"Oh, I'd definitely go to heaven," she said confidently, almost dismissively.
"Let me ask this another way," I said. "If you were to stand before God right now, and He asked you, 'Why should I let you into my Heaven, what would you say?"
I wish you could have seen her expression. Her mouth opened, as if she had a quick answer, but then she closed it again. Her eyes looked up, as if she were thinking. "Well..." she began, but her voice trailed off. Finally, she met my gaze. "I've never thought about that before."
I met this dear lady at a revival on Sunday night (a good, old-fashioned Southern tent revival right here in Arkansas). The evening began with a steak dinner. My husband and I had sat at the same table as her. She came from a small north Midwestern town, where she was part of a very traditional church in a mainline denomination. She talked a lot about her baptism as an infant, and her questioning what church to join locally. We hit it off with her, and enjoyed talking, but as we did, I sensed that she didn't have a strong grasp of salvation. It was as clear as mud. It had been muddled with church traditions. When asked if she had ever been saved, she wasn't certain.
There are a lot of different terms people use for salvation, and most of them are biblical. Being saved (Acts 16:31, among other scriptures). Born again (John 3:3). Receive Christ (John 1:12). Invite Christ into your heart (yes, that one is biblical too, read it and weep, John MacArthur! Ephesians 3:17). Different Christian traditions use their preferred terminology, and there is nothing wrong with that. Some speak of making a profession of faith. Some simply calling it becoming a Christian. My point is, regardless of the terms used, we are recognizing a time when we realized we were lost and needed salvation, and we took Christ up on His offer of eternal life by placing our faith in Him, and His finished work on the cross. The Bible makes is so clear. It saddens me when it isn't clear in someone's life, because it's been muddied by confusion.
Am I saying traditions are bad? No. In fact, every church has them--even very contemporary churches. A tradition is just a way something is acceptably done. Whether your church tradition is organ music and ministers who wear robes, or everyone in T-shirts and jeans with the latest Christian radio hits in worship (or whether your church is somewhere between those two extremes), that is a tradition that you feel comfortable with in your church. I think sometimes, traditions get a bad rap, but traditions can draw us closer to the Lord, because of what they represent, or their history. However, we can lose sight of their real significance, and just do them unthinkingly. Even worse, traditions can take the place of truth, and that's when they become dangerous.
My husband and I lived in a small north Midwestern town for a few years. Spending time in that culture was how I was able to identify where this woman at the revival was coming from. But anyway, during our time in that town, when I would ask people about their faith, many would say things like, "Well, I was confirmed at such-and-such a church." Or "I was baptized at such-and-such church." They were much more apt to identify as their denomination than as a Christian. Yes, there was a gospel witness in the town as well, but it was far outweighed by Mainline churches dominated by tradition. Some who went to those churches were definitely saved. Others weren't. Walter and I visited a few of these congregations out of curiosity (we come from Southern California where you're either a staunchly on fire evangelical or you are an ashiest, but there is very little in-between). These Mainline churches were new to us. The gospel could be found there, but it had to be ferreted out by the hearer. It wasn't being clearly explained. This left a lot of very confused people, who didn't even know they were confused.
Salvation needs to be clearly presented. Acts 4:12 says, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. Second Corinthians 6:2 tells us that Today is the day of salvation. The Bible makes it so clear, and it needs to be presented that way. Something people can point back to as the day they came to Christ. In Acts 2, Peter preached the gospel at Pentecost, and 3000 people understood and believed the message, and were saved that day. For the rest of their lives, these people surely remembered the day they were changed for eternity. This is evidenced all through the book of Acts. Direct encounters with people coming to grips with who Jesus is. There is no place in Acts (or anywhere else in the Bible) where people had this vague sense of "Maybe I'm saved, I do all the church stuff..." and yet were saved. In Acts 19, Paul encountered some men who were disciples, but all they knew was what John the Baptist had taught. They didn't yet know Jesus, or anything about the Holy Spirit. Paul set them straight, and they received Christ, and then were indwelt by the Holy Spirit. These men were faithful to what they knew, and God was working in them, but they weren't saved until Paul evangelized them. I believe that mirrors a lot of folks I've met who are faithful to their church tradition, but very fuzzy on salvation.
We are spiritually in need. A church that clearly presents the gospel message is like someone being sick and going to their doctor, and the doctor giving them the medicine they need, clearly explaining how to take it, and what the medicine will do. These unclear traditions about salvation are more like someone being sick and going to their doctor, and the doctor having a table with a huge meal set out. The doctor says, "The medicine you need is buried somewhere in all this food. I'm not going to tell you where, but if you eat all of it, you'll get the medicine at some point and get well." There is so much uncertainty. No definite assurance. And what if you get too full to finish the meal, but don't know if you've gotten to the medicine yet?
Was this woman I spoke with at the revival saved? She knew who Jesus was and believed in Him. She wasn't certain about some things, but God knows where she's at. She heard the truth, from us, and also from the evangelist who spoke (side note, this evangelist even said in a perfect drawl that "Even Yankees need Jesus!"). Our new friend (the north-Midwesterner) cracked up at that, and it eased the tension. My prayer for her, and for everyone, is that we have assurance that we are saved, having full understanding of what it entails. For those who actually aren't saved, my prayer is that they come to understand who Jesus is and what they must do in response. And my prayer for myself, and those of us who share the gospel is that we'll be bold and clear in sharing this most important message, that God has entrusted to us!
I'm going to close with some phrases that people who are confused will use when questioned about salvation. Note, these are actually good things, and perhaps they apply to you, but they don't provide salvation in and of themselves. If someone is trusting in these things for their eternal life, it is a works-based religion, and they are not saved, according the scripture (Ephesians 2:9). I encourage anyone in these discussions with someone who brings up these points to turn the conversations back to Jesus.
"I was baptized at X church."
"I help in the food pantry at X church."
"I memorized the catechism."
"I' was confirmed as a teenager."
"My late husband/wife was a [insert denomination], so I joined the church when we got married."
"I took my first communion."
"I spoke in tongues."
"Our church has a coat-drive every winter."
"I went to a parochial school."
"I grew up in Sunday school."
"I had my kids all baptized at X church."
"I'm a [insert denomination]"
"I come from a long line of [insert denomination]."
Maybe you've heard more, but this is an idea. These are good things, but they are muddying the water of salvation. Jesus offers clear, living water! Show it to them!
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