A Salvation Par Excellence

"Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share..." (Jude v. 3, NIV).
HEADLINE:  HARDENED CRIMINAL PARDONED; JUDGE ADOPTS HIM AND INVITES HIM INTO HIS HOME!  
"Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray" (Isaiah 35:8, NKJV).

Our salvation is as good as it gets!  It's God's magnum opus--a miracle in its own right!  The greatest miracle is one's salvation or transformation into a new person in Christ.  No one could improve on it or imagine a better deliverance; forgiveness is just the beginning--we are justified and adopted, then sanctified and finally glorified.  Jesus saved us--He did; He keeps us--He does; He's coming for us--He will!  Our salvation is one of position (justification), condition (sanctification), and expectation (glorification).  

It began in eternity past, is realized in time, and will be completed in eternity future.  Another viewpoint shows Jesus delivering us from the ignorance and awareness of sin as our prophet, from the penalty and guilt of sin as our priest, from the power and dominion of sin as our king, and ultimately from the presence of sin itself.  Our salvation provides us peace with God, purpose in life, power over sin, and meaning and purpose in life, and pardon for our wrongdoing, restoring the image of God in us as a work in progress called sanctification, culminating in glorification or Christlikeness.

"[H]ow shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?  [God sees us as saved or lost and in need of intervention]  This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him"  (Heb. 2:3, NIV, emphasis mine).  The complete Trinity partakes, gets involved, and into the act of our salvation:  the Father purposes, authors, and plans it; the Son secures, reveals, and accomplishes it; and the Spirit applies, completes, and executes it!  If you could be the author of a new and improved plan, you would be wiser than God!  It is so great because our total depravity was so bad and our inability to work our way to heaven fell so short; if we had to do anything, we'd fail!  It took the infinite sacrifice of the God-man on our behalf to do a perfect work.

However, we are still addicted to doing something for our salvation (cf. John 6:28; Acts 16:30) because we're works-oriented.  Salvation is purely the work of God in our souls as He kindles and awakens faith within us, regenerating us--the Reformed gospel is that "salvation is of the Lord," like Jonah cried out in Jonah 2:9, meaning it's not "of man alone", nor "of man and God", but solely "of God."  It is not a cooperative or joint effort with God, but a divine work of God in us (i.e., it's not synergistic, but monergistic).  Only in the scenario of God's work alone can assurance be assured!

Just think:  Our past is forgiven; our present is given meaning; our future is secured!  Or you could say our salvation is past, present, and pending.  It's surely a done deal and there's nothing to add to it or we would be insulting God.  You could also say that we are saved, are being saved, and will be saved!  We must never lose track of the fact that our whole being is depraved (heart, mind, and will), and needs salvation.  God starts by making the unwilling willing (cf. Psa. 51:12; Phil. 2:13), and wooing the most stubborn of hearts.

If someone asks you if you are saved, ask them from what and see if they know.  We are saved from the wrath of God, the devil, and even our own old sin nature--our flesh.  We are rescued from the Lord, by the Lord!  Don't forget:  the entire subject matter of the Holy Scripture is salvation and what God has done to secure it for us, not what we are to do to try to save ourselves.  It is, therefore, given, not achieved, because it's a gift received through an act of grace, not merit.  No matter what, we don't deserve it, cannot earn it, add to it, nor can we ever pay it back.

There are four aspects of our salvation:  we are redeemed as Jesus pays the price of our salvation from the slave market of sin; we are justified when righteousness is exchanged in God's court of law; we are reconciled back to fellowship with God's family, and God is propitiated as God's wrath is averted in His temple.  There's much more than just being forgiven or getting a ticket out of hell.  Our salvation shows us the more abundant life in Christ: "Without the way, there's no going; without the truth, there's no knowing; and without the life, there's no living," (according to St. Thomas a Kempis)!

The most wonderful revelation is when one realizes he cannot lose it and its permanency as a state of grace.  Remember, God didn't have to save anyone, or it would be justice; however, He chose us when we didn't choose Him.  This divine work of God was His rescue operation extraordinaire and will be consummated in glory where our works are evaluated and rewarded at the bema of Christ.  We are transformed by the Holy Spirit from being as bad off and depraved as we possibly can be into eventual Christlikeness into being like Him as a contrast.  Our salvation makes us what we were intended to be:  complete in Christ (cf. Col. 2:10)!

The problem is twofold:  sin and sins.  Legalists only see certain sins that offend them, but the real root of the problem is our old sin nature and how sin not only enslaves us but alienates us from God and others.  Sin is defined as a virus and our birthright from Adam and our Declaration of Independence from God.  Albert Camus said, "The absurd is sin without God," and Dostoevsky said, "Without God all things are permissible."  We must realize that all sin is primarily against God and offends His holiness, and sin cannot be in God's presence. We can have our best possible life now with the abundant life or life to the full just as Jesus promised in John 10:10.

Point in fact:  God forgives all our sins:  past, present, future (cf. Psalm 103:3; Acts 3:19; Isa. 43:25)!  We can only lose fellowship, not our relationship! Salvation in toto is deliverance from what we are (our sin nature), as well as forgiveness from what we've done (our sins), thus restoring a right relationship to our Maker.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Performance-oriented Christians

"For Christ's love compels us..." (2 Cor. 5:14, NIV). 
"He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not wholeheartedly" (2 Chron. 25:2, NIV)--the epitaph of Amaziah
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25, NIV).

The Christian life is not a test to compare ourselves with others (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12); however, God is testing where our loyalties lie and our motives.  We tend to become performance-minded and think that it all depends upon our personal efforts and goals; however, it's more trusting than trying if you will; e.g., "I wonder who the best preacher, singer, or writer is?"  Some Christians try too hard and never learn to let go and let God take over in faith.  That is the essence of faith:  reliance and trust;  it's not being rules-obsessed as the Pharisees were.

Christ is at work within us and gives us the power to live the obedient Christian life--for without Him, we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5).  However, God is always working within us (cf. Phil. 2:13).  The Christian life, they say, is not hard--it's impossible! It's not a code of conduct, a system of ethics to live by, or philosophy to embrace, but a relationship in knowing a person--the unique personhood of Christ indwelling us.  We aren't presenting a creed to believe or recite, but a person to know!  The wonderful thing about our faith is that Christ gives us the power to live it out for Him and we don't have to rely on our own strength; we don't achieve, we believe!

We can never achieve the perfection of the Father, though that is the goal--direction is the test and perfection is the standard (cf. Matt. 5:48) that we will never meet in this life short of glory.  We must learn as Paul said in Gal. 2:20 that the Christian life is not a successful life of imitating Christ, but an exchanged life of Christ living in us--the substituted, surrendered and relinquished life only Christ can offer.  Some people try too hard and never achieve this trust that we must rely on the Holy Spirit for renewal to come (cf. Job 14:14). This is why it's ill-advised to compare ourselves with other believers because they don't have the same gifting or calling and are accountable to God not us for fruit-bearing.  We plant, water, and reap; however, God makes it grow--what a concept!  A fruit tree doesn't require effort to bear fruit, it comes naturally!  And so when we are filled with the Spirit, fruit comes second nature and we are not trying to bear fruit, but do so naturally.

We must learn to walk with Christ in the Spirit and to rely on His strength, not ours.  Strong people are the last to learn to lean on Jesus because they don't have the weaknesses that weaker believers have, who more readily learn to surrender and live in the Spirit.  A fruitful life is giving back to the Lord what He has invested in us and letting God have His way with us, giving up ownership of our lives to the One who bought us.  We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our Lord for His redemption of us and we must trust Him to guide and use us for His glory.

We will be tested and can pass with flying colors if Jesus is ruling our spirit and we are walking with Him, but we inevitably will learn our lesson somehow, either through the school of hard knocks or the easy way--via the Word of God.  There will be no braggadocio at the bema of Christ, but God fully rewards us for the work He accomplishes through our willing obedience. It has been well said that we are Christ's ambassadors:  His feet to go for Him; His hands to help others; His voice to speak for Him; His ears to listen and hear for Him, and His heart to love for Him.

The final test of our efforts are not the results, for they are up to God, but our submission--God gets the glory as we are vessels of honor and He is using us to glorify Himself--it is wrong for a minister, after a sermon, to ask, "How did I do?" for it was the Holy Spirit at work through the sermon that brought conviction and opened hearts!  Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 1979 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, now canonized, says God calls us to faithfulness, not success.

Obedience is the only true test of our faith, as Bonhoeffer said: "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  Disobedient Christians are a contradiction in terms--we can fall short and disobey, but not permanently--we must live lives in line with the Spirit's leading, for those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God (cf. Rom. 8:14).

We should emulate King David who did what was right in the sight of the LORD (cf. 1 Kings 15:5), Joshua and Caleb who followed the LORD wholeheartedly (cf. Josh. 14:8), and even King Hezekiah who earnestly sought the LORD and worked wholeheartedly (cf. 2 Chron. 31:21) because the eyes of the LORD are everywhere looking for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9) in the manner of serving God with gusto and with all our might!  This may mean going the extra mile and being willing to go all the way with the LORD no matter what the cost.  

We should emulate King David who did what was right in the sight of the LORD (cf. 1 Kings 15:5), Joshua and Caleb who followed the LORD wholeheartedly (cf. Josh. 14:8), and even King Hezekiah who earnestly sought the LORD and worked wholeheartedly (cf. 2 Chron. 31:21) because the eyes of the LORD are everywhere looking for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9) in the manner of serving God with gusto and with all our might! This may mean going the extra mile and being willing to go all the way with the LORD no matter what the cost.

Therefore, we must desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (cf. Phil. 3:10).  The essence of the Christian life is simply "Christ"--without Him, it's disemboweled. One can illustrate it by an "inhabited life", not an "imitated" one.  In the final analysis, God doesn't want our performance or even achievements--He wants our obedience and full surrender so He can do with us whatever He wills to His glory and live through us (cf. Isa. 43:7).   

Caveat:  Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried (G. K. Chesterton).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Christ Is Risen--That's History!

"To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3, ESV).
"But when the fullness of time had come..." (Gal. 4:4, ESV).

To celebrate Resurrection Sunday, known as Easter:  
The typical greeting:  "Christ is risen!" followed by:  "He is risen, indeed!"
But is He risen in you?

"Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently; the point is, however, to change it."--Karl Marx  

It's a fact of history that Christ rose from the dead, and rose Himself at that.  To dispute, this is to be in a state of denial!  Any unbiased jury would render this verdict, given the compelling, circumstantial, historical evidence.  In fact, it is arguably the best-attested fact in antiquity.  Some may feel that secular historians are not as biased as theologians and Bible scholars (everyone is biased for there is no such thing as perfect objectivity), but there were more than 500 eyewitnesses to this event and every type of evidence that would be required in a court of law to be valid--the jury is still out all right, but on the skeptics as to their foolishness, not the wisdom of the believers who have nothing to fear from new revelation or the facts.

They say that to believe in the resurrection is mere history and even the demons believe and tremble (cf. James 2:19), but to take it to heart is salvation!  One must have more than story-book belief or head knowledge to get saved but must believe with all one's heart.  In other words, one must not only be a seeker of the truth but a lover of it or have the right attitude.  Romans 10:10 says that one believes with one's heart and is saved, as the GOOD NEWS TO PREACH!  Christians don't just know the truth, they live it and love it (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10); the unbeliever rejects it (cf. Rom. 2:8) and is ignorant.

We are true historians when we can interpret history and have a reference viewpoint and can put things in perspective, as to how they fit into the big picture or grand scheme of things.  History had a beginning point, a direction because it's going somewhere, and a climax, culmination, ending point, or conclusion.  History is not cyclical, i.e., not repetitive nor repeating.  The resurrection is either the biggest hoax and cruelest April Fool's Day joke ever perpetrated on mankind, or it's the most wonderful news that must be propagated at all costs.  Indeed, if Christ has not risen, our faith is in vain according to Paul and we are most to be pitied most among peoples (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14, 17).

We must believe the resurrection enough for it to make a difference in our lives and to desire to live it out and to share the good news about Jesus. WE MUST OWN IT AND PERSONALIZE IT SO THAT IT REGISTERS IN OUR HEARTS!  Thus, we say the pursuit of historical knowledge ought to be teleological or aimed at some purpose!  It is sheer history that Christ is risen for sure and even an unbeliever can do this, but to take the step of faith and allow this risen Lord to rule over you and to have ownership of your life is quite another ballgame.  We don't want to just be historians but witnesses to the truth--yes, we can be living witnesses with a personal testimony about the wonderful things Jesus has done for us accomplished via His resurrection, which secured eternal life in us as a Done Deal.

As true historians, we see purpose and meaning in the Resurrection and what was accomplished.  Were you there?  We have the living Spirit of God abiding in us, bearing witness with our spirit to give us the experience as if we had been one of the privileged few who saw the risen Lord that first Easter.  In fact, we are better off because we have the full revelation of God in His Word and the resident Holy Spirit to illumine us so that we know all things because of the anointing we received.

We all need to venture out of our comfort zones and make this fact real and live it out, not allowing it to be just another fact of history, but a transforming truth. The truth is what sets us free according to Jesus (cf. John 8:32).  There are many implications of believing this with our heart and stepping out in faith to witness about it:  people will stereotype us and persecute us; they will misunderstand and judge us; they will avoid and shun us; they will betray us and will even doubt our sanity and whether we are in our right mind (cf. 2 Cor. 5:13).  Be prepared to be ostracized, labeled, branded, and even stigmatized for the sake of the Name!  We will be tested to find out just how much we really do believe and if we are willing to bet our life on this fact, or is it just some convenient truth that seems to suit the time and situation, having no risk involved.

Our witness hits home and has weight and cannot be discounted, for our testimony cannot be argued anymore than a blind man saying, "I was blind, but now I see!"  What's to argue?  The difference between our witness and that of a Muslim is that ours is based on historical fact and verifiable experience, coupled with the Word of God itself--this implies both subjective and objective evidence--it's not mystical.  We also have the witness of the Holy Spirit which bears witness with our spirit per Rom. 8:16!  Yes, We can experience God and have a genuine, authentic encounter with Him to substantiate our faith--the proofs ring true, can be verified, and hold water in a court of law according to the laws of evidence.

The whole point of believing this, though, is to do something about it and to disseminate this truth in order to change lives and transform the world by consequence one person at a time.  It is historical, Scriptural fact that the resurrection of Christ changed the world, starting with the Jews in Jerusalem and ultimately the Roman empire, and Christianity had become legalized by the Edict of Milan in AD 313 by the Roman emperor Constantine.  The world was never the same and Jesus is still in the resurrection business!  There's no challenge He's not up to!

History is a bona fide Christian academic discipline with biblical roots and Jesus is the key to history; therefore, it's not demeaning to be given the moniker of the historian as long as it's one with a Christian worldview and sees history, not as bunk with no meaning having no purpose or application, but as God's unfolding narrative of redemption in real-time with the resurrection as its climax or turning point.  The true believer is potentially a bona fide economist, historian, ethicist, counselor, legal advocate or lawyer, politico, scientist, psychologist, biologist, philosopher, theologian, and even sociologist by virtue of his worldview.

Note that our faith is a historical faith, based on fact, or it's nothing but balderdash and poppycock! We not only posit history as having meaning in general but that the resurrection has real-time applications and is about how Christ can resurrect our spirit through salvation. The man of faith has naught to fear from the facts.   History has rightly been called HIS STORY! George Santayana said rightly that those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it!

Let's hope that the maxim, just like Georg W. F. Hegel said, "What history and experience teach is this--that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."  We don't learn from history!  Hopefully, this doesn't become self-fulfilling and the story of our own lives, but we can see the real meaning of God's intervention into history, stepping into time in the person of Christ via His incarnation and resurrection.

It is the secular historians who are the revisionists, rewriting the past, ex-post-facto, not Christians who postulate the true fact of the resurrection of Christ as His triumph over death and our hope of resurrection.   As believers, we say that God orchestrates history and the fact it has a direction is evidence of His existence and therefore is denied by secularists.  Christian history and worldview are based on, and revolving around, the reliability, fidelity, veracity, and competence of Scripture as its foundation stone.   Soli Deo Gloria!