Write The Author
By Neal Griffin
A Christian arises in the morning saved only because he prayed for forgiveness before he dropped off to sleep. He does well for an hour or so, but running late to work, he does not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. He sins. But in the hustle and bustle of the busy traffic, he does not reflect on his sin. The reality of it has not sunk in. Is he lost? This very basic Bible question needs to be addressed because, somehow, sincere Christians are being led to believe that they are lost-saved all day long every day.
What a bleak picture this presents. Small wonder that there is so little joy in so many of the churches of our day. Small wonder that so many drop out and give up on religion. This lost-saved dogma reduces the Gospel, which is God's power unto salvation, to a time sequence happenstance predicated upon whether or not one has recently prayed for forgiveness. Our hope is based upon how lucky we are when the end comes, instead of on the blood of Jesus. Does God have the prerogative to "count not our sins against us" ? Does He have the power to " impute not our sins against us" ? Does He not have the power to impute our faith for righteousness? "We have been (past tense) saved by God's gracious love through faith". Ephesians 2:8. It is not be our sinless perfection that we are saved. Neither is it based on our asking for forgiveness every few minutes.
A dear sister who had served Christ faithfully for over fifty years, when asked if she was going to heaven, replied that she " was not sure". She " could not speak for the future". Now, I am not certain, exactly, what she was trying to say, but I am reasonably sure that she was uncertain about her salvation. Somehow, she had missed the promised "exceeding joy" of her salvation. Somehow, her legalistic leanings had convinced her that salvation results from perfect law keeping. Ephesians 2:9 reveals, "It does not come from human effort". Romans 8:l declares that, "There is no condemnation now for those who are in Christ Jesus". This information is so full of comfort. We should be filled with joy. We should be able to announce with great confidence that we are gloriously saved, praise God, we are saved. God's very own Son has bought (past tense) us with a great price and has elevated us to be joint heirs in His divine family. What a tremendous impact this should have on our lives. What joy it should cause in our hearts.
We are not lost-saved all day long everyday. We are washed in the precious blood of Jesus. We are safe in that great haven, and He is able to keep that which we have committed.Titus 5:3-8 declares that, "He saved us (past tense again) by a washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit. Salvation did not come from any good deeds that we ourselves did. No, it came by God's mercy. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, God generously poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. This is how we have been (past tense) made right with God. This is how we have become heirs. By God's gracious love we have the hope of eternal life. This statement is something you can trust". Brethren, I did not compose this passage. It was composed by God. You can open your Bible and read it for yourselves. It is trustworthy and too simple to be misunderstood. Don't let anyone rob you of the comfort and great joy that we read about in God's Word.
Please think on these things. I believe them to be true to the Word.
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