For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:9)
But people being people, we tend to take the simplest things, disagree about them, assign false importance to them, and generally muck things up. The hard part of salvation has been done for us, all we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins. There's a little bit more to it than that but not a lot more which I'll go through next, but here's a partial list of what will NOT contribute to my salvation:
Works: Salvation through good works sounds awesome, and to be honest good works are what you find yourself doing as the Holy Spirit works through you, but good works are not nearly enough. Oddly enough good works are not a good way to be saved because only saved men are inclined to perform them:
The Law: The Law is of course the Mosaic Law - the 10 Commandments and 603 other laws handed down from God to the people of Israel. Not being perfect beings it's impossible to always obey the 10 commandments, let alone all the other laws and requirements. According to the law atonment for sins is by sacrifice, unfortunately there's no temple in which to perform a sacrifice so the law leaves us high and dry there.
Being Good: False teachers of the Emerging Church want us to believe that God is totally good, so if you're totally good too, you're totally going to heaven! So is everyone else! Whoo Hoo! I get to spend eternity with Jeffery Dahlmer, Josef Stalin, and George Soros! False teachers like Rob Bell want you to know that maybe if you mess up a little and accidentally murder 6 million Jews a bit, it's ok! A little time out in hell (which can be a bit uncomfortable but you'll get used to it) and poof! God see's your natural awesomeness and next thing you know you're singing lead in the heavenly choir. One small problem with this scenario: scripturally it's wrong. This is a good formula if you want to go to hell (hey - don't blame me, blame Adam, Eve, Satan, and his minions) to get to hell all you have to do is do what you're doing. But you have to change to go to heaven. No where in the scriptures does it say anything except that.
Theological Agreements: Where, when, how, the rapture happens I don't know, and to be honest, I'm not really worried about it. And to be totally brutally honest my salvation is not based upon when or how it happens and I will never allow it to be based on something as man centered as theological discussion. To some people The Rapture has become a religion to itself and there's really some vicious arguing between the Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, and Post-Trib believers. There's a lot of disagreements like this, and all it comes down to is interpretation of the scripture. Interpretation of the scripture is a job for theologians, I'm not a theologian, I'm a blogger, a believer, and a wretch (they wrote a song about guys like me)
Sacraments: No sacrament is going to do anything to insure I get to heaven. Nowhere in the new or old testaments is confirmation, last rights, or holy unction even mentioned. Forgiveness of sin comes to me from God himself - if I've wronged someone I'll beg their forgiveness but if they say "No" in the long run it does nothing but weigh on their heart. Communion is a reminder to me of Jesus' tremendous sacrifice for my innumerable sins, and baptism is my declaration to the world that I am a believer and passionate follower of my savior and lord Jesus Christ, but that's all they are - religious rites and rituals meant to remind ME - not God - of His holiness.
But people being people, we tend to take the simplest things, disagree about them, assign false importance to them, and generally muck things up. The hard part of salvation has been done for us, all we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins. There's a little bit more to it than that but not a lot more which I'll go through next, but here's a partial list of what will NOT contribute to my salvation:
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. - Ezek 36:25-27You can give to the poor, clean up parks, plant trees, protest power plants all you want, without accepting Jesus as your savior all those works are not going to do anything more than make the world a nicer looking place to go to hell from.
Being Good: False teachers of the Emerging Church want us to believe that God is totally good, so if you're totally good too, you're totally going to heaven! So is everyone else! Whoo Hoo! I get to spend eternity with Jeffery Dahlmer, Josef Stalin, and George Soros! False teachers like Rob Bell want you to know that maybe if you mess up a little and accidentally murder 6 million Jews a bit, it's ok! A little time out in hell (which can be a bit uncomfortable but you'll get used to it) and poof! God see's your natural awesomeness and next thing you know you're singing lead in the heavenly choir. One small problem with this scenario: scripturally it's wrong. This is a good formula if you want to go to hell (hey - don't blame me, blame Adam, Eve, Satan, and his minions) to get to hell all you have to do is do what you're doing. But you have to change to go to heaven. No where in the scriptures does it say anything except that.
Theological Agreements: Where, when, how, the rapture happens I don't know, and to be honest, I'm not really worried about it. And to be totally brutally honest my salvation is not based upon when or how it happens and I will never allow it to be based on something as man centered as theological discussion. To some people The Rapture has become a religion to itself and there's really some vicious arguing between the Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, and Post-Trib believers. There's a lot of disagreements like this, and all it comes down to is interpretation of the scripture. Interpretation of the scripture is a job for theologians, I'm not a theologian, I'm a blogger, a believer, and a wretch (they wrote a song about guys like me)
Sacraments: No sacrament is going to do anything to insure I get to heaven. Nowhere in the new or old testaments is confirmation, last rights, or holy unction even mentioned. Forgiveness of sin comes to me from God himself - if I've wronged someone I'll beg their forgiveness but if they say "No" in the long run it does nothing but weigh on their heart. Communion is a reminder to me of Jesus' tremendous sacrifice for my innumerable sins, and baptism is my declaration to the world that I am a believer and passionate follower of my savior and lord Jesus Christ, but that's all they are - religious rites and rituals meant to remind ME - not God - of His holiness.
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