This week I have a guest writer for my blog. My friend Joshua Henderson is sharing with us five things that won't save you. I pray this challenges and encourages you this week.
Dear Christian, how well do you know the doctrine of salvation? I often worry that sometimes we let our Christian culture inform us more about important matters than the Bible.
I wanted to take a moment and share with you an excerpt from the message I will be sharing with my students at YCW this weekend.
This part of my message is called "5 Things That Do Not Save."
1. Being a Good Person.
The Bible is abundantly clear that none of us are good. There is really no such thing as a good person (apart from Jesus). Romans 3:10 tells us that "no one is righteous, no not one. (We are radically depraved) and our minds and hearts are bent towards sin.
Not only are none of us Good, but we are actually born with the cancerous disease of sin. And sadly, all born of it will one day face death. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a)
When you get a job you earn a wage. A wage is a reward for your labor. But when you sin you don't get a reward, you get a curse. The curse of sin is death. And one day we will all stand before an perfect judge who will require a blood payment for our sin debt. How will you pay off those sins? It won't be by your good works.
2. Church Activity
Coming to church or youth group, being involved with the a ministry, or helping out in VBS doesn’t make you a Christian. These are all good things to do, but nowhere in the Bible does it say that church involvement saves us. Even church membership isn't a guarantee to heaven. I wonder how many church members have the pew saved, but their hearts are destined for hell? This is a sad reality that we need to be aware of and the reason why we need sound doctrine, biblical clarity and discernment.
3. Saying The Sinner's Prayer
When someone wants to be saved it's common to hear someone lead them in the sinners prayer. I have even done this a few times, but if we do this we need to realize it doesn't automatically save them.
Now the Bible does say that in order to be saved we must believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouths that He is Lord. (Romans 10:9-10) However, there are no magic words that save us from sin. Even raising your hand or coming up front at Falls Creek doesn’t mean you are saved. These things by themselves cannot save. (Now if you did one of these things that doesn’t mean you aren’t saved, it just means the prayer wasn't the means of saving grace).
4. Asking Jesus to Come Into Your Heart
Here’s something we hear in Christian circles a lot that simply is more grounded in Christianese than in the Scriptures.
Now the Bible does promise that one day the Lord will give his people a new heart and a new Spirit. (See Ezekiel 36 and Hebrews 8:10). However, my main concern with this phrase is that the people using it may be tempted to offer a way TO Jesus (just asking him into your heart) without really acknowledging a their sin or a need for repentance.
Overall, I think the idea behind this phrase is that when we come to Jesus we surrender all of ourselves over to Him. We acknowledge that He is the Lord of life and we commit to follow him. But we must add that we also need to repent of our sin and trust in Him fully. This is Biblical, but the way we phrase it is often not.
Let us not be more steeped in our traditions than in the Bible.
5. Just Believing
This is going to be a bit controversial, but belief alone doesn’t necessarily save you. Jesus’ brother, the Apostle James says in his letter that “even the demons believe, and shutter.” (James 2:19)
So the demons believe in Jesus, and are even afraid of him; and yet, they are not saved. So just believing in Jesus doesn't save? Doesn't this contradict verses like John 3:16?
No, what we need to see here is the type of belief that James is referencing is an easily believism that is devoid of faith. Saving faith on the other hand, real faith, leads one to to fully trust the Savior. Demons believe, but they do not trust. Don't be like the demons.
Recap: So identifying as a good person, who is involved in church, who walked and isle, raised their hand, said a prayer, and even asked Jesus into their heart can still not be saved.
The big question now is, how is someone saved?
Student Pastor at First Baptist Church Westville, OK.
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