It is my observation of life in the churches of Christ, that I often see that we emphasize the human side to salvation. We stress commandments and rules to live by. We talk of what Christians must do in this matter and that again and again. People feel inadequate and incomplete and become frustrated. Sometimes, so frustrated they leave the church declaring, "I just cannot live up to what is expected." After a while people get tired of feeling beaten and defeated.
The real message of the cross is that I could not save myself. No human on earth could save himself, much less save anyone else. Thus, the need for a redeemer not of this earth to come here and rescue us. That redeemer is Jesus Christ. The Bible is clear, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). Funny, how we can hear this verse all our life and miss something so basic. It is only through Jesus that any can be saved. When you start trying to redefine this you take from the glory of the cross. It is Jesus and His atonement that provides salvation and nothing else. Jesus said, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Again, the blessed Lord makes it so clear, HE IS THE ONLY WAY TO LIFE!
John 3:16 is one of those great summary statements of salvation. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We must be claimed by Jesus Christ in order to be saved! Thankfully, He loves us all and wishes all to be saved. He is inviting everyone to come unto Him (Matt. 11:28). Do you believe?
I think what we need is more balance We must make abundantly clear that salvation is only by and through Jesus Christ. None of us shall ever know enough and be good enough. None of us by our good works can save ourselves. It is by the Grace of God demonstrated through Jesus Christ who died on Calvary that we are saved. I often hear someone teaching about this topic and agreeing that we are saved by grace, and then they proceed to emphasize a string of actions we must do to be saved, and thus by so doing all soon forget the glory of the cross, and the grace of God that brings salvation. If we preach it right we shall hide behind the cross and allow the cross to save sinners (I Cor. 2:2). By overemphasizing what we do, we devalue the cross and lose site of the sustaining power of God's grace to help us achieve the ultimate prize of salvation in heaven! After all, there is nothing we do that matters separate and apart from the Cross of Jesus! "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8,9). All we do in seeking to become a Christian and follow Jesus has significance only because of Jesus Christ and Him crucified!
In the Reformation movement of the 16th and 17 centuries men struggled to escape the extreme legalism of the Roman Church. As a result, the various protestant denominations abandoned the many corrupt practices of the Roman Church, but not all such practices. Each denomination kept some of the baggage of Romanism. When the Restoration movement is launched in the 19th century a major assault is made on all of Romanism. However, not all was abandoned. We still struggle today with the shadow of the Roman Church upon us. We are often blind to this and deceived.
Often we overreact to this extreme or that extreme and what we perceive to be error. We saw some teaching in the world that seemed to imply universal salvation, so we go to the other extreme to over emphasize that there are many commands you must obey. We then leave the impression that it is the act of obeying these commands that saves and not the blood of Jesus on Calvary. In so doing we might make it appear that we believe in "works salvation" which leads to a big black hole. Whether we like it or not, and whether we think it is fair or not, we are perceived by those outside of the churches of Christ as believing in "works salvation". Our constant screaming of the five steps of salvation as we have defined them only reinforces to others that we have a "creed" and it is all "works". Again, many will say this is not correct and you can say that all you want. But, the fact is that those outside the world of the churches of Christ see us this way. Many in the church only associate with those of the church and thus have no idea what anyone thinks of them who is not of the churches of Christ. I have spent a lot of time over the last fifteen years talking to those outside the churches of Christ. I know whereof I speak.
The fact is this, the grace of God is what saves us. It is pictured in the death of Jesus on the old Cross. Each of us should close our eyes and see ourselves standing before the cross on that fateful day when Jesus died. See only yourself there standing before the Lord. See the cross with all its shame and pain. See your sins that put Him there. He is looking at you and saying, "I love you", and "I am dying to save you". Praise Jesus now and forever.
Once I come to the reality of my sins and see the salvation offered by Jesus I fall to my knees in sorrow and repentance. In full faith in Jesus as the Son of God I listen to these words of my Lord, "Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5). I then rush to be born again and to give my life to the Savior. I will spend the rest of my days, shouting His praises and "clinging to the old rugged cross." I will then do as Jesus said, "Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Lk. 9:23).
Glory be unto Jesus Christ now and forever! Praise Him! Praise Him!
Ephesians 1:7 "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace."
*Allen Ashlock, 2014
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