Tag: salvation

We have looked, this week, at some incredibly difficult passages of scripture where we find people who have presented themselves to Christ only to hear words of warning from Jesus about the cost of following Him. From those passages, we have learned that salvation does not mean saying a certain prayer and then go on like nothing has changed. If we truly believe in Jesus, we will follow Him. Believing in Him means we give ourselves to Him even into the point of death, if it comes to that. Jesus tells us there is a cost to salvation beyond the price that He paid. Now we address the question, “Why would we want to offer our lives to Jesus?” Today on Christian Holiness Daily.

Why should anyone follow Christ? Because the alternative is eternal separation from His love. Because the alternative is eternal separation from all love. Because without Christ we will be eternally separated from all that is good, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is comforting.

I follow Christ because He loved me before He even set the earth spinning on its axis. Because He died for me even though I am a filthy sinner. I love God because He first loved me.

Before I gave myself to God, I lived a life of sin, but i believed I was a Christian. I had said the sinners prayer. I believed in Christian. I believed in Jesus. I knew He is God made flesh, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven. I believed all that, but I still lived a life of filthy sin. I was on the path that C. S. Lewis called the “safest road to hell.” It is the gradual road, never too steep. It has no road signs that identify it. But the end of the road is eternal hellfire.

After I gave myself to Christ, if I strayed from the path I discovered all kinds of road signs; there was no doubt that I had strayed. God loves His children too much to allow them to wander too far before calling them back to His side.

A couple weeks ago, I talked about Hebrews 6 and said that so long as a Christian does not turn his or her back on God and stop believing, they cannot lose salvation. This is true. Now, today, I am saying that if one believes he or she will follow Christ with total surrender, counting everything else as loss. How, you may wonder do I justify that? How can both be true, you may wonder.

I think here is where we need to define what it means to believe. If one truly believes, one will follow Christ. If one then follows Christ, they get to know their Creator, walk with Him, talk with Him, then they cannot help but change. They cannot avoid being filled with His love. That doesn’t mean they cannot sin. That doesn’t mean they cannot turn back. It does mean that if they do sin, their sin is already forgiven. If they do turn back, the Holy Spirit will hunt them down and call them back home.

I willingly surrender my life to God no matter what the cost because He is a loving Father who wants to spend time with me, His son.

Monday we begin a conversation about how salvation changes our lives. Don’t miss The Best of Christian Holiness Daily tomorrow. And tune in to Christian Holiness Sunday for classic works of old time holiness preachers and writers.
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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

“He’s only eleven years old,” Russell’s mother sobbed. She hid her face in her hands and cried.

Her husband squeezed her shoulder and said, “I’ll be back when I find him.” He tried to sound reassuring, but he didn’t believe that they would ever find him, not really.

Russell and his parents had been driving across the mountains when a blizzard struck the mountain pass. Dad had heard the forecast, but convinced himself that he could beat the weather. When they became stuck, they stayed with the car; that’s always best. After three days trapped in the car and no hope of being found soon, though, Dad decided to try to walk for help. A few days later, he returned with help.

He found his wife in the car where he left her, but his son had vanished. The boy had gotten out of the car to look for his dad, but never returned.

Mom had begged him to stay in the car and later frantically searched for him, but his tracks had been covered with fresh snow. He was nowhere to be found.

Now Dad joined a rescue team that would search the entire area. “I got to be honest with you,” said Captain Lourdes, in charge of the search party. The odds of finding your son alive are slim.”

“I have to try. I just can’t do nothing. He needs me.” Dad wept.

Lourdes nodded.

When they found him, Russell clung to an ice covered rock, perched on the side of the mountain. Hundreds of feet below him was a snow field that slanted into a deep mountain valley. How he made it through the past couple days and nights alive, no one knew.

“Daddy’s gotcha, Rusty.” Dad’s voice quivered as he watched the firemen hook his son to a secure line.

Once they had him off the side of the mountain and into their truck, Dad thanked Caitain Lourdes and turn embraced the boy. “I love you, Rusty.” The boy was too cold and too much in shock to speak.

“We’re only 14 miles up the mountain from the Ranger Station. It’s all downhill from here. There are lots of hills and curves and bumps in the road, but you’ll make it. The station is just across the river, but be careful,” said Lourdes, “crossing the river can be tricky, especially in the winter.” He tossed Rusty a book. “This book will answer all your questions. It’s a good book. You should read it every day. It will keep you safe. Once you cross the river, a chopper will pick you up and take you home.”

Rusty’s jaw dropped as the Captain pushed him out of the truck.

“I can’t wait until I catch that chopper someday,” said Dad as he climbed into the truck. “Don’t you worry, Rusty. Captain Lourdes and I will be waiting for you at the station. Now that you’re saved, you can follow the road with no problem.”

“Well, maybe a few problems,” said the captain.

“A few, agreed Dad. “But just read the book. You’ll know what to do.”

The men all piled into the truck and headed down the mountain.

Rusty, watched the truck drive away. Still in shock, still bitter cold, still starving, he pulled off his gloves and looked at the thin black book in his hand. “Gospel of John,” it read. Rusty read the first two chapters, stuck it in his pocket, and trudged down the road.

It began to snow again making it difficult to follow the path of the truck. Rusty never felt the little book fall from his pocket. Just after dark, he left the road for the shelter of some nearby trees. He wondered if he would ever make it to the Ranger Station.

“Found him,” Dad said to Mom when he returned to the station. “We put him on the right road. He’ll be home someday soon.”

“Oh, thank you,” Mom cried.

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Silly analogy, I know. Unfortunately, Rusty’s experience is very much the way that many Christians teach our walk with God: we wander far from home, Our Lord goes looking for us. We are saved. So far so good. But, here is where some Christian teaching goes wrong. Salvation doesn’t mean saying a prayer and then continuing on the same path you’ve been on. It doesn’t mean your are saved and then left to find your way through life alone. It doesn’t mean reading a few pages of the Bible and then magically conquering all of life’s challenges.

Salvation is the beginning of a journey home, hand in hand with God through the power of The Holy Spirit. The One Who rescues you, also guides you home. He is with us every step of the way. He will help us understand the guide book. He will help us discern between correct teaching and unsound teaching. He will teach us right from wrong. And He will speak to us when we need guidance or when we are afraid. He is with us when we feel all alone.

Aren’t you glad that when our Father saves us, He doesn’t leave us alone like Rusty?

Why I Choose to Follow Christ at Any Cost

Stuck in a Blizzard