divine life might be restored to mankind. From the cross He
exclaimed, “Tetelestai!” “It is finished!” “Problem
solved!” (John 19:30). Inexorably setting in motion the
entire restorational objective of restoring God’s life to man,
Jesus knew that the resurrection, Pentecostal outpouring
and consummatory glorification were assured. In this
“finished work” of Jesus Christ, God graciously solved the
ultimate problem of mankind.
When Christian religion reverts to secondary efforts of
problem-solving as their primary mission in the world, they
are in effect denying the “finished work” of Christ by
focusing on and engaging in “works” that attempt to
“finish” God’s work on His behalf, instead of relying on
what has been accomplished once and for all mankind in
Christ. Yet, Christian religion has often projected itself as
the “force of good” to change or transform the world of
evil, perceiving its role in a “savior-complex” that sets out
to deliver the world from its problems. Robert Capon’s
remarks are pertinent:
“Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is the proclamation of
the end of religion, not of a new religion, or even of the best of all
religions. ...If the cross is the sign of anything, it’s the sign that
God has gone out of the religion business and solved all of the
world’s problems without requiring a single human being to do a
single religious thing. What the cross is actually a sign of is the