“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
— Revelation 21:1–2
Christianity’s True Center
Christianity is not primarily about personal salvation—any more than elementary school is about recess or nap time. Those may be pleasant side benefits, but they are not the purpose.
To major on the minors and minor on the majors is to lose the gospel’s heartbeat. It may sound shocking to call “personal salvation” a byproduct rather than the core of Christianity—but that is precisely the perspective Scripture demands.
From Genesis to Revelation, the biblical narrative centers not on isolated souls escaping judgment, but on God redeeming a people—a united Bride—for His Son and restoring creation under Christ’s eternal reign.
The Cultural Confusion of “Personal Salvation”
Since the First Great Awakening (1730–1740 A.D.), evangelists and preachers—especially in the West—have emphasized the idea of a “personal relationship with Jesus.” While intimate relationship with Christ is real and precious, the biblical context for that intimacy is always corporate: the Body of Christ, the Church.
Tragically, modern individualism has twisted “personal” into “private.” Many who “tried Jesus on for size” expected an endless stream of individualized blessings, only to find themselves disillusioned when life remained hard and sanctification required community, discipline, and obedience.
The problem isn’t with Christ—it’s with our vision.
Vision: Whose Eyes Are You Seeing Through?
“Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who keeps the law.” — Proverbs 29:18
The issue Proverbs identifies isn’t a lack of vision, but the replacement of God’s revealed vision with our own.
That’s what happened in Eden. The serpent deceived the woman into believing she could define good and evil for herself.
“The woman saw that the tree was good for food and desirable for gaining wisdom… so she took and ate.” — Genesis 3:6
Her vision supplanted God’s. Humanity has done the same ever since—each generation “doing what is right in its own eyes” (Judges 21:25), blind to the ruin it brings.
A Glimpse Through the Fog
The poet Robert Browning captured the ache of misdirection and rediscovery in Paracelsus:
“So long the city I desired to reach lay hid;
When suddenly its spires afar flashed through the circling clouds;
… I had seen the city,
And one such glance no darkness could obscure.”
Browning describes that sudden glimpse of the long-sought destination—momentary yet life-defining.
Spiritually, that’s what happens when God pierces our self-focused fog and lets us glimpse His eternal vision: the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, radiant as a Bride for her Husband.
The Destination: God’s Kingdom, Not Ours
The “personal salvation” narrative has replaced the kingdom of God with the kingdom of self. But Jesus didn’t come merely to save us from hell; He came to redeem us for Himself—into His kingdom, His reign, His family, His Bride.
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” — Luke 19:10
Yes—but that same chapter warns that those who refuse to invest the treasure He entrusts will lose everything (Luke 19:11–27).
Human autonomy, egocentrism, isolation, and hyper-individualism are not virtues—they’re symptoms of rebellion. God’s vision is covenantal, communal, and Christ-centered.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” — John 15:13
“If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” — Matthew 16:24
The Journey: Sanctification in Community
The Apostle Paul writes:
“It has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for Him.” — Philippians 1:29
Faith and suffering are plural blessings. We walk this narrow road together.
Christianity was never intended to be a solo expedition but a shared pilgrimage of saints.
Ephesians 2:10 makes it plain:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We, not I.
The “I’m fine on my own” Christianity of modern Western culture is a contradiction in terms.
You cannot follow Christ faithfully apart from His Church.
The Glimpse: The City of God
Those who have never known genuine Christian fellowship or experienced the beauty of the Body of Christ often live like wanderers who never glimpse the City of God. They hear about heaven but have never tasted the joy of kingdom community.
If that’s you, read Revelation 21. See the New Jerusalem—radiant, unified, holy. See the Bride “prepared and adorned for her Husband.”
That’s our future. That’s the Church’s destiny.
Anything less is a counterfeit gospel.
A Kingdom, Not a Theme Park
If your church’s mission sounds more like a marketing slogan than the marching orders of a holy army, it’s time to repent and recalibrate.
If your approach to church is consumer-driven—showing up to “get something when you need it”—you’ve missed the entire point.
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.” — 2 Corinthians 7:10
Noah didn’t build a fleet of individual rafts; he built one ark.
God didn’t call scattered individuals; He formed a nation.
Jesus didn’t establish private devotionals; He founded a Church.
“On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” — Matthew 16:18
“Everything must be done for the building up of the church.” — 1 Corinthians 14:26
Or as Rick Warren aptly said: “It’s not about you.”
Living Worthy of the Gospel
Paul’s repeated exhortation echoes through every epistle:
-
“As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” — Philippians 1:27
-
“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” — Ephesians 4:1
-
“Live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.” — Colossians 1:10
-
“Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory.” — 1 Thessalonians 2:11–12
The gospel calls us out of our little worlds and into His vast kingdom vision—into the unified Bride, the radiant City, the everlasting people of God.
Seeing and Living by God’s Vision
When you finally catch that glimpse of the heavenly city—of the Church radiant and redeemed—you’ll never be content with spiritual consumerism again. Like Browning, you’ll say:
“Soon the vapors closed again,
But I had seen the city,
And one such glance no darkness could obscure.”
Hold fast to that vision. Let no fog of cultural Christianity or darkness of self-centered religion obscure it.
When we align with God’s revealed vision, we find joy even in battle, endurance even in pain, and unity even in diversity. Empowered by the Spirit, we stand together—firm, armored, and aflame with gospel purpose—citizens of the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
“Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint;
But blessed is the one who keeps the law.” — Proverbs 29:18
Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
BigIslandChristianChurch.com
No comments:
Post a Comment