This is from a discussion on CRC-Voices related to an excellent piece on 4 theories of atonement that people often set to oppose each other.

To use some contemporary language, Anselm was working to be missional, as is John Piper with his defining “righteousness” as “God’s zeal for his glory”. These are preachers attempting to relate Biblical material within cultural terms their audiences will find illuminating and meaningful. There will always be limitations to these efforts especially when those cultural terms get carried over into other contexts. What the Bible does is noteworthy in how itself offers a number of different metaphors itself to help us understand HOW God save us and what he saves us from. The point in all of this is that Jesus saves but we are sufficiently out of touch with even our knowledge of what we need saving from and how much rescue we need.

See also Tim Keller’s Leadership Journal article “The Gospel in All Its Forms”