Did the biblical writers describe salvation primarily as a legal category having to do with an individual’s standing before God, or did they mean it as primarily a social category having to do with the community of God’s people? 8 Union with Christ shows you that this is a false choice. If you are in Christ, then, by definition, you are a part of his body (1 Cor. 12:27). That’s why the church historically (from the early church through the Reformation and even beyond) said things that sound strange, even offensive to our ears today, such as, “Outside of the church there is no salvation.” 9 In
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