Creation Theology VS. Redemption (Salvation) Theology
The Bible provides two major realms of understanding God's relationship with mankind and His will for the world. The first is Creation, and the second is Redemption (or Salvation).
Yet almost all church teachings and Christian discourse today predominantly focus only on Redemption.
What is the Redemption Realm? You probably hear it everywhere in Christian discourse: We are all sinners. God is full of mercy and grace. The Word becomes flesh. Jesus died for us on the cross to pay the price and redeem us. We repent, and be saved and transformed by God. Jesus will come again. We will live in eternity with God in the new heaven and earth.
It's basically what we've accepted as the Gospel and basics of Christianity.
What happens when we only focus on Redemption and neglect Creation in the Church?
When the Church only focuses on the Redemption part of the Bible in its teachings, then everything in life is all about salvation. Several beliefs become common among Christians:
Life is all about how to be “saved”, not how to be human.
We tend to divide life into a dichotomy of either earthly things (the “Secular”) and heavenly, eternal things (the “Spiritual”).
“Secular” things are worthless, and Christians should always go after the all important “Spiritual” things.
God only cares about “Spiritual” things, not earthly things under the sun. He cares more about our future life in the new heaven and earth rather than the “non-spiritual” jobs we're doing right now.
In the workplace, a good Christian should mainly focus on sharing the Gospel because that's what God cares about. Other things related to work are not as “spiritual”
The world God had created and our life under the sun have become “fallen”. If we experience any struggles, problems or suffering today, it is because sin has entered the world and we're living in a “fallen” world and we are not "fully saved" yet. We look forward to the new heaven and earth that is truly perfect with none of these limitations. God doesn't really care about our body and flesh.
Those Christians who are called to be in full-time ministry work have a more “spiritual” and “sacred” calling than those who do “worldly” jobs.
The Book of John is more important than the Book of Job? Ephesians is more relevant than Ecclesiastes?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching about God's salvation and redemptive plan. It is a major message of the Bible. But the Bible also offers another realm of understanding how God relates to His creation which, when taught together, forms a more three-dimensional perspectives of how God, people and life on earth relate to each other.
Creation | Redemption / Salvation | |||
Nature of God and human response | Sovereign, limitless, wisdom, abundance Human response: Humility – fear God Seeing own limitations – rely on God | Merciful, full of grace, powerful, triumphant Human response: Gratitude – love God Seeing own helplessness – rely on God | ||
God's action | To define and establish To give and provide | To conquer and defeat To rescue and free | ||
Results and human response | Creation of life 'It was good' Order: - physical - functional - moral Limits: Return to dust | Our response: Enjoy - Receive - Treasure, use - Make decisions Remember | Kingdom Reconciliation Covenant Incompleteness: Second coming of Jesus not fulfilled yet | Our response: Rest Keep the covenant Hope and wait |
Image of Man | Made in the Image of God Limited, always only a created being | Fallen, lost Find mercy and now share His glory | ||
Realm | Life under the sun: the wisdom of living out life | Everlasting relationship with God | ||
Concerns over time | Natural characteristics of creation remain continuous over time | A dramatic change in the defeat of sin and transformation of life | ||
People concerned | The whole human race | Those chosen by God | ||
How God reveals Himself to us | Experience the Creator in life | Redemptive history | ||
