Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
My heart was broken last fall in a booth at the McDonald’s in Barnwell, SC. I had agreed to meet with two young men from the local LDS church, and I asked them a simple question: If you were to die today, do you believe you would be with God in heaven? The younger of the two men looked down for a minute, then answered, “No. There is still a lot I have to work on first.”
His response sticks in my mind to this day. Having the weight of salvation on our own shoulders will wear down the strongest men and women. Unfortunately, there are many people who walk through life claiming to have the security of the Christian faith, but lacking the foundational principles of salvation by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” This means that, although good deeds are the fruit of our salvation, they are not the determining factor of our salvation. We follow Christ as broken people, knowing we will never be perfect, but seeking to become more like Christ every day. His love for us is not based on what we do, for we know “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
God does not need our deeds, nor do our deeds mean anything apart from our relationship with Christ. To God, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” for there is nothing we can do that will ever bring our righteousness close to His standard of perfection (Isaiah 64:6). This is not to crush our hopes of becoming good enough for God, but to bring us joy knowing that we will never be good enough, but God chooses to love us anyway. The righteousness required for salvation is not from ourselves, but “this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22).
If salvation is a gift from God through faith in His Son, our role in salvation becomes a lot simpler. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Jesus being your Lord (Greek word Κύριος meaning “master”) means that you submit to His will for your life, and that is made possible when you believe that He is who He says He is. This heart transformation is simple, straightforward, and easily comprehensible. That is the beauty of the Gospel. God is not waiting in heaven for you to pass any tests, say any magic words, or give him a secret handshake, but He simply is looking for the righteousness of Christ imprinted on the hearts of His children.
Look at the thief on the cross who died alongside Jesus in Luke 23. He had never been to a Christian church. He had never been baptized. He had lived a life with such a drought of good deeds that society saw fit to publicly execute him for his crimes. Still, he looked to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).
The response of Jesus, as He suffered the wrath of God for the sins of the world including those of the thief beside Him, shows the true love of the Gospel. He did not focus on how many things this dying man needed to work on. Instead, Jesus saw that this thief believed in His identity as the Christ and made this request to Jesus as his King. With love, Jesus responded with the same grace He offers to each of us, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
