An Old Look At Salvation: Revisited

So I was thinking about how we "do" salvation Wednesday night at our youth outreach event, "Treasure Island". I think the evangelical circle of today has got it all wrong. I was thinking about the church's epidemic of "saved sinners". Our evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc., in the church are too focused on "saving souls from hell" that it never occurred to them that maybe there's more to salvation than that. Maybe salvation is not just a one-time occurrence in which we say a prayer and leave it at that. I mean, I haven't found anywhere in the Bible where it even says that a person has to say a prayer in order to be saved. It says to believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and confess that He is your Lord and Savior. But I think we've got it wrong for two reasons: (1) by saying the "salvation prayer", it is very possible for a person to not really believe in their hearts, but rather, to just be repeating the words of the pastor or evangelist due to the guilt they feel from the "fire and brimstone" sermon said pastor/evangelist just preached. It is NOT their job to convict people. It is their job to preach the gospel with urgency and let the Holy Spirit convict people. And (2): belief and confession is not a one time event in which we say "I believe in you Jesus; you are my Lord and Savior", but rather, it is a continual, daily event that has to do more with our lifestyle than empty words. I've seen too many people who say they believe Jesus died for their sins and that He is their Lord and Savior, but then willing do just that which is contrary to Jesus' teachings. I think we who are the spiritual leaders of the church need to rethink how we present the message of salvation. I'm not saying that we change the message presented in the Bible, but rather, I am saying we need to go back to the message of the Bible. When we present the gospel, people need to understand that yes, when they accept what Jesus has done for them, all the sins they ever have committed or will commit have been forgiven; but they also need to understand that it is not a commitment to be taken lightly, but rather a commitment that will (or should) consume their very being and the rest of their life. Christ told us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. It is quite rare today to find a person who is faithfully obeying this command to its fullest. I just want people to understand that salvation, although it is a particular event in history, is also a continuing process that will not be complete until we see Jesus face-to-face.


doulos Iesou Xristou