"Salvation"

 

"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."

 

            There was a family who owned a parrot, and this parrot somehow developed the bad habit of cursing, using foul language. The family tried everything to stop the parrot from swearing, but nothing worked. One day their pastor was to come for a visit, and that put Mom in a panic. What to do with the parrot? So, when the doorbell rang, she threw the parrot in the freezer. When the pastor left, she opened the door to let the parrot out. He came out humbled, submissive. "I've learned my lesson," he said. "No more cursing or bad language. You don't have to worry about that anymore."

            "Well, that is certainly a relief," said Mom. Then the parrot said, "Could I ask just one question?" "Certainly," said Mom.

            The parrot pointed into the freezer. "Tell me, what did the chicken do?"

            We carry with us in life a lingering doubt. Am I good enough? How am I doing compared with others? Am I saved? Am I blessed? Do I have God's approval? These are questions of salvation.

            The secular world gives us an answer, with all the confidence it can muster: "If there is a heaven, we all go there. So don't worry about it."

But it seems that people do worry about it. They try hard to be good, to reform, to lose weight, to correct bad habits, to fit in. People do worry as they try so very hard to be productive, to be competent, to be successful, and to be champions. They try very hard to meet the demands of the secular world, which tells them not to worry, and then makes them worry a great deal.

            Does the secular salvation, the promise of the full, winning life, really meet the longings of our hearts? Does it make us good people, really? Maybe for some it seems to work quite well; there is an elite of high achievers who are great humanitarians, very bright and interesting, good people. Maybe it does work for some. But I think for the great majority of people, secular salvation is not working well at all. Too many young people commit suicide, too many cut themselves, too many join gangs. There is too much violence, too many movies telling the wrong stories, too much bullying, too many mean-spirited people. Our secular world has produced a society in which there is a resurgence of slavery, loss of family and community, the degradation of the earth, a lack of integrity and justice in corporations, and corruption in government. It does not look like salvation to me.

            In our Confirmation course we define salvation as the "work of God through Christ by which God forgives our sin, frees us from guilt, and restores us to a right relationship with God." That is a good start. Actually salvation does not have a simple definition. It is multi-faceted. Some aspects of salvation in Christ are present experiences, like knowing peace with God. Some aspects are related to judgment at the end of our lives: We will be saved from God's wrath. Some aspects are eternal: We are justified in Christ, reconciled to God, saved through the life of Christ. Nicodemus wanted to talk to Jesus about the eternal aspects of salvation. Jesus led him to understand that he must believe; he must have faith in Christ. Jesus did not talk about whether Nicodemus was a good person, or whether his community service made him worthy of salvation. He called Nicodemus to believe in him, because Nicodemus is part of humanity.

            One of the early Pietist leaders, Carl Rosenius, wrote that "the justified person does not claim that he has perfected his own righteousness. God requires that one be totally justified, made wholly righteous before his perfect law." That is to say we need salvation, we need a Savior, and we truly are in need of being saved. We do not make up our own standard. Rosenius says that the one who is justified "has discovered that his only righteousness is in Christ, who died and arose again in his stead."

           In Romans 5, Paul gives a good summary of the elements of salvation. He says that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Because of that, through faith in Christ,

• We have now been justified (made righteous)
• We have peace with God
• We have access by faith into grace (into the presence of God)
• We have hope
• We have God's love poured out into our hearts
• We have the gift of the Holy Spirit
• We are saved from God's wrath
• We are reconciled to him
• We shall be saved.

            Salvation is more than just a kind of "pass/fail" grade given on the last day. There is something now to be experienced in Christ. There is a new life to be lived in Christ. There is an eternal life to be hoped for in Christ. Salvation goes beyond being a good person, it goes beyond not feeling guilty, it is something other than being a 'spiritual person.' Salvation is a life found in Christ, and defined by Christ, which is both a lived experience and a future hope.

            The first thing Paul mentions is that when we are justified through faith, we have peace with God. He is not here referring to an inward feeling of peace, but to the fact of peace. We are no longer enemies of God. Leon Morris writes that "The love of God is behind all this. Paul does not think of God as remote and indifferent, but as full of love, and it is from his love that our salvation proceeds."

Are you at peace with God? A lot of people fight God these days: deny God's existence, do not take time to listen to God, do not respond to the call of God on their lives, chafe at God's law, stray from God's paths, and blame God. It is a wonderful experience to truly be at peace with God. There is grace beyond what you can imagine when you are at peace with God. Rosenius says, "The new status of being reconciled brings peace with God, a cessation of wrath, the imputation of Christ's holiness, the 'best robe', the 'fatted calf and the feast of joy.' " There is much joy in the experience of salvation. The first gift is peace with God. "How blessed it is to be a friend of God! What a glorious light is shed into our hearts through his Holy Spirit."

            The next gift of salvation is access into his grace. The word could also be "introduction." The idea is entering into the chambers of a king. You need someone to introduce you, to open the doors. Christ is the one who introduces us to the Father, the one who gives us access to God's grace. Rosenius writes, "It is not correct to say that because of our sins God barely tolerates us." I am afraid I hear that and sense that in some Christian circles. No, salvation means we have open access to God. Rosenius says "the assurance of open and free access to the throne of grace is a healing comfort to me."

            Do you know the comfort of salvation? Do you know the healing of salvation? In Christ you can enter and draw near to God. We are saved in order that we might pray, that we might worship, that we might be close to God.

            Salvation means that we are reconciled to God. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." (II Corinthians 5:19) God the Father and Christ the son are one, so the cross is not the indifference of God, but a demonstration of the love of God. The cross shows us the love of God. We are reconciled to God.

            Salvation has a future. We do not know it completely until we are beyond this life. Leon Morris writes, "Reconciliation leads to a salvation that never ends. When Christ has done the great work of putting away our sin and bringing about our reconciliation to God, he will certainly go on to bring us salvation through eternity." The word "salvation" can mean both "rescue" and "health." In Christ we are rescued from death. We are healed from sin. In Christ we look forward to the new earth and heavens. In new resurrection bodies we will receive all the promises of God. Our salvation is not yet fully experienced. We wait for a great and glorious day.

            Lina Sandell wrote,

"In the springtime fair but mortal, in the day of fragile flower,

Christ is waiting at your portal, faithful through the passing hour.

Open now before the autumn sweeps the summer's flowers away.

Open while the sun is shining. All too brief our earthly day."

            Have you asked the Savior into your life? Have you experienced the salvation Christ offers? I invite you to open your heart now. I invite you to pray with me that God might grant to you the experience of salvation.

            Amen.