What is the purpose of "salvation"? It's hard even to get some unity on what it means, let alone how to get "saved" and how to live once you are "saved".
I believe that the word "saved" has come to mean "going to heaven when you die." For some, this is conditional on appropriate behaviour for the "saved" person. For others, it's a status that is irrevocable, no matter what. I will not enter that debate, it's been done to death.
I'm not sure why the emphasis on personal salvation is so strong. If was compelled to give an opinion, I'd say it was Satan's attempt to render the Church, the Body of Christ, impotent. The debate over "believing" needs clarification also. We need to believe to the point that we accept, not just hold a mental concept. Before I was born again, I believed that Jesus was the Son of God, that He died and rose again. I also believed that Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome. What difference did that make to my life? None.
Lord Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is primarily where Satan is driven out and the Lordship of Christ established. What are the qualifications to enter the Kingdom of God? "You must be born again" even to see, let alone enter, the Kingdom of God.
The problem with the personal salvation emphasis is that the focus is on the individual, not on the Kingdom of God. We take a new believer, imprison him in with hundreds of others, try to make him drop his bad habits and be remade in the denominational image that suits the place where he was saved.
God saves us for a purpose. The church is a body and every believer has a part to play. What part is something that the leadership should be anxious to find out. Instead, most churches are content to fill seats, extract tithes and maintain the status quo. So the church lumbers along like an incomplete vehicle, misfiring, veering off course and occasionally crashing. This is NOT how it is supposed to be!
There is a beauty and effectiveness when a fellowship functions as a true body. I've experienced this, in two places, regrettably for a short time. I know the difference between a true expression of the Body and a typical denominational structure. Even independent churches have much the same structure.
Brethren, what are our priorities? Are we sin detectives, determined to call out and stamp out every sin that we perceive to be the other guy's problem? Do we seek peace at any price, allowing anyone into the church, as long as they don't cause trouble? Do we demand that attenders believe exactly as we do? (That's not so common these days. There is not enough sound teaching to make that a major issue.) Or do we seek the unity of the Spirit and the bond of love? Do we welcome new people or do we treat them with suspicion? Are we on the alert in case Satan sends a "Judas"?
If we are seeking the Kingdom of God we will lay aside our own ambitions, prejudices, strengths and weaknesses in order to allow Christ to rule and reign in us. It is costly. Being born again costs nothing. To be a worker in God's Kingdom costs everything. For some, it literally costs them their lives. Yet there is the reward of knowing that you have fulfilled God's purpose for your life. We have just one life to prepare for the next. It is worth the cost. Jim Elliot was murdered for preaching the gospel. He put it this way: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
I believe that the word "saved" has come to mean "going to heaven when you die." For some, this is conditional on appropriate behaviour for the "saved" person. For others, it's a status that is irrevocable, no matter what. I will not enter that debate, it's been done to death.
I'm not sure why the emphasis on personal salvation is so strong. If was compelled to give an opinion, I'd say it was Satan's attempt to render the Church, the Body of Christ, impotent. The debate over "believing" needs clarification also. We need to believe to the point that we accept, not just hold a mental concept. Before I was born again, I believed that Jesus was the Son of God, that He died and rose again. I also believed that Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome. What difference did that make to my life? None.
Lord Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is primarily where Satan is driven out and the Lordship of Christ established. What are the qualifications to enter the Kingdom of God? "You must be born again" even to see, let alone enter, the Kingdom of God.
The problem with the personal salvation emphasis is that the focus is on the individual, not on the Kingdom of God. We take a new believer, imprison him in with hundreds of others, try to make him drop his bad habits and be remade in the denominational image that suits the place where he was saved.
God saves us for a purpose. The church is a body and every believer has a part to play. What part is something that the leadership should be anxious to find out. Instead, most churches are content to fill seats, extract tithes and maintain the status quo. So the church lumbers along like an incomplete vehicle, misfiring, veering off course and occasionally crashing. This is NOT how it is supposed to be!
There is a beauty and effectiveness when a fellowship functions as a true body. I've experienced this, in two places, regrettably for a short time. I know the difference between a true expression of the Body and a typical denominational structure. Even independent churches have much the same structure.
Brethren, what are our priorities? Are we sin detectives, determined to call out and stamp out every sin that we perceive to be the other guy's problem? Do we seek peace at any price, allowing anyone into the church, as long as they don't cause trouble? Do we demand that attenders believe exactly as we do? (That's not so common these days. There is not enough sound teaching to make that a major issue.) Or do we seek the unity of the Spirit and the bond of love? Do we welcome new people or do we treat them with suspicion? Are we on the alert in case Satan sends a "Judas"?
If we are seeking the Kingdom of God we will lay aside our own ambitions, prejudices, strengths and weaknesses in order to allow Christ to rule and reign in us. It is costly. Being born again costs nothing. To be a worker in God's Kingdom costs everything. For some, it literally costs them their lives. Yet there is the reward of knowing that you have fulfilled God's purpose for your life. We have just one life to prepare for the next. It is worth the cost. Jim Elliot was murdered for preaching the gospel. He put it this way: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
-
1
- Show all
