Two Kinds Of Christians

There are two kinds of Christians in the world. 1) Those who know that they have been saved, and 2) those who want to be saved but are not sure if they have been or when they will be. Virtually all Christians believe that at the very least they have an outside chance to be saved - even if that chance is a snowball's chance in a hot place.

I believe that I have been saved. The last thing Jesus said on the cross before He died was "It is finished" (John 19:30). All that needed to be done for our salvation was finished. His work, in His life and on the cross, was over. Our debt of sin had been paid for. The atonement was accomplished.

Speaking of the cross Jesus also said that ". . . I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). The focus and foundation of salvation is the cross of Christ. Salvation is all about Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to give us life, and those who accept Him, believe on Him, trust in Him and follow Him are given eternal life. I believe that I am saved because of what Jesus did, not what I do or ever will do. Salvation is all about Him - it's not about me.

But what about those people who say that we can never be really sure if we are saved, and that we should do all we can just to make sure? After all, what could be so bad about people doing good deeds?

A recent national survey revealed that a majority of those who claim to be Christian believe that the statement "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible. Wrong answer - that statement isn't in the Bible.

In terms of salvation, God helps those who cannot help themselves. That would be you, me, and everyone we know. Even your pastor. Even your grandmother who teaches Sunday school. Everyone. God helps us do what we cannot do for ourselves.

When Jesus said "It is finished," He didn't mean that He did his part, now it was up to us to do our part. Jesus didn't mean that once we completed enough good deeds, combined with all of His righteousness, together we could just manage to tip the salvation scales in heaven in our favor.

When Jesus said, "It is finished," He was not talking about His work on our behalf as being something like a down payment, and that our part would be to keep up the monthly payments until God would finally be satisfied that we are good enough.

Jesus meant what He said. In terms of salvation, and what it takes to be saved, "It is finished." The debt is paid. He paid a debt that He did not owe because we owed a debt that we could not pay. God is not obligated by anything we do, because nothing we can do will ever be enough to pay for the debt we have. Our good deeds will never be good enough. Nothing we produce gives us any leverage or bargaining power with God.

But what's so wrong about doing good deeds just to make sure that we're good enough? One of the many problems of thinking that we might not be saved because we haven't yet done enough (apart from the lack of biblical proof to support the view) is that it leads us to think that salvation depends on what we do. Such a view does not lift up Jesus Christ and direct our thoughts and attention toward Him - instead, our interest and concern is directed upon what we do. That's a hopeless situation, isn't it?

The problem with thinking that we might not be saved, that we might not "make it", that our salvation is based upon barely squeaking past the Pearly Gates when God isn't looking, or upon catching God on a good day, when He's feeling generous - the problem with this thinking is that it's not about Jesus. It's not about drawing people to the cross of Christ. It's about drawing people to stuff we do and stuff we believe.

Are works a part of salvation? The answer is "yes" and "no." "No," our works are not part of salvation. "Yes," the Bible tells us that obedience, works and fruit that is a part of the Christian life comes because of Christ who lives in us, not because of ourselves (Galatians 2:20). Yes, works are required for salvation, but only the perfect work of Christ will ever be enough to earn salvation or qualify for it. We are given salvation only because the perfect work of Christ is credited to us. We are not given salvation because of any work that we humanly produce.

We are not saved BY our works, but God saves us FOR works, that we might become His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). The question is all about who gets the credit. Who does the work that earns us salvation? In some respects we are like a fruit tree that "produces" fruit. We do not produce the fruit, but the Creator who creates us and sustains us produces the fruit. We may be a tree, but "only God can make a tree."

No stick of wood on some woodpile can simply decide to plant itself in the ground and become an apple or peach tree. Only God produces fruit. In the context of "fishing for men" Paul said, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (1 Corinthians 3:6).

The idea that salvation is a combination of grace plus works is one of the reasons that church-ianity is the competitive enterprise that it is - with denominations vying for the "only true" way to salvation. Of course, some churches and pastors are too clever to come out and say that they are the "only way to salvation." Instead, we hear talk about "distinctives," "more truth," "more revelation," "greater insight," "higher calling" or "deeper conversion."

What are they really saying? In case you missed it, here's the translation. "You will have a better chance to be saved - perhaps the only chance to be saved - in our church - the other churches may be sincere and nice people but they are sincerely deceived."

In marketing, promotions and advertising it's called an exaggerated truth claim. Make a claim about your product or service that is so compelling that people cannot bear to be without it. You may have to bend the truth "a little" - that's why it's called an exaggerated truth claim. Jesus said that He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He said that His cross would draw everyone to himself. If you're looking for salvation, the cross is where you will find it. You will not find it anywhere else. Don't be fooled by performance religion that requires you to jump through legalistic hoops. Don't be deceived by those who offer some cheap imitation. There is only one piece of "real estate" worth enough to offer salvation to all who ask - and that would be the cross of Christ. The cross is the bedrock of truth, not some exaggerated truth claim.

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