The Christian story is not primarily about how God in Jesus came to rescue sinners from some impending disaster. It is about God’s work of initiating us into a fellowship and making us true conversational partners with the Father and the Son through the Spirit and, hence, with each other (1 Jn 1:1-4). Attaining heaven and avoiding hell represent just one aspect of the koinonia of God’s extended family. This explains why heaven and hell do not receive any sustained focus in the Scriptures. The biblical writers avoid direct discussion of details about the hereafter (2 Cor 12:1-4). But they have bequeathed to us a rich vocabulary describing the nature of the life of fellowship (justification, regeneration, reconciliation and so on) and explaining it (as in the various hortatory sections of the Epistles). Above all, they furnish us with four Gospels, four related stories about Jesus, whose life and work made it all possible.
Chan, Simon (2009-09-30). Spiritual Theology: A Systematic Study of the Christian Life (p. 78). Intervarsity Press. Kindle Edition.
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