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Tag Archives: Salvation

The Difference Between the Saved and Unsaved

14 Dec

I know a man who has recently been released from prison. Understandably, his life is in a sad state of affairs. However, he does have something going for him – he is being ministered to by a number of Christians. These brothers and sisters are providing for him, driving him places, etc.

But still, he doesn’t want anything to do with Jesus. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that he thinks Christians, the only people who are truly caring for him, are idiots.

He has been a fool in his early days, a fool in middle age.  And unless something changes, he will soon be an elderly fool…and then a fool for all eternity.

Just like these people in Revelation chapter 9…

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Revelation 9:20 (ESV)

In the context, the world is blowing up all around them, and their only hope is to turn to the One True God…but like the man above in hopeless circumstances, they refuse. How sad.

And yet, all of us have been there. Paul writes to the Ephesians…

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)

So what happened for us? Why are we different than the fools of Revelation or the foolish man I mentioned? Are we smarter, or more perceptive? What did we do right that these others did wrong?

Many people believe that the ultimate difference between the one man who is saved and the other man who is lost is that one had the insight and wisdom to receive the free gift of salvation, and the other man didn’t.  Rarely do they phrase it this way, but almost always it comes down to this.

However, the teaching of Scripture is that our salvation did not come because of our own wisdom or keen insight to rightly choose the Way of Life. Instead, it was totally and completely a work of God…

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4 (ESV)

We were dead…but God made us alive. That’s the difference.

So all the glory goes to Him.

For Tuesday, December 15th: Revelation 10

 
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Posted by on December 14, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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Thanking God for the CERTAINTY of Eternal Life

26 Nov

Some ideas blow your world apart, and 33 years ago, I heard such an idea when I was at West Point on bivouac. Bob Maruna, an upper class cadet, stopped by my tent and told me I could know whether I was going to heaven. I had never heard such a thing before, but it is clearly biblical:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 (ESV)

John is wrapping up his letter, and the summation of all of it is in this verse. It is possible to know if heaven is yours. And if this is true, it stands to reason that there is only one way that is possible – eternal life must be a matter of faith, not works. If it were about being good enough, how could I ever know if I had met the standard, but if “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…” (1 John 1:7 ESV) then certainty was possible.

That was the idea that revolutionized my life at West Point in 1982: I needed not fear a Day of Judgment where my good works would be weighed against my bad. John said in verse 13 that certainty of eternal life came through believing in the Savior Jesus. In the two verses previous, it’s all about whether we have Christ:

And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 (ESV)

John fills his letter with other ways we can know, clearly showing like James that works will follow our faith (James 2:22). As Martin Luther said, “Salvation is by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” So the true Christian will seek to obey the Lord and will love his brothers, but the reason all this happens is because Jesus has “cleanse(d) us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

So, today is Thanksgiving. Are you giving thanks…because you know? If you don’t know for certain, you can. As Paul said to the Philippian jailer:

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” Acts 16:31 (ESV)

For Friday, November 27th: 2 John 1

 

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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How To Recognize Love

11 Nov

On January 13th, 1982, Air Florida flight 90 took off from Washington National Airport (now Reagan National) bound for Fort Lauderdale. 30 seconds after taking off, the aircraft struck the 14th Street bridge and careened into the Potomac. Of the 79 souls on board, only 5 survived. And of those who died, the one who will long be remembered is 46-year-old bank examiner, Arland D. Williams Jr.

From a Washington Post article dated January 14, 1982 (before Williams’ name was known), “A Hero – Passenger Aids Others, Then Dies.”

He was about 50 years old, one of half a dozen survivors clinging to twisted wreckage bobbing in the icy Potomac when the first helicopter arrived. To the copter’s two-man Park Police crew he seemed the most alert. Life vests were dropped, then a flotation ball. The man passed them to the others. On two occasions, the crew recalled last night, he handed away a lifeline from the hovering machine that could have dragged him to safety. The helicopter crew who rescued five people, the only persons who survived from the jetliner, lifted a woman to the riverbank, then dragged three more persons across the ice to safety. Then the lifeline saved a woman who was trying to swim away from the sinking wreckage and the helicopter pilot, Donald W. Usher, returned to the scene but the man was gone.

When I say that Mr. Williams will be long remembered, I speak the truth: When the bridge that the airplane destroyed was later rebuilt, it was named in his honor. And for good reason, for Mr. Williams’ silent message to his fellow passengers on that day was heard loud and clear: “I’ll stay here in the frigid water…you go to warmth, safety…and life.” In other words, I’ll take your place…

I’ll die for you.

They call this substitution…offering yourself in someone else’s place. And according to Jesus, there is no greater act of love (John 15:13).

And this is exactly what the Apostle Peter is speaking of in the second chapter of his first letter…

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:24-25 (ESV)

He dies…we live. He is wounded…we are healed. Peter’s imagery and thinking here is mightily influenced by an Old Testament prophet who first showed us the substitutionary death of the Messiah:

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned– every one– to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6 (ESV)

The common themes are powerful – Peter and Isaiah both say we were straying sheep…they both say that somehow His wounds healed us…and they both say that He took our place of punishment. He was our substitute.

Growing up, on Sunday afternoons my mom often played an album with a song entitled He Could Have Called 10,000 angels…

He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But he died alone for you and me.

This is love: the Lifeline to safety was dropped, but Jesus passed it on…to you and me.

For Thursday, November 12th: 1 Peter 3

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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Can A Christian Lose His Salvation?

23 Sep

One of the great arguments for the idea that a true Christian can stop being a Christian or lose their salvation (a.k.a. classic Arminianism – “I chose Christ, so I can reject Him too”) is found in Hebrews chapter 6, where we read…

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Hebrews 6:4-6 (ESV)

At first glance, that sure sounds like a Christian who has gone to the dark side. But consider, to be “enlightened” only means to have been taught. And to have “shared in the Holy Spirit” can simply refer to someone who experienced the Spirit’s convicting work.

But ultimately, we know that the people described never were Christians because of what the author says in the verses immediately following…

For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Hebrews 6:7, 8 (ESV)

It’s all about the fruit, at least that’s what Jesus said (Matthew 7:15 – 17), and that’s what the author is saying here too. The people in question were clearly fruitless, not “produc(ing) a crop useful” and “bear(ing) thorns and thistles”. Therefore, they were “worthless and near to being cursed and…burned”. But according to Jesus, true Christians always bear fruit. Of course, it is never the bearing of fruit that makes us Christians, but when someone has truly come to know Christ, he or she always bears fruit.

The people of verses 4 through 6 clearly did not meet the biblical mark of salvation, as the recipients of the letter did, which we see in the next verse:

Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things– things that belong to salvation. Hebrews 6:7-9 (ESV)

And on top of all this, of course, there is that wonderful truth in John 10, where Jesus said,

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:28-29 (ESV)

When Jesus gives eternal life to someone, that person “will never perish” and no one can ever “snatch them out” of His, or the Father’s hand. That’s ultimately comforting, for though I am surely called to “hold fast my confession” (Hebrews 4:14; 10:23), my ultimate hope is in the One Who is holding on to me.

For Thursday, September 24th: Hebrews 7

 

 
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Posted by on September 23, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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Calling Down Fire From Heaven on Sinners?

13 Jul

Jesus’ disciples often look like oafs. And this is one of the marks of New Testament authenticity.

After all, these often foolish looking men were the leaders of the early church that produced the New Testament documents. We only have to imagine Mohammed being portrayed in a similar way in the Koran. Though I’m not a great student of that book, I know enough to realize that he ends up looking good. The disciples, however, not so much. And the only reason that they end up looking so foolish…is because they actually were. Why else would they make up these stories which cast them in such a bad light? They were ultimately the ones in charge of disseminating the accounts. No, these men were impacted by the gospel enough to simply tell the story as it was. Jesus was the only One who needed to look good…and looking good came naturally to the Lord.

Luke 9 tells one of the oafish stories, when Jesus makes plans to go to Jerusalem, and passes through Samaria but is not received. And James and John are miffed, so they have a simple suggestion:

“Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Luke 9:54 (ESV)

I love these guys; after all, when they do silly stuff, it makes the rest of us look better. Anyway, Jesus rebukes them, and they head on to another village.

Now it’s easy to look down on James and John wanting to annihilate Samaritans, but I think we shouldn’t be too quick to throw stones from our glass houses. Like others, I’ve read lots of articles and posts from Christians in light of the recent change in our country’s laws on marriage, and it seemed like at least some of what I’ve seen has been more in the spirit of “fire from heaven” than “love the misguided sinner.”

We need to be careful. To be sure, there was a time when God used His people Israel as an instrument of His judgment on a wicked people, but after the clearing of the Promised Land, they were called to love the foreigner and stranger. And of course, there will come a time of judgment again when the Lord returns. But now we live in a time when we are called to proclaim glad tidings of salvation to a lost and hurting world. And so there remains a window of hope to wayward subjects before the King returns with a double-edged sword in His mouth.

And that’s what we are called to do now – not call down fire from heaven – but proclaim that the King is returning, and therefore, “Repent, and believe the good news.”

 

For Tuesday, July 14th: Luke 10

 
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Posted by on July 13, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?

13 Feb

One Way - Left - NarrowIt’s a wonder that any Christians ever run for President. There are just too many things that they need to be honest about and that therefore would seem to disqualify them in a pluralistic culture like ours.  And the big religious question that trips up politicians at the national level is this: “Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?” It’s kind of hard for the Christian to win the Jewish vote when he answers that one honestly.

But we average ordinary Christians feel that it disqualifies us too, even if we aren’t running for office. Who wants to tell their secular neighbor, their football-watching-buddy, that Jesus is the only way? You’re not trying to win his votes, just keep his friendship, and the statement seems so…unfriendly. In fact, saying that Jesus is the only way to God is tantamount to telling a non-Christian that he’s going to you know where, and that doesn’t make such good half-time conversation.

And for this very reason, many people who call themselves Christians have a hard time proclaiming this truth. I know of a Christian mom who just couldn’t bring herself to tell this to her children, so she said…something else, I suppose. I’m not sure why she did this, but I can guess – she probably thought it would turn them off to Jesus.  You see, we have such a hard time with the idea that we begin to wonder if there is another way to Jesus being the only way. We muse, what if we left this part out? Is it that important to the gospel?

Maybe we should let Peter answer the question. In his sermon recorded in Acts chapter 4, the Apostle didn’t leave it out. He proclaimed the truth boldly. But why?

Here’s the simple answer: if you believe that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins by taking your place on the cross, and if you believe that God honored and accepted that sacrifice by raising His Son from the dead, then there is no other way to God. To paraphrase Pastor Erwin McManus, “You can believe in another Savior…but no one else is coming for you.”

In his short statement in verse 12, Peter himself gives the rationale:

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 (ESV)

Why is Jesus the only way? For, Peter says, there is no other name. Only Christ has died. Only Christ has been raised. And ultimately, if Islam and Christianity and Buddhism are simply different paths to the same God, then the path of working for salvation is AOK because that’s how all these other religions are planning to attain salvation, or nirvana, or the place with all the wine and “girls”. Then you can indeed be good enough to get into heaven. Just do it the Muslim way, or the Hindu way. Or, why not the “good guy” secular way? Take your pick because apparently…God is not picky.

Or is He? Well, of course He is. And we know why – because providing salvation for you and me came at a great cost – the blood of His dear Son. And though there are many very sincere people trying to work their way to God all over the world, in the end, they too will need the blood of Christ. And if you tell your children that there are other ways, and if you tell your neighbor that there are other paths, then what you are really subtly saying is that they can be good enough to get to God on their own, and even worse, that the cross of Christ was pointless and unnecessary.

And therefore, when you say that there are other ways to God, you deny the gospel; and in the end, you mislead the one you love on the true and the only way to heaven. And when you come right down to it, that doesn’t seem to be a very neighborly thing to do.

 

For Monday, February 16: Acts 5

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2015 in Uncategorized

 

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