Demonstration
It is common to view salvation from the perspective of our benefit. No wonder, for there is great benefit in our being saved from our sin! Sin is a cruel master who destroys every life in service to it and who’s wages is ultimately death. God ought to be praised by all who are being saved, for this gift is one he suffered not only the condescension of becoming man but also death itself to make possible for us.
Still, when we consider salvation only in terms of what we received it can quickly warp our perception of what is important in life. Many, having focused on the blessings they have received, have come to view salvation as something which was granted to them because God wanted them so much. In this view (reflected in songs and teaching in various congregations) he had a romantic draw to mankind so much so that he felt he absolutely must save us.
However, God has revealed his purpose in redeeming for himself a people and it does not magnify man in the way these teachings do. Perhaps the best verse to illustrate the purpose is when Paul ruminates on his own salvation in a letter to Timothy.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16
Jesus didn’t come to save Paul, the lovable. He didn’t even come to save Paul, the useful. He came to save Paul, foremost of sinners. Why? Because that would perfectly demonstrate how his patience extends even to one who persecuted Christ’s church! The salvation of Paul, while a gift so good Paul would consider it better than even his own life, was not about Paul. It was about the goodness of Christ!
Flawed On Purpose
In fact, in his first letter to the Corinthians he explains that God often chose the least desirable of mankind specifically because it would make plain that it was the goodness of God and not some value in us that made a difference.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Jonathan Edwards point that “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” is well taken, but lacking. We also contributed our foolishness, weakness, and low estate so that when he redeems us and glorifies us it is clear that it is the work of God and not man.
When God grants the foolish the wisdom of God, the worldly wise are humbled. When he strengthens the weak, the strong man is brought down. God’s purpose in whom he choses has nothing to do with how valuable we are and everything to do with showing how powerful he is.
Humble Man, Honorable God
Those who are without God have nothing to boast about. No matter how strong, intelligent, or famous they are their strength wanes, they cannot grasp eternal things, and they will eventually be forgotten in history.
Those who are Christ have eternal promises. However, we also have nothing to boast about. We didn’t attract the attention of God with our value. We weren’t the ones who were smart enough to choose the better thing. In fact, many times it is our shame that made us the perfect instrument for God to demonstrate his glory!
Instead of imagining that God wanted us so badly, we should focus on how amazing it is that he chose us despite our lack of worth in ourselves to be of eternal value in him. Salvation doesn’t show how much God longed for man. Instead, it shows how powerful and gracious he is that he could save even the types of people who have become his people.
