Is the view of salvation generally held in contemporary evangelicalism an under-realized eschatology with a too-narrow focus on forgiveness alone? This article suggests this is the case, and offers the doctrine of salvation we find in the theology of Athanasius as a correction. It argues that contemporary evangelicalism views sin primarily from within a behaviourist and forensic framework. In this way, the need for ontological renewal as an important aspect of gospel [preaching]] is marginalized. The author argues that Athanasius rightly emphasized the ontological dimensions of sin over its legal dimensions. The article looks to correct a limited view of the nature of sin (hamartiology).