What Does It Mean to Be Saved? consists of a scholarly collection of seven essays and two responses occasioned by a 2001 Regent College conference that asked select academics to "open up new vistas" for North American evangelicals who "need their [soteriological] horizons expanded" (p. 9). The book's stated goals are to serve as a catalyst for constructive conversations on neglected dimensions of human living where the fingers of Christ's redemption reach and, further, facilitate evangelical discussions about "what the Bible teaches about salvation in all its glorious complexity and scope" (p. 10)-an ambitious undertaking to be sure. Contributors to this endeavor include Vincent Bacote, Henri A. G. Blocher, D. Bruce Hindmarsh, Amy L. Sherman, Rikk E. Watts, John Webster, Loren Wilkinson, Jonathan R. Wilson, and newcomer Cherith Fee Nordling. The essays that emerge from this distinguished group clearly reflect their academic specializations, which both adds to and detracts from the value and purpose of the overall project.
Three essays stand out for honorable mention and reflect the eclectic nature of the collection. Rikk Watts produces a masterly biblical theological perspective on salvation by extrapolating the themes of creation/exodus-new creation/new exodus. Watts inculcates within the reader the maxim, "eschatology recapitulates protology" (i.e., consummation entails new creation), and therewith effectively guides one through a variety of soteriological ideas and movements within biblical history and theology. Likewise, Henri Blocher's piece (entitled "Agnus Victor") evidences his admired expertise in the fields of systematics and historical theology. Blocher effectively argues for a conscious evangelical embrace of the neglected "victory of the Lamb" motif in theological discourse. He also encourages the integration of that motif with the widely recognized doctrines of vicarious punishment (propitiation) and atoning sacrifice (satisfaction) for a more holistic and robust theology of the cross. And D. Bruce Hindmarsh, well-known for his contributions in the field of eighteenth-century evangelical history, posits a stimulating reflection on the evangelical concerns of the eighteenth century, which were "much broader than merely getting souls saved and on their way to heaven" (p. 46). Hindmarsh uses John Wesley as an example of evangelical social and economic activism rooted in redemptive principles.
Yet neither these three essays-nor any of the others-say anything that is not presently being said elsewhere within Evangelicalism, especially in the context of confessional, Reformational traditions. Unfortunately, the contributors and editor do little in this volume to establish a context by identifying precisely who these "evangelicals" are and why they (we?) need to have their horizons broadened. As a result, What Does It Mean to Be Saved? may leave readers with the distinct impression that its authors have hastily written a mottled prescription to "broaden horizons" without first charting a diagnosis for its mystery patient. Prognosis for readership: not good.
This problem is exacerbated by the fact that academic specialization so narrows the field of each essay that the grand endeavor of broadening horizons is lost to compartmentalization. After each chapter one wonders whether the primary thesis of this particular essay is essential to a broad and proper understanding of the experience of salvation. Furthermore, the reader is given no guidance as to how to relate one chapter with the next. Simply put, the project openly suffers from a lack of cohesion and (surprisingly) relevance. Aside from several of the essayists opposing the prevailing notion that salvation is about individual souls "getting to heaven," there stands little continuity among the essays. The tempered responses of Webster and Wilson note the lack of focus, and the editor's rather disobliging preface adds little to the unity. Consequently, the book proves a disappointment with respect to its stated value and purposes, notwithstanding the scholarly merit and quality of the individual essays.
More importantly, at a time when classical Pauline soteriology is under attack, the doctrine of justification is being compromised vis–vis Roman Catholicism, and the doctrine of God is being modified, neglected, and outright denied within the ranks of Evangelicalism, one wonders if the essayists could have broadened evangelical horizons by defining and defending some of the more fundamental elements of salvation. Perhaps evangelicals need to be reminded of such soteriological topics as the triune God's accomplishment and application of redemption through the person and work of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit; the role and function of the church as the Trinity's organ for dispensing saving and sanctifying grace to the world; and the article on which the church stands or falls, justification by grace through faith alone. These topics can hardly be taken for granted today, and articles addressing them are sorely lacking in this collection.
