Jesus as the Author of Salvation
Over the course of my life, I can’t count the number of people I’ve met who have considered writing a book or have been told by their friends they should write a book before they die.
Often at a conference as speakers are introduced, mention of the fact that this or that one has written a book moves him or her to a higher status in the minds of audience members.
Some of us have attempted to write books. But even those who have no personal aspirations to be an author honour those who have the knowledge, skills, diligence and perseverance that are prerequisites to writing a book of even modest success.
One of the big challenges most would-be authors face is originality. We’ve all read books which mostly rehash old ideas. Such books aren’t very useful. To produce something of real value to readers, authors have to come up with enough fresh ideas to keep their interest until the last page and that’s tough.
In the New Testament, Jesus is spoken of as an author on two occasions, though in neither case was the reference to authoring books. We’ve already considered him as the “author and finisher of faith.” This time we’ll focus on Hebrews 5:9 which tells us that “being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.”
While other words would also apply, the word “author” is apt because it suggests originality and creativity. Often as I’ve thought about the salvation that God offers through the Lord Jesus Christ, I've had serious doubts that any human mind could have conceived of such a plot line. Who would ever guess that God, the great King of the Universe, resplendent in majesty, unlimited in power and offended by the rebellion of the creatures most like Him, would shock the universe by taking their guilt and placing it on His own beloved Son.
At first, it seems illogical, irrational, even preposterous. But then, when we look more deeply into His holy character, it suddenly becomes the most logical, rational, creative answer to what, for a loving God, was an untenable position. I’m speaking of God in human terms here, but can you imagine the tension He must have felt as His holiness and justice demanded the death of the creatures He had stamped with His own image and into whom He had breathed life? At the same time His heart beat with compassion for these ones who crowned His creation.
The answer was entirely original and as creative as the act of creation itself. God gave up His Son to become one of us so that He could die in our place. As the author or originator of our salvation, Jesus would provide for our reconciliation in two ways. He would take the guilt of our sin on Himself, and he would share His own divine righteousness with us.
As the author of our salvation, Jesus proved Himself to be the original, creative and powerful mediator who brought reconciliation between a holy God on one side of the table and sinful humanity on the other side. Human authors today often fall into one of two camps. Some try to deny the story Jesus wrote though His life, death and resurrection by offering empty, ugly, hopeless stories without redemption and restoration. These attempt to make Jesus’ story look like a fairy tale compared to their harsh realism. Others imitate His story by consciously or unconsciously including themes of fulfillment, beauty, hope, joy and reconciliation. These would make the sacrifice of Jesus no more significant than the account of a faithful dog who plunges into frigid water to save his drowning master.
Gloriously, no human story can detract from the account of God’s love as expressed in Jesus the One who is the legitimate author of our salvation - the originator and source of the redemption, reconciliation and restoration in which all those who believe in Him rest.
Ron Hughes
© January 2008
