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John wrote > There is a very
real sense, then, that salvation is ours to loose.
I agree with you, John. However, it is only
before we have once placed our faith in Jesus Christ that we may
lose our salvation -- and so, this may be a fairly significant
HOWEVER that we will need to work out. I do not believe the one who has heard
the good news of Jesus Christ and believed that message will ever lose
his or her salvation, because upon believing in Jesus Christ, believers receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit, who in the Power of God secures their salvation
forever; the Gift guarantees their inheritance in Christ. Check out the
wording here and see if you see what I am saying: In [Christ] you also
trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of
the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory" (Eph
1.13-14).
Bill
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 07, 2005 10:11
PM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Why the Eternal
Sonship of Christ Matters to Me
Just for the record, the
following are some of those things I brought into this forum and where I am
now. I would be interested in a similar contruct from any and
all.
Those words above were the first words of what I thought would be a list
issues. Instead, writing this line after writing the following (below)
, the Lord has led me to a statement of faith of sorts and it is
......................................
. Water
baptism: for me, the last of the great Mohicans as regards my
works salvationist upbring. I believed that works AND
faith carried equal weight. That changed shortly before I came to this
list. And at the time I came onto this list, I
believed that God had two considerations in His thinking on salvation:
1) that the condition of the heart carried more weight in the soteriological
sense that any other consideration --- that salvation occured
apart from obedience. A prayerful consideration of Ps
51 and Romans 2:8-29 showed me the basis for God's judgment
in our lives and confirmed the above thinking; 2) that
when this salvation is expressed in Jesus Christ -- we have
confidence and definition in regard to our salvation. We know
we are saved. The entire letter of I john is written with this
purpose in mind -- that we might have confidence in our
salvation. As luck would have it, where I was when I came to
this forum was accidently correct, as far as it went.
(after
coming to this list -- this is what happened next)
Sadly, I
did not understand why this was so -- although I thought I
did -- an accident. Paul's argument (Gal
3) that the Abrahmic promise was extended to Jesus Christ (as the seed, not of
many but as of one v 16) opened the door to understanding
that it is the faith of Christ that has secured (aorist, if you will)
our salvation. When I combine this biblical fact with the idea
that community is the very image of God, that we were created in this
image, that not only attachment to others ("it is not good for man
to be alone") but a profound and expressed caring for those
"others" is the central issue in any definition of this Image, the
conclusion if forced upon me in this wise: that Christ, in the
flesh, was no less involved in this Image (of community) than
before or after the incarnation event; that He (in the flesh)
gives definition of "God" (and I changed verb tenses, here,
intentionally for His was an action begun during the incarnation and extending
to this very moment or any moment we call "now.") and my imitation of
Him (to any degree) in deed and perhaps word has the benefit of a
salvation already procured for me in the Christ of the Cross. I loose my
salvation when I move to serve myself and in so doing, deny the very Image
I am. I am destroyed in serving self.
My faith in Christ does not save me -- it gives
me confidence and opens the door to an understanding of the soteriological
process I am involved in as a human being -- knowingly or
not. When the biblical message speaks of "saved," "being
saved" and a future "salvation," it is demonstrating the
process we are all involved in. The fact that "judgment
day" is for all of mankind proves, to me, that this process is for us all and
that we are all involved in it, like it or not --- whether
they have heard of Christ or not - no matter
what.
Water baptism? How did that figure
in? Well, I used to believe that you had to be
baptised to be saved. Now, and here is the change for me, I
believe that anything I do, including water baptism however you define it
(immersion or sprinkling, I do not care), and especially those things
done in the name of the Lord, are acts that reveal God in Christ
through me to others. I can preach it or I can simply
perform. All is to the revealed glory and certainty of the
Great God Almighty. So baptism saved me years ago, at age 12,
because it was an _expression_ of the very faith of Christ Jesus
Himself. He was even baptised !!! And now I am doing
it ------------ that is salvation.
His life is mirrored in mine when I do what He
did
His life is confirmed in mine when I do what He wills.
-- me --
How could this not be salvation?
And the "baptism"
that really matters to me, is the one spoken of in Gal 3:26,27
-- a full immersion into Christ
Himself.
"Work out your own salvation in
fear and trembling for it is God at work in you both to will and to perform
His good pleasure" (Phil 2:12,13). Why did Paul add "fear
and trembling". The message is the same without this
parenthetical. It is exactly the same, to me. So
why? Because, if the performance of righteousness is act of
community and its individual memership -- the pronouncement
that it is God performing in us should bring to our mind a startled awareness
that is manifest in fear and trembling. In this passage , Paul has
suddenly put his readership in tune with that which is the Subtle Force behind
their works of goodness. Suddenly -- there it
is!! Community with God Himself. He has been
there all the while. We have manifested Him over and over
and over again -- perphaps without even
knowing. And when we move away from any beneficial
_expression_ of this Image (community), we are moving away from Christ and His
God. We are denying Him and He Who Made Us.
There is a very real sense, then, that salvation is ours to
loose.
For the first time -- I think I
have understand this thing I have called "salvation" for, lo, these many
years.
You read, you decide.
Incidently, God revealed this to me - not my
friends in the liberal Triad. I have confidence that they will be the
first to admit this and point the finger to their God.
Thanks.
John David Smithson
Pastor and Bishop of
Caleeeefornia
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