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Thursday, January 08, 2004

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6 (NIV)

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 (NIV)

"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. For it is with your heart that you believe and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)


These three verses are some of the verses most often cited in discussions of salvation and how one can receive it. A quick reading of these verses easily leaves one with the common impression that if you do not confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you cannot be saved, for there is no other way. This leads to a belief that all those that are not formal members of the Christian community are damned. (I am speaking broadly; for some baptism even in infancy is the beginning of membership and for others it is the ability to publicly say "I am a Christian" and whatever other implied beliefs that accompany that). However, I am not convinced that this is the correct conclusion. Rather than arguing using difficult cases, I shall argue from Scripture and only then shall I try to connect that with my own examples and cases.

Let us look at Abraham. I selected him because he is treated at some length in both the Old Testament and the New, but I will be focusing mostly on the New Testament account. Let us go to the book of Romans:

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
Romans 3:22 (NIV)

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about -- but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' "
Romans 4:1-3 (NIV)

"So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also wolk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."
Romans 4:11b-12 (NIV)


Abraham the Hebrew is called our father -- our father in the faith. He had faith in God and is justified by God, having righteousness credited to him. How can this be, since Abraham did not even know the name of Christ! He could not have confessed with his mouth that "Jesus is Lord!" Could he have believed in his heart that God raised him from the dead? Not in any way that he would have been conscious of. This much we do know: "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' " (Rom. 4:20-22 Emphasis mine.)

This does not contradict the three passages I began with, for Abraham is saved and justified through Jesus. As Paul writes in the very next chapter, "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. . . .Since we have now been justified by his blood. . . . Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Rom 5:1-2a, 9a, 18) Abraham, too, was justified by the blood of Jesus.

Therefore there is hope for those who are children of Abraham by faith, who, despite not knowing the name of Jesus, put their faith in God, gaining access into the grace which our Lord Jesus Christ has brought to us. It is not up to us to determine who has an authentic faith in the True God or not, for we judge by the outward appearances, but God judges the heart. As Psalm 139 so eloquently states, he has searched us and he knows us.

Those in such a position are in some way a part of the Body of Christ, the family of God. We should by no means leave them where they are, but should strive to bring them into a deeper participation in the Life of Christ, that they may know him not only in their hearts through faith but also in their minds. Our responsibility to preach the Gospel to all the world has not been removed, for not only does the Body of Christ need to be reminded of the Gospel, but there are many people who are not children of Abraham by faith. They are in most desperate need of the Gospel.

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Wednesday, January 07, 2004

"I lift up my eyes to the hills -- Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip -- he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -- the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -- he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
(Psalm 121 NIV)


Do we live our lives with the awareness that God is indeed watching over us at every moment? While if I was asked, "Is God watching over you at all times?" I would answer, "Yes!", my actions betray my heart's true attitude. When troubles of this world come before me, I respond as if I am the only one who is looking out for me, and so I worry, for if I do not worry no one will be looking out for me. But if I truly knew that the God who watches over me never slumbers nor sleeps, I would have no reason to ever worry, for the One who is capable of doing more than I could ever imagine is in control, such that "the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night." Why should you worry when your Father is in heaven?

Not only this, but if I knew that God was watching over my life at all times, would I not be stirred up to throw off everything that hinders me and the sin which so easily entagles me? It would then be only with great malice of heart that I would sin so blatantly in the sight of my God. But that is what I have done. It is with great regret and remorse that I remember those times when I have deliberately done those things which I have known to be an offense to God. Lord, have mercy!

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Tuesday, January 06, 2004

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (PHL 4:4-7)

What wise counsel this passage brings to me! Today was one of the days that this passage was written for. Today I lost a great job, a job that I loved. I worked with wonderful people -- which includes the person responsible for my job loss. However, I was surprised by my first reaction to this news. I would not have been surprised if I had become upset or dejected, but I was remarkably nonplussed. As I left the meeting, I reflected on my emotional state and then remembered the above passage. I found myself rejoicing, giving thanks to God, and left with a sense of peace. How happy it is to discover that you are spontaneously fulfilling commands of Scripture, as if it was your very nature to do so! And isn't that the way that it is supposed to be? We are new creations in Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin but belong to Righteousness. I have now experienced the truth of the saying that freedom is not being able to do whatever you want whenever you want but that it is found in being able to follow Jesus.

May God grant me True Freedom, that I might be able to obey him and follow him in his ways!

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Last night I had the opportunity to go see The Last Samurai. I had only read one review of the movie, which was an unfavorable one, but I had heard from my friends that it was a good movie. My friends were wrong -- it was a great movie. I am not much of a film buff, having few resources with which to approach movies in an academic way, so I have to resort to forming my opinion based on my emotional reactions and personal tastes. It is on that basis that I think that it is a great movie. While I am far from being an aspiring Buddhist, I was inspired by the brief glimpse of Japanese culture that the movie offered (I am told that it is rather accurate). Every time that I encounter a new culture (even if in only a limited way) I realize that the western thought is not the only way of looking at things. While I do not allow myself to simply absorb every facet of each culture, I find that I can come to a deeper understanding of the world in which I live by reflecting or even absorbing some of the elements of a particular culture. Ultimately, I find that, when I keep these things within a Christian framework, they can even enrich my understanding of and relationship with my God. Through these brief encounters with cultures around the world, I am reminded of how important it is for the Church to be catholic. It is neither fair nor correct for me to imagine that every Christian around the world comes from the same theological and philosophical tradition. As strange as it seems to my mind, I think that this is true and it leaves me with something to ponder: How is it that peoples from every tongue, tribe, and nation can worship the same Lord and Savior with such a diverse multitude of expressions and forms?

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From time to time I spend time in various different Christian chat rooms. I am always astonished at how quick people are to quote various passages of Scripture and glibly proclaim that such and such is what the speaker or author meant. Trying to discover what the author meant is an excellent endeavor, but sometimes it seems that people are too quick to use Scripture to prove their point, even for things that I nevertheless consider to be true. For something which is supposedly the object of great reverence, we certainly do treat Scripture in a very casual way at times.

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