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Christian Network

What is more reasonable than a creature made by and for God relying on his Creator for help in becoming what he cannot become on his own? No one ever becomes who God wants them to be without God supplying the transformative power that makes it possible. Yet we, in both our prideful self-delusion and in other’s faulty practical theology, so often try to somehow get there on our own. If many of us would only turn our backs on the idea that the Christian life must be more achieved than received we might come to know peace and joy instead of anxiety and fear in our daily lives.

The salient question is whether believers are saved and sanctified by grace through faith or only saved by it. Sometimes it seems as though as soon as we come to a saving knowledge of Christ we are told to get to work. All biblically literate Protestant evangelicals at least mentally assent to the theological principle that works do not save us, but theory and actual practice often diverge. Too many Christians are trying to work their way to spiritual maturity and the church often aids and abets the effort.

Someone once said that it is far easier to preach the law than it is to preach grace. This is proven out every Sunday in sermons given by teachers who consciously or unconsciously seek to make us work harder in order to somehow become more acceptable to God. The result is congregants who always feel not quite good enough to rate His approval and earn His continuing love. Combine this flawed teaching with the fallen human tendency to think we can work our way towards spiritual perfection and you end up with a church full of people trying to do the impossible while simultaneously missing out on the life that Jesus died to give them. This counterfeit sanctification leaves a trail of destruction and misery in its wake.

Think of it this way. Prior to coming to know Jesus Christ we were all drowning in the sea of our sin. Along came a boat piloted by a Man who offered to pull us out of the water if we would trust Him to do so. So we let Him pull us to safety. This we call salvation. If we stay aboard He will sail us, albeit through many storms, to Heaven. Along the way we dry out in the radiance of His presence and as we spend time with Him in the vessel we begin to become like Him. By the time we enter the eternally safe harbor of the celestial city we are ready to be citizens there.

Unfortunately there is an alternative to this blessed voyage.

In this one after drying out we decide that we have what it takes to get to Heaven on our own. So we jump over the side and begin to frantically swim parallel to the boat in its course towards paradise. Soon we tire and before long we it seems we are in danger of drowning again. Hopefully we cry out to the Lord of second chances and He hoists us aboard once more. If we are smart we stay in the boat this time. But some of us keep jumping out, often at the behest of apparently stronger swimmers in the water who are still convinced that the true way to get to there desired destination is by the breaststroke. This is a picture of the folly of attempting to sanctify ourselves by ourselves. The "swimming to Heaven" idea looks foolish when we see it in this light, but it is amazing how many of us continue to try it anyway.

It is vital that every one of us come to realize that the power of salvation and the power of sanctification come from the same God. The work He has begun in each of us He will carry to completion without requiring anything from us except our daily decision to believe He can and will do so. This is the only path to the peace and joy that we so desperately need, and that He so longs to give us.