While Salvationists would agree that we cannot DO anything to gain our salvation, they say we must DO something to keep our salvation. They assert we can "choose to come out from under that seal." In that case, what's the point of a seal? Living with constant fear one has not repented from each infraction (and, yes, we continue to struggle with SIN) leads to a performance-driven faith. I now believe that is an error, and a grievous one. It makes me think of a phrase I once heard stating there are only two religious camps: DO and DONE. I rest in what He has done, not what I do.
Salvation is a gift, an act of grace, "Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:9) First, He justifies; then, He sanctifies. On the cross, Christ paid the penalty for our sin. Once we are His child, sealed with the Holy Spirit, that Spirit helps us fight against the ongoing presence of sin we will battle until death. We are not out from under the consequence of sin, but we are FREE from the condemnation of sin. Again, I trust in Christ's act, not my actions, for my heart is desperately wicked and the battle against sin continues (Romans 7:14-25).
We are neither co-saviors, nor co-judges. God will decide each individual's spiritual destiny. Indeed, it is not our place to speculate. (We cannot determine someone in scripture ended up in hell because they did not repent of their waywardness.) Praise God, it is not our call. Yet everyone will answer for where they place their faith. Are you trusting in your sufficiency (your ability to remain obedient) or in a deep and abiding trust in Christ's sufficiency (His obedience in taking your sin penalty on the cross)? Are you wearing His robes of righteousness or your own?
I face tension with family members who believe in the Army's 9th doctrine, that "continuance in the state of salvation DEPENDS upon continued, obedient faith in Christ." It rankles all the more because I have a wayward son. I have a child who, despite attesting dependence upon Christ for salvation, makes harmful choices that others perceive as unrepentant rebellion. Indeed, if they pronounce judgment on one in scripture who, despite writing books of the Bible, strayed, they believe my child is in danger of hellfire. Yes, it's personal! Yet, Paul's letter to the Corinthians reveals it is possible to follow Christ and still indulge in seasons of sin. Indeed, those willing to pronounce judgment on my son should examine their own sin indulgences.
Perhaps all of this led me to Bryan Loritts' book, Saving the Saved: How Jesus Saves Us from Try-Harder Christianity Into Performance-Free Love. Loritts is determined to teach the reader how to rest in God's performance-free love. He argues against spiritual meritocracy (using our performance to gain God's approval). I loved this comment, "If anything I ever do of eternal value is because of God's grace, and if anything I ever do that brings shame is covered by God's grace, where is the boasting... the shame?" He urges us to come to Him "with the outfit He supplies. Life in the kingdom means I come out of my old clothes of performance and receive the new ones of abiding in Christ."
I loved his comments on prayer. He likened it to a 3-year-old, with arms outstretched, asking her daddy to carry her. He argues for the humility required to pray fervently. "Every day I spend in prayerlessness is a day wasted in pride--a day in which I say to God, 'I got this.'" And we don't hold the results against God. "He's worthy to be praised when breast cancer is cured--and just as worthy when the disease takes a life. We don't follow God for outcomes or for the benefits package; we follow Him because we love Him."
His discussion on Matthew 11:30 ["my yoke is easy; my burden is light"] brings special encouragement to my weary soul. He explains that, in the Greek, these words mean "custom-made." A carpenter measured the yoke to fit a specific ox's neck. "As the Divine Carpenter, Jesus knows you inside and out.... He customizes the yokes and trials of our lives so there's nothing we go through that we cannot handle.... You and Jesus are yoked together. He's in this with you, and there's nothing... you can't handle... in God's amazing love."
As Loritts speaks of why our failure is never final, he focuses on Peter's denial and subsequent use for the kingdom. He talks about our need for fresh, daily grace, and how that should make us gracious with others. Here is where the message hit me between the eyes. Unforgiveness is an affront, a sign of hypocrisy. I have exhibited this very problem and must repent of it. Loritts writes, "The unforgiving 'Christian' puts on a display of arrogance, assuming in their unforgiveness that they are the only ones truly worthy of being forgiven, of receiving God's performance-free love." Oh, how I need repentance.
Our repentance is not, however, to GAIN his love, but is an expression in RESPONSE to his performance-free love. We must be careful not to confuse salvation with sanctification. First, we repent of our sin and seek His forgiveness and His atonement (eternally expunging our sin debt). Then, our further repentance is a process of sanctification. It expresses our desire to become more like Him out of gratitude for the reconciliation we had no hope of attaining on our own.
Our salvation makes us a child of God. It is an act of adoption that renders us secure. I would never look at my child and say, "That's it! You've gone too far. I no longer love you or call you my son." He is and will always be my son and nothing he does will negate that status. The truly saved do not need to be saved again, and again, and again. Indeed, believing such renders Christ's atoning work as equivalent to the Old Testament covenant sacrifices. (Here it would be good to look at Hebrews 6:4-6 - do we crucify Christ over and over to reclaim our salvation?) No, the saved rest in God's performance-free love and will greet the bridegroom wearing His robes of righteousness, not their own (filthy rags).
