THE SALVATION TAPESTRY
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday, Christians all over America celebrated Easter or as some prefer to call it: Resurrection Sunday. I had the opportunity to enjoy a Baptist Sunrise service, complete with a good breakfast; and then, I fellowshipped at a Pentecostal church. At one place I made a joyful noise by singing classical hymns and in the other place I really made a lot of joyful noise. At one place, I listened to an excellent classical Easter sermon about the sacrifice of Jesus and in the other place I got to hear a loud and powerful message about the blood of Jesus. All in all, it was one of the best Easter Sundays I have experienced in a long time. Kind of makes me wonder why both churches think the other is lost and going to hell … they love and honor the same risen savior.
DOCTRINE AND TRADITIONS
Now … to be truthful, I neither fully embrace the doctrine and traditions of the Baptist church nor the Pentecostal church. But that is irrelevant; there is nothing in scripture that demands I be in full agreement with the doctrine and traditions of another church before I can fellowship with them. I will admit that sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from offering what I think is correction. Heck, sometimes I almost have to chew on my tongue until it bleeds. Please understand that I am not advocating we ignore errant doctrine and traditions; but I do believe there is the proper time and place to express our opinions. After all, if we are honest, I think we can all admit to entertaining questionable opinions at one time or the other. I am not talking about heresy; I am talking about ideas and beliefs that are closer to being pharisaical burdens than they are to being solid gospel doctrine. For example, I personally do not find any scripture that makes it blasphemy to have a piano in church; or to use a computer projector; or to have a band; or to take communion once a month; or to baptize in the name of Jesus; or to have fellowship meals in the church; or to have pictures of Jesus on the wall. Yet, there are those who would not be caught dead in a church that had a piano in it or what have you. Just because issues, such as these, may deeply stir an individual it is never justification for our avoiding or shunning those who think differently. There is no place in scripture that says we have to agree with every point of doctrine or tradition to enjoy being around people who claim Jesus as their savior and bow to His sovereign deity.
THE SALVATION TICKET
As much as I love being around folks, who have taken Jesus as their Savior and Lord, there is one bit of doctrine I do find very disturbing. This is doctrine that underpins the increasing tendency for preachers to offer the people a salvation ticket: some form of salvation assurance. It really bothers me to hear a preacher say: “you were saved the very day you ‘_____’. Now, you can fill in the blank with: believed, were baptize, joined the church, spoke in tongues, said the sinner’s pray, or the fact you performed some other so-called “salvation thing.” Yes, I am vexed by this doctrine because, in spite of our best intentions, there is a very strong probability that people will jump to the assumption that we have just awarded them a salvation ticket for their performance of some salvation ritual. Once they have got this ‘I am saved’ ticket in their hot little hands they think they are done. In their minds they know they believe in Jesus and thus they also believe: “I have completed the ritual and now I am headed for heaven: regardless of how I live the rest of my life.” By doing this one little thing, by performing some salvation ritual, people think they are saved and they can now throw the bible away, or at least never bother to study it again.
As a minister of the message of reconciliation, we should be sensitive to the nature of people; we should be alert to the fact people want instant gratification: a ticket to heaven. I ask you: is a minister not frequently asked questions like: what do I have to do to get saved; when was I saved; how do I know I was saved; and can I lose my salvation? People worry about these things, and they want a rock solid easy to accomplish answer. Thus, people want to gather about them preachers who will tell them that the performance of some ritual will save them. What the people really want to hear is that some ritual has not only instantly saved them; they also want to hear that they will stay saved for ever. Please understand, I am not disputing the remarkable spiritual power of any salvation factor nor am I disputing the fact that we have eternal security in the word of God. I am, however, proclaiming that these are tremendously dangerous doctrines when preached only in part. The faithful servant of Christ will be sensitive to the probability that most people will only hear: “this thing will save your right now and you will be saved forever … no matter what you do tomorrow.
I realize that people do not want to hear the full salvation story. I realize that people just love to be given a ticket to heaven. In fact, it has gotten so bad that if we tell some people the full truth it will cause them to run off in search of a preacher who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. Well, so be it. I my humble opinion, it is far better to tell the full truth than risk giving people the notion that their performance of some salvation ritual has resulted in their being issued a salvation ticket.
THE SALVATION TAPESTRY
We need to be sensitive to the fact people do not want to hear that God has begun a good work in them and that it will not be completed until Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6) They certainly do not want to hear that they must obey Jesus and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12-13) That is probably why there are so many ministers who have given up on making disciples. To be honest, it is easy to perform a salvation ritual but it is extremely difficult to teach people to observe all that Jesus has commanded. Remember, people want instant gratification! The only way to offer instant salvation gratification is to promise people a salvation ticket for performing some ritual. Thus, we all need to be very careful; we need to be very sensitive in observing how people hear what we say; we need to make it very clear that the performance of some salvation ritual has not “saved” them.
Please understand, I am not condemning our having special feeling for a specific salvation event; I am, however, condemning our raising any event to the point where people feel they have been issued a ticket to heaven. Scripture list some thirty-three different things (factors) that save a person, see table on last page. But, scripture does not teach that a person is given assurance of salvation at any one of these events. The idea that some ritual gives a person assurance of salvation is the fabrication of man’s mind. In reality, scripture weaves many things into the fabric of our salvation relationship with Jesus Christ. Think about this for a moment. How can you get rid of any single one of the thirty three salvation factors and still be saved? If you cannot remove any of these scriptures from the bible then how can you claim that anyone of them fulfills salvation? And, this is not the full picture of salvation! There are other factors that do not include words of salvation but they are still directly linked to our salvation. Let us set aside our love for our doctrine and traditions for a moment and reflect only on scripture. Can we honestly eliminate any one of these things and still accurately preach the complete gospel perspective of salvation? I think not.
Take the time to really look at the table. There is vastly more salvation scripture demanding sacrifice, endurance, and a lifestyle devoted to obeying Jesus than there is scripture, which is tied to a single event. Why in the world would a minister of the message of reconciliation want to tie salvation to a single event? I mean, how do we justify our salvation-event ticket in light of John 3:3? What gives me the authority to teach that being born again is the same as: believing, baptism, church membership or speaking in tongues? I do not believe any ambassador of Christ can honestly examine this list of things associated with salvation and pick just one: discarding all the rest.
A CHALLENGE TO THE SALVATION TICKET
If the performance of a salvation event saves a person forever then why is there so much scripture about our hope of salvation, about living a Christian lifestyle, about being a servant of Jesus, and about enduring to the end? For example, Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23) Does this mean that the will of God is for us to say the ‘sinner’s prayer’ or to be baptized or to perform some other ritual? What a foolish idea.
If I was issued a salvation ticket, at some salvation event, does this mean that I will automatically produce fruit … even if I do nothing? If this is true, then Jesus was wasting His time when He said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15:1-6) Does this also mean that when I believed in Jesus He instantly cleaned me and I automatically became a fruit bearing branch? If this be true, then why did Jesus warn me to bear fruit or get thrown away? Jesus either did not understand what He was preaching or our salvation-ticket preachers do not know what they are talking about. As for me … I will put my trust in the words of Jesus.
If we can pick some salvation event as the point in time and space where we were saved then why did good old Paul say: “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. 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 6:1-6) It certainly sounds like Paul is telling us that there is much more to being a Christian than just getting some salvation-ticket to heaven. Who is Paul talking about when he says: “those who have once been enlightened” or “have tasted the heavenly gift” or “shared in the Holy Spirit” or “tasted the goodness of the word of God” or “powers of the age to come?” What does Paul mean when he says that it is impossible to restore these people again to repentance? After listening to Paul, how could a salvation-ticket preacher honestly believe that he can reduce salvation down to some single event, which gives a person the guarantee they are saved? He can’t.
We all need to prayerfully read what James has to say. James was in the inner circle and certainly knew what he was talking about when he said: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:21-22) If the word saves me then how I can I simply claim to believe and then throw the rest of the bible away? I cannot! To think that believing is sufficient for salvation is a very deceiving doctrine. What about when James tells us: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?”(James 2:14-26) It is clearly evident that James is telling us that our believing and having faith is not enough to save us. Jesus said that we need to bear fruit and James tells us that we need to do good works. Does this mean that bearing fruit and works will save us? Of course not! Bearing fruit and doing good works simply proves that we have been saved; we have been born again; we are a new creation; ergo, we are truly ambassadors for Christ.
HOLISTIC SALVATION
Take a holistic approach to salvation and you will find that we cannot attach the grace of God, by which we have been saved through faith, to any single salvation factor. (Ephesians 2:8-10) To my humble mind, God started a good work in us when we recognized our sinful nature and repented and turned to God. He will bring this good work of His to completion at the return of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) We have been saved in our belief in Jesus Christ and we are now being saved by our willingness to be obedient to the word of God. (1 John 2:3-4) That is why it is imperative that we constantly examine ourselves, to see whether we are in the faith. We all need to test ourselves. (2 Corinthians 13:5) Remember, Paul told the Galatians he was in the anguish of childbirth until Christ was formed in them. (Galatians 4:19) That is why Jesus said that those of us who endure to the end will be saved: we will be saved, (Matthew 10:22) (Hebrews 2:6) When we take a holistic approach to salvation we will find that it is much more than just saying the sinners prayer or getting baptized. The fabric of salvation began in our past, it is active in our lives today and it is the hope on which we have based our future.
Please understand that I am not recommending we downplay any scripture associated with salvation. Just the opposite; I believe we need to embrace every single scripture linked with our salvation: past, present and future. Above all, we should never declare or allude to any single event as marking the time and place in which a person is saved. To give someone the idea that they are saved just because they have done something like saying the sinner’s prayer, getting baptized, or joining the church is to put them in charge of their own salvation. When we do this we reduce God to the position of salvation creator; and we allow the individual to assume the position of salvation implementer. It is like saying God invented salvation but we humans are the salvation agents: we make salvation happen. I will be the first to admit the importance and emotional significance of special salvation factors, but none is powerful enough to complete the salvation tapestry by itself.
To fold the tapestry of salvation into a little square is to reduce salvation to a single element in God’s grand design for salvation. This is wrong! Jesus hung on the cross and died that we might all have access to a saved relationship with Him: not instant salvation gratification. Jesus arose from the dead that He might be the first born in a nation of priest who have taken upon themselves the ministry of reconciliation: not a people sitting on a bench with salvation tickets in hand. We have been commissioned to help people mature and grow into disciples of Christ and we can only succeed by presenting to them the full spectrum of salvation.
NO. SALVATION FACTOR TYPE FACTOR # OCCURRENCES
1 Jesus Abstract 11
2 Gospel Abstract 7
3 Faith Life Style 6
4 Endure Life Style 5
5 God Abstract 5
6 Grace Abstract 5
7 Jesus' blood Abstract 4
8 Lose Life Life Style 4
9 Baptism Event 3
10 Jesus' name Abstract 3
11 Believe Life Style 2
12 Confession Event 2
13 Mercy Abstract 2
14 Belief and Baptism Event 1
15 Childbearing Event 1
16 Confess and believe Event 1
17 Doctrine Abstract 1
18 Faithful Life Style 1
19 Faithful till death Life Style 1
20 Godly sorrow Life Style 1
21 Holy Spirit Abstract 1
22 Hope Life Style 1
23 Jesus' life Abstract 1
24 Jesus' Cross Abstract 1
25 Jesus' Death Abstract 1
26 Love of truth Life Style 1
27 Preaching Abstract 1
28 Remove evil ways Life Style 1
29 Repent & Baptism Event 1
30 Repentance Life Style 1
31 Spouse Abstract 1
32 Trust Life Style 1
33 Work Life Style 1
