

In this respect, Christianity is unlike virtually every other religion in the world. Other

religions show you what they believe is a way to God by living in a certain manner,

praying certain prayers, and many other religious customs. Christianity teaches that

people are not capable of being good enough, which is precisely why God sent Jesus to

be the Savior of the world. Other religions offer good advice, whereas Christ offers good

news, the gospel—which is that by trusting in what he has already done for you, you are

restored.

Other religions offer possible salvation (eternal life in heaven) through trusting in one's

own good works, while Christianity offers certain salvation through trusting in Christ's

good works. Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved

through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of

works, so that no one may boast" (ESV).

The good news of the gospel may be summarized with the three Rs: rescue, redemption,

and renewal.

Rescue

God rescued people from torment in hell and eternal separation from God by sending

his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Redemption

Redemption, the granting of salvation, occurs when you accept Christ as your savior, the

Lord of your life, by faith. Accepting God's gift of salvation includes yet another R:

repentance. You repent of your sins by simply confessing them to God and turning from

them to live in obedience.

Renewal

Renewal is the work of the Holy Spirit who comes into your life when you accept Christ

and begins to transform you from the inside, and you become a new creation and begin

a life that will lead on into eternity.

Restoration, Reconciliation, and Relationship

These terms, restoration, reconciliation, and relationship, help to define the Christian

faith in addition to the three Rs mentioned above. God's plan is to restore people to

himself, that they might be fully reconciled to a right relationship that was severed due

to sin.

In the unfolding biblical story that began with the Creation, then that was quickly

interrupted with the fall of humanity, God brought redemption throughout human

history culminating in the life, death and resurrection of his son Jesus Christ. This

ongoing redemption of humanity, which is essentially the building of God's kingdom (the

ministry of Christ's Church), will one day come to completion at the second coming of

Christ (Matt. 24). Then the final act in the biblical story—restoration—will commence

after the judgment (Matt. 25:31-46) with the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21).

Justification

Another important word that defines what happens at the point when you turn to God

and accept Christ is justification. This is a legal term that means Christ's payment for sins

is credited to your account, resulting in you now being justified in God's sight. Salvation

then is all a work of God's free grace received by faith.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that Christianity is really much more about what God has done rather

than what you do, more about what God gives than what you earn, and more about a

relationship than a religion. Christianity is about knowing and loving God, while enjoying

amazing fellowship in his eternal family.

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