More Than Simply a Spiritual Transaction

A central message of the Bible is that of restoration. No doubt, the world is marred by sin, and if God had not intervened then mankind would be left in a predicament of utter depravity. In other words, we’re messed up. And not just a little bit. At the very center of every human being is a depravity that is incredibly dark; in fact, there is no spiritual life for those apart from God. This does not mean that those who are not Christian are unable to do good things. What it does mean is that unless God works in the life of someone spiritually dead he will remain spiritually dead and separated from God.

When we think about what it means to awaken from spiritual death to spiritual life it should cause us to greatly rejoice! This is not merely a transaction. This spiritual metamorphosis is precisely centered on our relationship with God. We do not simply receive some type of notice that our sin has been cancelled and consequently we now have access to eternity in heaven after we physically die. We receive God Himself, and it is privilege to enjoy Him now! Our relationship with God, which once was broken, is now made available to us through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. And all our deepest desires and longings can be met in Him, like Adam and Eve enjoyed before the fall!

I mention all of this because Christianity is not to just about having our sins forgiven by God so that we gain access to heaven someday. The message of Christianity is to have our broken relationship with God restored. He is our prize. He is our goal. He is our treasure in the field worth far more than anything in this world has to offer. God is not just part of the transaction for which we receive His grace. He becomes everything to us!

You may be thinking to yourself, “OK, Severson, I get this. I know what you are talking about.” Good! But my question is, do our lives reflect this reality? Do we treasure our relationship with God far more than anything? You see, if we don’t we’ve missed the whole point, and our spiritual lives are based on something contrary to Scripture. To reduce the Gospel message to merely be a transaction is to miss the main point of the Gospel – that of restoring our broken relationship with God.