01/11/2025 – “The Abandonment of Jesus’ Gospel” / pgs. 38 – 39
“One segment of evangelism even propounds the doctrine that conversion to Christ involves ‘no spiritual commitment whatsoever. This who hold this view teach that Scripture promises salvation to anyone who simply believes the facts about Christ and claims eternal life. There need be no turning from sin, no resulting change in lifestyle, no commitment — not even a willingness to yield to Christ’s lordship. Those things, they say, amount to human works, which corrupt grace and have nothing to do with faith.
The fallout of such thinking is a deficient doctrine of salvation. It is justification without sanctification, and its impact on the church has been catastrophic. The community of professing believers is populated with people who have bought into a system that encourages shallow and ineffectual faith. Many sincerely believe they are saved, but their lives are utterly barren of any verifying fruit.
Jesus gave this sobering warning: ‘Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven: but he who does the will of the Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare the them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ ‘ (Matthew 7: 21-23, emphasis added). Clearly no past experience – not even prophesying, casting out demons, or doing signs and wonders — can be viewed as evidence of salvation apart from a life of obedience.
Our Lord was not speaking about an isolated group of fringe followers. There will be ‘many’ on that day who will stand before Him, stunned to learn they are not included in the the kingdom. I fear that multitudes who now fill church pews in the mainstream of the evangelical movement will be among those turned away because they did not do the will of the Father.
Contemporary Christians have been conditioned to believe that because they recited a prayer, signed on a dotted line, walked an aisle, or had some other experience, they are saved and should never question their salvation. I have attended evangelism training seminars where counselors were taught to tell ‘converts’ that any doubt about their salvation is satanic and should be dismissed. It is a widely held misconception that anyone who questions whether he is saved is challenging the integrity of God’s Word.
What misguided thinking that is! Scripture encourages us to examine ourselves to determine if we are in the faith (2 Corinithians 13:5). Peter wrote, ‘Be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you’ (2 Peter 1:10). It is right to examine our lives and evaluate the fruit we bear, for ‘each tree is known. by its own fruit’ (Luke 6:44).
the Bible teaches clearly that the evidence of God’s work in a life is the inevitable fruit of transformed behavior (1 John 3:10). Faith that does not result in righteous living is dead and cannot save (James 2: 14017). Professing Christians utterly lacking the fruit of true righteousness will find no biblical basis for assurancce of salvation (1 John 2:4).
Real salvation is not only justification. It cannot be isolated from regeneration, sanctification, and ultimately glorification. Salvation is the work of God through which we are ‘conformed to the image of His Son’ (Romans 8:29; cf. 13:11). Genuine assurance comes from the seeing the Holy Spirit’s transforming work in one’s life, not from clinging to the memory of some experience.”
Soli Deo Gloria!
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- What does the text reveal about God’s character?
- How has this reading generated prayer for you and/or us?
- What themes stand out to you in this bible study?
- How does our reading fit into the bigger picture (creation, the fall, restoration, etc.)?
- What verse(s) jumped out at you like never before? Is it explainable at this point?
- Do you have any questions you would like to put before the group as to how to interpret any particular verse(s) in our reading. Let scripture testify to scripture: Share with us where you sense contradiction between passages elsewhere.
- What did you find convicting and inspiring at the same time? Share with us how the Spirit of God is working within you as a messenger, both within and outside of our fellowship group.
- Share with the group how our study is calling or confirming to you a new mission to glorify God in our times.
Thoughts? Reflections? Questions? Prayer.