Chapter Four

Essential Relationships*

The Key to Eternity

Salvation by Works?

We discussed earlier that many people, even if there are not really aware of it, feel that works are key to salvation. Even many Christians feel that works are a key factor in salvation. They may say that they believe that salvation is by faith but their actions don't align with their profession. One common example of this is the person who feels saved only until they fall into sin at which time they not only feel the need to repent but, in fact, feel they need to be saved again. Another is the believer who feels the compulsion to work themselves to the point of physical and mental exhaustion to gain favor with God. Those unfortunate individuals who fall victim to these misconceptions do not really understand the true nature of God or the work of the Cross.

Why Did Jesus Die?

Why was Jesus executed? He wasn’t a criminal. Even Herod, king of Judea and Pilate the Roman Governor found no fault in him. The purpose of the Jewish leaders was to rid themselves of an irritant and what they saw as a threat to their authority. The purpose of the Romans was to keep order and appease the Jewish leaders. By crucifying prisoners, the cruelest and most agonizing of deaths, they sought to make an example, a warning to those who opposed them.

When Jesus was crucified Ponteus Pilate, appointed by Roman Emperor Tiberius as Governor of the Roman province of Judea, ordered that a sign be posted above him on the cross. That sign, written in Greek, Hebrew and Latin, read, “Jesus king of the Jews”. The one most Christians are familiar with is the Latin acronym:

INRI

IANUS NAZARENUS REX LUDAEORUM

It is often seen on religious articles like crosses and means: Jesus the Nazarene king of Jews. Even as he died, the truth of who he is was proclaimed. The Romans meant this sign to mock him but God’s truth always wins out.

Why did Jesus have to be crucified? He had committed no crime. Even if he had, for the Jews the prescribed method of execution under Mosaic Law was stoning. The Romans, of course, could have killed him with a sword, spear or with arrows. However, the Romans could not resist the will of God and therefor unwittingly followed the prophecy of scriptures which specified crucifixion.

Why? The reason, I believe, is that this was the slowest, most agonizing, and most shameful death possible, thus revealing the depth of God’s love for us. I believe it also symbolizes the struggle we have with sanctification.

We all struggle with sanctification throughout our lifetimes. It is a difficult often painful process as we grow to spiritual maturity. Many believe that spiritual maturity means learning self-control sufficient to overcome our sinful tendencies. In truth, we can never learn enough self-control to gain victory over our sinful tendencies. In fact, spiritual maturity involves dying out to self and learning to lean on, and depend upon, the Lord in every situation. Consider the words of Jesus.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Matt 16:24-25 NIV (italics mine).

Jesus is not speaking simply of the loss of our physical life, and certainly not our spiritual life. He is speaking of sacrificing our stubborn desire for self-control. God has given us free will – the right to say, “yes” or “no” with regard to his will. We must say, “No” to our own inclinations in order to say, “Yes” to God. This becomes even more clear as we consider some of his other comments on this subject.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. Luke 14:26-35 NIV (italics mine).

I have heard ministers and teachers use these passages to teach that the key to heaven is obedience and self-discipline but anyone with an honest heart knows that none of us can, in our own strength and will, obey God’s will. It is only in the complete surrender of our heart and our will to the Lord that the Holy Spirit is given our permission to gradually bring us into the spiritual maturity of a childlike dependence and reliance on God.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:3-4 NIV (italics mine).

This is strange to us. It is difficult to think of spiritual maturity as becoming childlike, not childish - but humble and submissive as a little child is submissive to a parent. Little children are not always obedient, they sometimes throw tantrums, they are not perfect but they are accepting of others, quick to forgive and submissive to their parents. Their parents love them despite their imperfections. God loves us in spite of ours.

We must remember the word of God.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isa 55:8-9 NIV (italics mine).

God’s goals, God’s ways, God’s views, are not like ours. God’s nature is totally good while ours is basically evil. We should not expect the will of God to seem natural or comfortable to us. But it is not up to God to adapt his thinking to ours – rather it is for us to change to think more like him. This is the difficult process of sanctification.

Faith the Essential Element

Paul, in his epistle to the Romans made it absolutely clear that nobody has ever been, or ever will be, saved except by faith. Faith is the key to salvation. It is the means by which our spiritual re-connection to God is established. Sin broke this connection and God wants to reestablish it but for this to occur His Justice must be satisfied. He cannot just "wink at sin" or act as though his word has not been ignored and his law violated. To do so would put God in the position of condoning sin and implying that his character and values do not matter. It would make him less than God.

The penalty for sin is death - physical and spiritual death. But this is not the desire of God. He does not want us to die spiritually. That is why he devised a plan for our redemption. The penalty for sin had to be paid but he knew we could not pay it. We can only pay the penalty for our own guilt with our lives. But, if we die in our sin we are lost forever.

Knowing our dilemma, God provided a substitute, his own son, Jesus. Jesus died on the cross taking our penalty for sin upon himself - voluntarily. Because Jesus was God in the flesh, he was able to suffer the penalty for the sins of all mankind then defeat death and come out of the tomb on the third day. All that is required for our redemption is that we believe, repent and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died for our sin, and arose the third day. If we are sincere in this, we will come face to face with our own sinfulness and seek his forgiveness and his help. That is saving faith!

Whose Fault is it?

Consider the thief who died on the cross next to Jesus.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:39-43 NIV (italics mine).

It is important to remember that this man was a criminal -- not a disciple. He was never baptized. So far as we can tell, the only good thing he ever did was sincerely repent of his sin and appeal to Jesus. That was all he could do in his situation but it was enough!

This man, at the point of death, realized his sin, repented, confessed, recognized Jesus as the son of God, asked for and received forgiveness and the promise of paradise. Do not be deceived. No other course will suffice! God, himself, provided the way back. Many are trying to find another way - their own way - it will not happen!

Consider this: there are people in desperate need in our world. They need money, food, medical care, etc. Suppose you were a very wealthy and generous person. You could set up centers to provide all the things these people need. You could arrange for the networks to donate air time to make public service announcements that would alert people of the availability of these centers and their locations. All those who come to your centers would have their needs supplied and be blessed by your goodness. What, however, would happen to those people who stubbornly refuse to come to the centers because;

they are too proud and want to do it on their own, or
they are too suspicious and feel it’s too good to be true , or
they think there must be strings attached, or
they don’t like you because they think you are, “just too good!”

These people could suffer and perhaps die of their illnesses or starvation even though free help was available to them. Is that your fault? Did you fail them? They could die cursing your name but who was wrong, you or them?

Even though many are starving for lack of the spiritual food of God and deathly ill with the disease of sin – most will not come to take what has been made readily available. If you have not accepted God’s free gift of Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are in this group. It is not sufficient to attend church, donate money or time, or simply believe that God exists.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder. James 2:19 NIV (italics mine).

God doesn’t want mere intellectual acknowledgment of his presence. He wants a close personal relationship with you. Don't be one of the starving and sick who refuse to come. Be certain! Salvation is based upon relationship - not performance.

'On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’" Matthew 7:22-23. The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989. (italics mine).

As mentioned previously, God loves us as a good father loves his children. His desire is for us to love and respect him as children love and respect a good father. It makes no difference whether the child is natural born or adopted, he will love them all the same.

God is such a Father. If we are His children He loves us – is patient with us and will discipline us as necessary. Our failures do not change his love for us though our guilt may cause us to try to avoid him at times. We often withdraw – go into our shell. At such times we may wonder where God is. We may feel estranged from him – but he hasn’t left us – we have turned our backs to him. It is hard to see God when you are inside a shell or turned away from him. At these times it is important to remember that we did not first seek the Father, rather he sought us. All we need do is come out of our shell – turn toward him.

Jesus said:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' John 6:43-45 NIV (italics mine).

Those who depend upon their good works to achieve God’s favor are still acting like the neighborhood kids. While God loves it when his own children want to express their love for him in good works, He doesn't require works for salvation. A son doesn’t become a son by working for it but a good son who loves his father will work with and try to help him. God loves each and every person and wants us to return that love. God doesn’t look at your past to determine whether you are worthy to be redeemed, nor will he permit substitution of works for faith to gain 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3:16-18; NIV (italics mine).

This message was meant for each of us – that is for me and for you. Jesus was not sent to condemn us. No matter what your past was like -- no matter how evil you think your sins were or how bad your crimes against society -- God has provided a way, through Jesus, for you and I to be adopted members of his family with all the benefits that offers. If we refuse to accept his offer and end up facing Jesus as our judge instead of as our brother, whose fault is it?

Next >