RECONCILIATION (60AD)
“No hope without awareness of sin.”
After Jesus, mainly Paul decisively influenced the development of the Christian religion. Probably he never met Jesus in person, but a special experience of the Divine near Damascus made such a lasting impression that till death, all his journeys, letters and meetings were seen in this light. As if he had suddenly become aware of a cosmic reality: ‘Jesus lives and has reconciled the world with God.” It took him years of isolation in Arabia to fully understand how much this revelation changed everything. Not only for him but for everyone who would later call themselves Christian.
In his famous letter to the Romans Paul summarized what he had preached all those years. No systematic theology. He had never allowed himself the time, or perhaps he was too much of a Jew for that. Yet the core of his message is crystal clear: through Jesus, people are saved from sin, not just Jews but all nations.
The prophets of Israel taught that there is just One God for all men. Now Paul said that sin and salvation are also universal. And because universal and individual are two sides of the same coin, in his worldwide mission Paul reinforced the personal nature of sin and redemption.
Looking at how the concept of sin develops in the Bible, makes clear how radical Paul’s message was. Initially sin was something superficial, accidental comparable to ignorance, a mistake, burden or pollution. Later when the gap between the poor and wealthy widened, sin was compared with a money debt that can hardly or not at all be paid off. With Paul; (and in his footsteps with Augustine), human sin is deeply rooted within and structural. The whole creation is affected. Through this gradual internalization of sin, man has in fact taken responsibility for devilish sin.
Yet, God’s salvation is just as complete and real. For Paul, Jesus’ resurrection convincingly demonstrates that we are saved – a gift from Above rather than a task for below. For centuries it has been endlessly debated how redemption was achieved. The early Church primarily thought of ransom paid by God in order to free man from devil’s grip. Then people started to get difficulties with the idea that God would owe something to the devil. In the Middle Ages Jesus’ death was seen as a just punishment, a kind of lightning arrester for God’s wrath or vicarious satisfaction because of His honor and righteousness. Such metaphors like sacrifice, ransom and satisfaction all point to ‘compensation’ as if ‘quid-pro-quo’ is equally important to God and man. Nowadays one might ask: was this the only possible route to salvation? Perhaps we should conclude: not for God but apparently so for human people. Jesus was killed by humans, not by God. Perhaps there was no other way for people to get to know themselves.
Evil is inside, good is from Above. This seems quite a negative image of man, but it is not so. Just imagine the alternative: if we think that good is inside and evil comes from outside, we would be blind to our own failures or victim of our circumstances or both. Paul teaches man to remain critical of oneself, or in other words to assume responsibility without despair. No hope without awareness of sin.