So Great Salvation

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."2Cor 5:21
1. God made
The Creator who made all things has made a way to redeem all things. And the whole creation groans for that redemption.
2. Him
Who is He? He is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the Word that became flesh. He is the Son of God. He is the King of Kings. He is Lord. "He who had no sin," the sinless one.
3.  God made him...to be sin for us.
The sin is and was ours, not his. It is my sin and your sin. It is the sin that corrupts the whole of creation. It is the sin that we inherited from Adam, that original sin in which we were born. It is the sin that caused the Los Vegas and the church shootings. It is the sin that kills babies, corrupts marriages, starves people, enslaves girls and boys in sex trafficking, breaks up marriages and destroys families. It is that sin which produces collective results in a fallen world, poverty and disease and natural disasters. It is our sin. It became his. He who had no sin became sin...for us!
4. So that
Something good is about to follow... So that...
5. In him
Not in myself and my works nor my goodness.
Not in the Republican nor Democratic Parties.
Not in Buddha, Not in Mohammed, Not in Krishna. In Him. (See #2 above)
6. We might become
Possibilities we have never known in our selves nor in others become reality in Him. We can be something we have not been. We can do something we have not done. We can see and taste and smell and touch and feel something we never knew. What we have not been, can be.
7. The righteousness of God
Glory! The righteous, the Holiness of God. Through Christ God puts us in a right relationship with himself, a justified relationship, so that we become his righteousness, his holiness, we become like him. What does that mean? See all of the above. We become like a Jesus!

The Way of Salvation

The Way of Salvation 

As I continue to study the life and ministry of John Fletcher, Methodist theologian, apologist for John Wesley’s theology, and humble pastor I have been impressed with his exploration and amplification on Wesley’s Way of Salvation. I struggle with the term, “dispensation” in modern English and in the misappropriation of the term in dispensationalist theology. So I am looking for another word, synonym, to communicate this truth. 

Further, i am thinking about a series of sermons and/or lectures on these four dispensations. You thoughts will be helpful. 

Fletcher’s thoughts as I understand them:  

The Way of salvation is revealed in the salvation history of scripture, the work of salvation as experienced in the believer’s life.

Fletcher expanded Wesley’s via salutis (way of salvation) with a concept of four stages (or dispensations - or gifts) of faith which believers pass through in the course of their lives. These personal and progressive stages of faith are abstracted from the public history of salvation as typified 

in the age of Noah (Gentilism), where there is a general awareness of God; 

the dispensation of Moses (Judaism), where there is a awareness of the personal character of God in special revelation; 

the dispensation of John the Baptist (and the disciples of Jesus during his earthly life), where there is God’s self-revelation and the offer of redeeming grace and forgiveness of sins; 

and the dispensation of the risen Lord (culminating on the day of Pentecost which marked the birthday of the church) where believers are enabled to love God with a pure heart through the agency (baptism, infilling, or sealing) of the Holy Spirit. Wesley applauded Fletcher’s concept of dispensation: “Mr. Fletcher has given us a wonderful view of the different dispensations which we are under. I believe that difficult subject was never placed in so clear a light before. It seems God has raised him up for this very thing” ([6:136-137] “Letter to Elizabeth Ritchie,” January 17, 1775).

Further, these four “dispensations” reveal the way most Christians experience salvation. I am looking for personal testimonies reflecting this.