Teleios
recently completed a survey on the Gospel on the Instagram site, InstaPray. We
had 539 participants, of whom 64% were <30 years, and 85% evangelicals. In
total 92% believed they were saved by grace through faith and 44% thought they
could not lose this salvation.
We asked
participants what were the elements of the Gospel message they needed to
transmit to an unbeliever.
We were
heartened to see that generally these adolescents and young adults, when
presented with a written text, agreed with the basic elements of the Gospel which
included:
· 92% who stated we
should tell people that they had sinned
· 83% who agreed that
this sin deserved punishment by a just and holy God
· 92% who indicated that
God provided his Son, Jesus Christ as a perfect sacrifice for man’s sins that
when accepted by faith, is the only provision needed for salvation (Romans 3:23-26,
Ephesians 2:8-9).
However,
75% of participants noted that although salvation was by grace a person also
needed to make Jesus lord of their life. In contrast, 17% said salvation was by
grace alone.
How does
one resolve the difference between the two statements that salvation is by grace
but also required making Jesus Lord of your life? This is a critical question
and I perceive three different answers. Let us see what scripture says:
· Work/Grace combination - This scenario indicates
that although salvation is by grace, we must work to make Christ Lord of our
life while receiving more grace, allowing us to better submit to His lordship.
This scenario is very close to Catholic dogma
which indicates that we receive grace by the sacraments and work towards our
salvation, receiving more grace as we do so, hopefully leading to salvation.
There's no basis in scripture for this belief.
· Make Jesus Lord - In this scenario, salvation
is by grace but we must make Jesus Lord of our life to maintain or prove salvation.
Scripture clearly says that a true believer should
show signs that Christ is Lord. This is the primary purpose of 1 John 2:4,
giving tests that Christians can use to determine if someone is really a believer.
Since we do not have access to the Book of Life up in heaven, while on earth we
can be confident of a fellow believer’s salvation only by assessing the quality
of their beliefs, obedience and love. Other scriptures also provide tests that
we can use to assess others (Galatians 5:22, 1 Timothy 3).
However, to say that
we believe in salvation by grace but we must work to make Jesus Lord of our
life to prove and/or maintain salvation contradicts the security of our
wonderful salvation in scripture on four levels.
o
Perseverance - God alone causes us to persevere, not us! It
is out of our hands (2 Timothy 1:12-14, Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
o
Positions - We have unchangeable morphological and
legal positions in Christ including being: justified, adopted, regenerated and
sealed by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:1-14, Romans 3:23-26, 6:2-9).
o
Insult to Christ! - Not to believe in security denigrates
Christ’s gracious death for us! Otherwise, His amazing gracious sacrifice was
sufficient for all our sins for all time.
Therefore,
we are to ‘get over’ our past sins and leave behind the things of salvation. If
we do not, and keep trying to prove ourselves worthy, we are saying to Christ
that His sacrifice was insufficient and to sacrifice Himself again, putting Him
to public shame. This is certainly very bad and scripture says as such (Hebrews6:1-8, 10:26-39).
· Lordship comes from regeneration
- This
is a vital and underappreciated biblical point. When we believe at salvation
the Holy Spirit enters us and regenerates us into a new person. The old person
is dead and no longer functions to prove or disprove Jesus is Lord (Romans 6:2-9,
Ephesians 2:4-7, Colossians 2:11-13). There is a new person created by God who
then, and only then, can be obedient and do His works.
Therefore,
lordship can only be proven by the old person, being saved by grace and
regenerated into a new person, and is only then able to do the works of God by
His grace (2 Timothy 2:1). The work of salvation, from His gracious choosing us
to taking us home to heaven, is totally a work of God, to His deserved praise
and glory, not our own.
Accordingly,
Teleios research has shown that people who believe in salvation by grace and in
the security of their salvation report better wellbeing, anchored in the love
of God and our eternal home.
Thank
you for reading my blog today. Join me next week as we continue to evaluate
scripture and its influence on our wellbeing.
WC
Stewart
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