Saved -- But Sure?
It used to aggravate me a lot. As a young college student in Springfield, MO, we’d go to the mall just to walk around. Very often one of the students from Baptist Bible College would come up beside you and say, “Can I ask you a question?” If you took the bait and said, “Sure” then he’d follow with this, “If you died tonight, are you confident you’d go to heaven?” Many people (me included) would respond, “I’m not sure, I hope so.” That was the answer they were wanting. “Oh,” they enthusiastically say, “you can know without a doubt that you’re saved, the Bible says so in places like I John 5 where we read, ‘He who has the Son has life; and he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” And then the kicker, “But the key is having the Son of God. Would you be willing to say a prayer, repeating what I say, so that you can know you have the Son of God and have life?” Many would say the prayer just to get rid of them. The young college student would then leave with another notch on his belt of salvation.
I bring this up to point out that I have two things I disagree with in that scenario. First, although “having the Son of God” is needed, nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that happens by saying a prayer. What is called “the sinner’s prayer” is a short-cut method never prescribed by Jesus or his apostles. To accept Christ as Lord and Savior we are told specifically what to do. On Pentecost the Apostle Peter told the crowd about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and after they cry out, “What must we do?” with clear words he says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That’s how you “have the Son of God.”
But it doesn’t end there. We are indeed saved by grace through faith in Christ. Responding in belief with repentance and baptism is the starting place, but saving faith must continue, impacting how we live, how we follow the Lord. Perfection is not required, but sustained effort to faithfully follow is required. Jesus once said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and yet you won’t do what I tell you?” Not doing what he tells us proves he is not Lord. Jesus also said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Throughout the Bible, faith has always been indicative of action, of doing what the Lord says, not just mental agreement with a doctrine.
We see this illustrated in Hebrews 11, the so-called Hall of Faith, where the writer offers several examples of faithful people. And in each case their action is given to show they had faith. When James wrote his short letter he tells us, “Faith without works is dead” clearly stating that we’ve misdefined what faith in God is if it does not include our response to God, how we act in faith.
Which brings me to the second reason I disagree with the Baptist student. Not only are we not saved by a prayer, but we also shouldn’t be as over-confident of our salvation as some would lead us to believe. Oh, indeed, if we are “in Christ” and faithfully following Jesus, there is confidence in that. But we live in an age when people have very superficial faith, often just mental assent, and more is needed. The Bible often speaks of the “fear of the Lord” and we need to realize that a healthy respect for our need to actively pursue our faith is crucial. If we’ve only said a prayer and fail to seek what Jesus and his apostles tell us to do in faith, confidence in salvation is ill-founded.
Bottom-line? Salvation is assured if we maintain our faith, evidenced through following the Lord. Pray, definitely pray, but pursue the Lord with active faith, eyes on his Word for obedience. We are not called to “save” people, but to make disciples (Matt. 28:19). If we follow the Lord, he will lead us into heaven.
Cross Point: "Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15)
I bring this up to point out that I have two things I disagree with in that scenario. First, although “having the Son of God” is needed, nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that happens by saying a prayer. What is called “the sinner’s prayer” is a short-cut method never prescribed by Jesus or his apostles. To accept Christ as Lord and Savior we are told specifically what to do. On Pentecost the Apostle Peter told the crowd about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and after they cry out, “What must we do?” with clear words he says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That’s how you “have the Son of God.”
But it doesn’t end there. We are indeed saved by grace through faith in Christ. Responding in belief with repentance and baptism is the starting place, but saving faith must continue, impacting how we live, how we follow the Lord. Perfection is not required, but sustained effort to faithfully follow is required. Jesus once said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and yet you won’t do what I tell you?” Not doing what he tells us proves he is not Lord. Jesus also said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Throughout the Bible, faith has always been indicative of action, of doing what the Lord says, not just mental agreement with a doctrine.
We see this illustrated in Hebrews 11, the so-called Hall of Faith, where the writer offers several examples of faithful people. And in each case their action is given to show they had faith. When James wrote his short letter he tells us, “Faith without works is dead” clearly stating that we’ve misdefined what faith in God is if it does not include our response to God, how we act in faith.
Which brings me to the second reason I disagree with the Baptist student. Not only are we not saved by a prayer, but we also shouldn’t be as over-confident of our salvation as some would lead us to believe. Oh, indeed, if we are “in Christ” and faithfully following Jesus, there is confidence in that. But we live in an age when people have very superficial faith, often just mental assent, and more is needed. The Bible often speaks of the “fear of the Lord” and we need to realize that a healthy respect for our need to actively pursue our faith is crucial. If we’ve only said a prayer and fail to seek what Jesus and his apostles tell us to do in faith, confidence in salvation is ill-founded.
Bottom-line? Salvation is assured if we maintain our faith, evidenced through following the Lord. Pray, definitely pray, but pursue the Lord with active faith, eyes on his Word for obedience. We are not called to “save” people, but to make disciples (Matt. 28:19). If we follow the Lord, he will lead us into heaven.
Cross Point: "Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15)