Saved by Grace; Judged by Works

We're heading into week 3 of a 6-week series called The Hole in Our Gospel. The series is based off of a book by Richard Stearns, president of World Vision US. Of course, the series is actually based on Scripture ... some of the most challenging passages of Scripture in our Bible.

Many of these Scriptures, like Matthew 7 and Matthew 25, are challenging not because they're difficult to understand, but because of how easy they are to understand. In Matthew 25, for instance, Jesus tells the "Parable of the Sheep and the Goats." In this parable, which is more of a snap shot of the final judgement than anything else, Jesus separates the sheep and the goats - sheep and goats being metaphors for the righteous and the wicked. On one hand, the righteous "sheep" are set to Jesus' right, and invited to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Likewise, the wicked "goats" are set to Jesus' left and damned to an eternity separated from God and tormented in hell. Miserable thought.

Clearly, upon reading Jesus words in Matthew 25, the criterion for dividing the sheep and the goats is not that the sheep have confessed faith and belief in Christ while the goats have not, but that the sheep acted in loving and tangible ways toward the poor, the oppressed, the imprisoned and the weak, while the goats did not.

The troubling take-a-way from this passage, and from passages like Matthew 7 and Revelation 20, is that the goats were not rejected by Christ because of the evil things they had done, but because of the good they did not do. And that's troubling. Which brings me to address a great concern: Where's the security of our salvation in that? Certainly there must be, because Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8-9 are just a few of the passages of Scripture that make it abundantly clear that our salvation is not based on works, but on the grace of God alone.

After Sunday's message, I was asked by someone if I thought that someone making a decision to follow Christ on their deathbed would be accepted in to heaven. The question was asked because, clearly, every time the final judgement is spoken of in the New Testament, we are judged by our walk, not our talk. Saved by grace, judged by works. So what if someone gets on their mark while on their deathbed, and has no time to do the good things that we are called, according to Ephesians 2:10, to do? Is it too late for them?

I remember the thief on the cross next to Jesus. Luke 23:42-43 records these words: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'" Surely, if Jesus will take in a thief on his cross, he will take in anyone who genuinely calls upon him, no matter what the time or circumstance. Perhaps the key here is, genuinely...

Ephesians 2:8-10 says that we are saved by grace, through faith, in order to do good works. Surely Jesus didn't die simply to save us from our sin. He died to give us new life. He died as an open invitation to join Him in His Kingdom work, right here, right now. Certainly, the tangible results of a genuine faith in Christ is that we do the things He has called us to do. Surely, Matthew 25 and other Scriptures like it suggest not that salvation is attained by works, but that an authentic and genuine commitment to Christ must be accompanied by demonstrable evidence of a transformed life - a life engaged and surrendered to the will of Christ.

Philippians 2:12 tells us to "continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling." When is it that we're allowing Christ to use us most - when we are comfortable and collected, or when we are working out our salvation with a healthy fear of God - struggling to make sense of our calling, His calling, and what we are here on this earth to do? It appears we've not wrestled with verses like these enough, because it appears we've not fully invested our lives, our talents, our treasures, to reach the lost, minister to the hurting, take hope and healing to the sick and poor and needy and oppressed. It appears we're not doing enough to reach the unchurched, the spiritually restless, those without the Hope of Salvation that we celebrate every week within the four walls of what we call "church".

Maybe, if we really payed closer attention to what Jesus said, and stopped wasting time with theological murmurings, we'd find ourselves closer to the God of the universe, more on track with the Savior and Hope that is Jesus, and closer to completing the final work He's called us all to be a part of - reaching every lost man, woman and child on the planet with the message and hope of the Gospel that is Jesus.

Let's get on that, shall we...