Rescued, Not Entitled, Part 2
I highly recommend you read part 1 of this chapter HERE first. Last post, we looked at the biblical case of Reuben—how his sense of entitlement ruined him and his legacy. This post, we’re looking at Dostoevsky and how his sense of being rescued rather than entitled unleashed worship, gratitude, and a lifetime of creativity.
That any of us—in fact that all of us—do something similar to Reuben, in the sense that all of us have given in to foolish urgent choices (I’m not suggesting all of us have raped someone), perhaps even while knowing the long-term consequences could be cruel, is a reminder of how much we need a Savior, and how blessed we are to have such a Savior. We need to be rescued from ourselves, our desires, and our foolish demands. God has given us such a Savior in Jesus. Though we may face earthly consequences, God graciously removes the eternal ones. We are rich, indeed.
Paul presents Jesus’ work as doing more than simply removing God’s wrath from us—though of course it does that gloriously and abundantly. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus also “rescues” us:
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”[1]
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” [2]
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.”[3]
We’re rescued not just from God’s wrath but from “the present evil age.” God’s wrath is real, but the Eastern Orthodox perspective of atonement (as well as Puritan John Baxter’s) helpfully reminds us that we are also victims. The two concepts—that we deserve God’s wrath and that we are victims who need to be rescued—can co-exist, and in God’s economy, they do. Yes, we are guilty. In one sense, we are rescued from our very selves, as we are often the captains of our own destruction. But we are also victims, caught up in an evil age that is smarter and more powerful than we can manage, thus are we destined to be corrupted, led astray, deceived and abused as all of us have been.
I am not a systematic theologian so don’t give more weight to my words here than you would your own opinion. I believe it is possible for Christus Victor to co-exist with penal substitution if both are presented in a complimentary way. East and West can come together recognizing that we are victims and we are objects of wrath. Christ’s work is a more thorough rescue than one side alone projects. I am rescued from my own sins and God’s rightful wrath! I am also rescued from the present evil age. I am a sinning perpetrator and I have been sinned against. Both are true, and both require a rescue only Christ can provide.
Do you recognize your need to be rescued? Do you think you’d actually do “okay” on your own, that maybe God was even lucky you signed up to follow him? Have you learned how utterly ruined you would be without him?
Release (unlearn) that sense of entitlement. It is distorting and even perverting the way you look at God, yourself, and others. And then learn the new mindset that comes from realizing you have been rescued.
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