Myths Of Salvation

What is a myth? A story about someone or something that some claim to be true but is usually a fable. In Minnesota we have the stories of Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox.

There is the belief in Poland that if you sit on a cold stone surface you will get sick and in America, many believe that if you place unpeeled onions in bowls around your house, you won’t get the flu because it will absorb the flu virus. Just don’t eat the onions. Of course there is no medical basis for either of these legends.

This morning we’re going to look at several beliefs about salvation that are also myths and have no basis in Scripture. As we look at Ephesians 2:8-9 we discover that we believe several myths about Salvation passed from generation to generation. Let’s sort some of these myths out and find the truth!

The first myth is the belief that you are too sinful to be saved.

First of all the Scripture makes it clear that ALL of us sin. Rom. 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:10 “None are righteous no not one…” I don’t know about you, but when I hear the word “all” I assume it means “everybody” and not just those who are more sinful than others. And when I read the word “none” I assume it means that not a single person who has ever lived. There are no qualifiers like “except for…” The Bible makes it clear that there isn’t a single person who has ever lived who has been without sin except for Jesus Christ.

That’s good and well, but we still look at some sins as more sinful: adultery, robbery, abuse, blasphemy, betrayal, murder…we have a hard time swallowing the thought that any who delve into those sins could be saved. Or if they did, they would have to do a lot of good deeds to make up for it. Those sins are viewed as too evil to be forgiven. Is that true?

Well, let’s look at a few examples…

What about those who cheat on their spouses and commit adultery? There was a prostitute in Jericho by the name of Rahab. How many times do you think she committed adultery? And yet she ended up in the opening pages of the New Testament as one of those who are in the line leading to Jesus Christ – a great hero! Her great great grandson became King David. And David committed a horrible sin by committing adultery against one of his soldiers by sleeping with his wife while Uriah was in battle. And yet David repented and was forgiven!

Abraham, the father of faith betrayed his wife Sarah by letting her be married to the Pharaoh in order to save his own skin. And yet Scripture says that he was saved by faith.

Blasphemy? Paul once said: “I was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and a violent man.” 1 Tim. 1:13.

Certainly murderers are too sinful to be saved! And yet we find King David who arranged to have Uriah sent into the front lines to be killed to cover over his sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife. The Apostle Paul had Christians not only beaten and imprisoned, but Scripture says that he sent many to their deaths.

There was the criminal nailed on the cross next to Jesus. “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Finally, those who have betrayed the Lord by denying him – by cursing him can turn to the betrayal of Peter who denied he even knew Jesus at the very moment Jesus was at his trial. And yet, after the resurrection, Jesus restored Peter and told him that he loved him.

Truly, no one is too sinful to be saved if you study the Scriptures closely or nobody would be saved! There are consequences every time for our sins. People get hurt – we get hurt – suffering results. As Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.” Every sin separates us from God – not just the big ones but EACH one. And yet, when we confess and turn them over to Christ, we can know that they were lifted from our shoulders and the guilt laid on the shoulders of Christ on the cross. EVERY sin. Praise God!

A second myth concerning salvation is the belief that you haven’t done enough to be worthy of salvation.

This is the understanding that what Jesus did on the cross helped to cover my original sin that I was born with. But then it is on my shoulders to live a good life that is worthy of God so that he will accept me. It’s the belief that I need to earn the love of God – that he only loves good boys and good girls.