A missionary in Africa asks for biblical insight regarding the security of the believer, sometimes referred to as "once saved, always saved." And a missionary in China inquires about the passages which warn Christians against falling away from Christ. How do we put all this together? * * * When it comes to the security of the believer, the New Testament speaks in stereo, to both our ears at once. One ear hears assurances of pardon, of God's keeping us, of the impossibility of anything or anyone separating us from God's love. The other ear hears warnings against apostasy, exhortations to … [Read more...]
‘OUR SECURE SALVATION’
In the Christian tribe of my upbringing, salvation was presented as a possibility rather than a reality, something uncertain from moment to moment and always up for grabs. Even godly believers with fruitful lives often approached their deaths in genuine fear that God would discover that they did not measure up and throw them into hell. The most confident among us taught that true believers were secure but that remaining a true believer depended finally on our own effort and strength of will. That still left us insecure since our marks so far in either category inspired very little confidence … [Read more...]
TWO OBJECTIVE REALITIES
In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul explains the nature of saving faith, using Abraham as the model -- for believers from all nations and times --of one whose faith was "reckoned as righteousness." He concludes this stirring discourse in verse 25 with two ringing affirmations about Jesus Christ. Jesus "was delivered up because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification" (NASB). These truths so startle and overwhelm us that most Bible versions do not translate the verse literally, instead substituting the weaker, more colorless preposition "for" in both phrases. These are … [Read more...]
TRUSTING GOD’S FINISHED WORK
A gracEmail subscriber asks whether someone who confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead really enjoys salvation as Romans 10:9-10 seems to say, or whether believing and confessing merely move a person down the road toward salvation pending further acts of obedience. * * * In Romans 10:9-10, Paul states the grand conclusion to the explanation of salvation he has just set out in verses 5-8 preceding. Here the apostle contrasts two ways of seeking divine approval. The first way seeks it based on one's personal success in obeying God's laws. Paul refers to this as … [Read more...]
CONVERSING ABOUT SALVATION (3)
Someone objects: "All this talk about justification by grace through faith is largely theoretical. When we talk to real people, they want to know what they must do to be saved." The down-to-earth, practical truth is that God saves us, apart from anything we deserve, attain or accomplish, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of Jesus' finished work of redemption. (Let's listen in on the following conversation in progress.) * * * Q. This news is rather overwhelming! Yet somehow I feel strangely drawn to trust it. I find myself wanting to believe that Jesus obeyed God in my … [Read more...]
CONVERSING ABOUT SALVATION (2)
Someone objects: "All this talk about justification by grace through faith is largely theoretical. When we talk to real people, they want to know what they must do to be saved." The down-to-earth, practical truth is that God saves us, apart from anything we deserve, attain or accomplish, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of Jesus' finished work of redemption. (Let's listen in on the following conversation in progress.) * * * Q. Are you telling me that I can contribute nothing to the deeds for which God forgives my sin and makes me acceptable to himself? A. That is … [Read more...]
CONVERSING ABOUT SALVATION (1)
Someone objects: "All this talk about justification by grace through faith is largely theoretical. When we talk to real people, they want to know what they must do to be saved." The down-to-earth, practical truth is that God saves us, apart from anything we deserve, attain or accomplish, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ and on the basis of Jesus' finished work of redemption. (Let's listen in on the following conversation in progress.) * * * Q. Can I perfect myself morally, or perform enough good deeds, or obey God's commands so well, that God will look at my record and say, "Now, there's … [Read more...]
SALVATION AND CONDITIONAL GIFTS
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "Salvation is certainly a gift, in the sense that we cannot merit or earn it. But it is a conditional gift. For example, suppose a rich relative gave me a check for a substantial sum of money. I must endorse the check to receive the gift -- but endorsing the check does not mean that I earned, deserved, or merited it." * * * Your analogy is interesting, but I must ask how strongly your hypothetical benefactor wishes to bestow this gift. If you should break both hands in a fall, so that you could not endorse your name to the check, would your relative make other … [Read more...]
THE MANY-FACETED GOSPEL
The word "gospel" means good news, and it is the very best news we wandering and broken mortal creatures might ever hope to hear. There is only one true gospel, but New Testament writers proclaim it through many pictures and figures of speech. It is as if they lead us through the city and find examples and illustrations on every street. There is the courthouse -- reminding us that God the judge has "justified" us. For the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, he has acquitted us, pronounced us righteous as if we had never sinned (Rom. 3:24-26). There are the public baths -- and we remember that God … [Read more...]
MY ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION
Considered in the past tense here at summer's end, the six cumulative weeks recently spent in three Houston hospitals appear more and more purposeful and increasingly less a matter of waste. The metaphor persistently recurring in my mind is a summer program in alternate education. A typical school catalog might describe it as "an unconventional approach to learning, featuring hands-on courses in an immersionist environment, complete with full laboratory experience." All that said, however, the real zinger remains undisclosed--a zinger that, if known, might easily deternine the decision whether … [Read more...]
