Some Are Missing It!

First off, words on a page communicate one attitude while the reception of the reader creates another. That's important to keep in mind as I voice a calm frustration about much of what I am running into.

Here is definition #2 of "evangelical" from dictionary.com

"belonging to or designating the Christian churches that emphasize the teachings and authority of the

Scriptures,especially of the new testament, in opposition to the institutional authority of the church

itself, and that stress as paramount the tenet that salvation is achieved by personal conversion

to faith in the atonement of Christ."

It is the bold faced section of this definition that I want to bring to your attention. If you have followed this blog (and only 4 are subscribed, so I'm not really expecting anyone to read this, much less respond), you know that I am an advocate of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and I really believe that "alone" means ALONE, by itself, with nothing else added even remotely in the process. This means that I do not believe, nor do I see that the Bible teaches in any way, that one must repent, be baptized, do good works, be a good person, cease sinning, walk an aisle, have extensive knowledge of Christ, confess all of your sins, promise to do better, live differently, stop listening to Metallica (which you might want to do anyway), treat others well, submit to Christ as Lord, be willing to obey or submit all to Christ, or to make Jesus Lord of your Life.

Salvation is free.

It is God's gift to lost humanity.

It is only by His grace that salvation is even available.

Please understand this: Grace costs the Giver a great deal, but it is free to the recipient.

If we must do anything other than believe in Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31), we have made salvation a transaction (Romans 4:4-5).

This salvation is by faith alone in the trustworthy person of Jesus Christ. We believe in Him as the One who can give us eternal life.

So here is my rub.

Many people want to "band together" to share the gospel. Many churches, people, organizations, etc. And my response is: "How does one obtain eternal life?" If the answer is anything but "faith in Jesus Christ," how is it wrong to politely decline a "union for the faith" when it is far from "evangelical" and in actuality is calling people to two different things?

Let's think about why this is such a big deal. If someone IS called to something other than faith in Christ, how is Christianity any better than the other religions of the world?

There is no other religion in the world that provides a savior like Christianity in offering the Lord Jesus as Savior. Every religion and cult in the world gives a "work" that one must do in order to reach a positive afterlife (I use this term as a generalization for the various specifics). When someone says "well you need to trust in Jesus and make Him Lord of your life," or "believe on Christ and repent of all of your sins," have we not given them something to DO rather than something to believe?

Let's take a moment and think about what this "works" message ultimately communicates about the death of Christ?

We tell people that Christ died for sins; that His blood makes atonement for the sins of people, and yet, if we are attaching works to faith in Christ, we have communicated that Christ's death was not all-sufficient because whatever was lacking is having to be made up by us! We make the mistake of communicating that Jesus died 98% for sins and that whatever work is put before us completes the 2% requirement for one having eternal life.

This distorted gospel makes a mockery of Christ's work and violently defames the cross, while robbing it of its power! Can you see the illogical lunacy that accompanies this line of thought?!?!

To require more than faith in Christ is to preach "another gospel, which is really no gospel at all" (Gal. 1:6-7). Why would one want to dilute the wonderful saving truth of faith alone in Christ alone?

Keep the Gospel clear and simple. -John 3:16