Chart of 34 New Testament Metaphors for Sin and Salvation
Metaphors for sin and salvation by Dr. John Sanders.
Here are 34 different ways of understanding sin and salvation in the New Testament. [The NT writers use more images than these.]
Metaphoric Frame Understanding of Sin Understanding of Salvation Example
| Rescue | Distress | Delivered | Col. 1:13 |
| Economic | Debt | Payment | Col. 2:14 |
| Being owned | Slavery | Manumission | Rom. 6:17-18 |
| Captive | Hostage | Ransomed | 2 Tim. 2:26 |
| State of existence | Being in Darkness | Being in the Light | John 8:12; Eph. 5:8 |
| Vision | Blindness | Sight | Luke 4:18 |
| State of relationship | Lost | Found | Luke 15 |
| Walking | Stumbling/falling | Walking normally | Eph. 5:2 3; John 1:4 |
| Path/Journey | Going the wrong way | Going the right way | John 14:5; 1 Tim. 6:10 |
| Pilgrimage | Not on the journey | Pilgrimage to God’s residence. | Heb. 3:7-4:11 |
| Boundaries | Trespassing | Going where you belong. | 2 Cor. 5:19 |
| Truthful life | Living in falsehood | Living the truth | Eph. 4:25 |
| Status in nation | Alien/Stranger | Citizen | Eph. 2:19 |
| Health | Sickness | Being healed | Matt. 9:12 |
| Friendship | Friend with the world | Friend with God | James 4:4 |
| Family | Orphan | Adopted | Eph. 1:5 |
| Family | No inheritance | Inheritance | Col. 3:24; 1 Pet. 3:7 |
| Identity | No identity | God’s people | 1 Peter 1:9-10 |
| Social organization | Jew or Gentile | One body of Christ | Eph. 2:14-16 |
| Chosen/Elected | Not chosen for service | Chosen by God for service/Vocation | Rom. 9-11 |
| Carrying a heavy object | Burdened | Jesus bears it | Matt. 11:28-30 |
| Concerns of life | Weariness | Rest | Matt. 11:28; |
| Clothing | Naked | Clothed in Christ | Col. 3:12; 2 Cor. 5:3 |
| War/Peace | War | Peace | Col. 1:19-20 |
| Strife | Enemies | Reconciled | 2 Cor. 5:19 |
| Gardening | Pruned | Grafted in | Rom. 11:24 |
| Human development | Infancy | Maturity | 1 Pet. 2:2 |
| Crime & Punishment | Breaking a law | Forgiveness/Vindication | Rom. 3:23-24 |
| Purity | Contamination | Cleansed | Heb. 10:22; Eph. 5:26 |
| Competing in games | Losing | Winning | 1 Cor. 9:24-25 |
| Sleep/Awake | Sleep | Awake | Eph. 5:14 |
| Creation | Old creation | New creation | 2 Cor. 5:17 |
| Biology | Death | The Life of God | John 14:6; 10:28 |
| God’s life | Life away from God | Participation in the life of God | 2 Peter 1:4 |
The chart is indebted to Brenda Colijn’s Images of Salvation in the New Testament (2010) and Richard Beck’s Unclean (2011), pages 34-35.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!