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SAVED OR RELIGIOUS? |
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By Rev. Gene Lanham Retired Church of God Pastor |
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Webster defines to save as “1. a: to deliver from sin b: to rescue or deliver from danger or harm c: to preserve or guard 2. To put aside as a store or reserve.”
I fear true salvation is fast becoming a lost doctrine. It is more than a shout, a song, and good feeling. It is more than joining or attending church and paying tithes. It is bad enough that mankind is lost, but now it seems that many have lost the address of their final destination! I really believe we need to renew our understanding of salvation.
We seem to know the right words, but they have lost their meaning. Often we have put numbers and income before experience. In our rush to build, we have often used the wrong materials, and hurry can often lead to misdirection.
My wife, son, daughter-in-law and I were looking for antiques one day. We parked by an antique store and, in a hurry to get inside, my daughter-in-law and I entered the wrong door. We found ourselves in a private home! Fortunately, we were able
to exit with no harm done, but in the work of salvation, entering the wrong door will lead to disaster—we must remember that it is God’s way or no way.
Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (KJV). Jesus never built a building, formed a committee, or ran for public office. These things may serve a good purpose, but for the body of Christ, the salvation of souls should be our main focus. 2 Cor. 6:2, “Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (KJV). To delay is playing Russian roulette with the souls of our people.
Salvation means saving people from their sins—not in their sins. A drowning man must not only be taken out of the water, but must have the water taken out of him. Titus 2:11-12 tell us that we must “deny . . . ungodliness and worldly lusts . . . in this present world” (KJV). Not only must people change directions, they must change locations. A good pastor friend of mine said to me one day, “Gene, we have preached ‘Salvation is free’ for so long that now no one is willing to give a dime for it!” All too often there is no sorrow, sacrifice or change accompanying one’s profession of salvation. Abraham Lincoln once said, “I would not give a nickel for man’s religion that did not help his dog.” In other words, true salvation will improve everything around a person. Salvation results from true repentance. Repentance will cause godly sorrow—a sorrow for being a sinner, not sorrow for being caught as a sinner. Remorse is not the end. A truly saved person wants to please God, not grieve Him. A repentant man or woman will feel impelled to make a lasting change in attitude and behavior.
Salvation will cause conversion—a change from one state to another, a change from sinning to righteousness. We must ask ourselves, Has there been a change?
Rom. 6:1-2 teaches a change must be made. God does not offer indulgences and He does not tolerate sin. A new birth must take place so that we no longer are “sinners saved by grace,” but brand-new persons. Our sins are not just covered by blood, but washed away by the blood. It is not enough just to put on a new coat, but the person in the coat must be made a new person!
Many think, being led by false teachers into believing it, that joining a church or being baptized results in salvation. In one church I pastored a gentleman of 89 years came to a Sunday morning service and heard a message about salvation. That evening he returned to the service. The next Sunday morning he came forward to be saved. He testified to the congregation that he had been a church member since his teen years and no one had ever told him that he needed to be saved! He prayed to be forgiven and his whole life and testimony changed—and it changed his whole family, too.
We must remember that the Bible is God’s manual, and if we do not follow it, we will void God’s guarantee of salvation. Profession must never replace possession. Excitement must never replace experience. I am afraid we have replaced salvation, sanctification, and holiness with a gospel of emotion, praise choruses and good feeling.
Salvation is the need of the hour, and always has been. In these last days, let us not be misled or lulled to sleep by a watered down Gospel of compromise and convenience. Let us rebuild our altars and consecrate them with prayer and fasting to see if God will hear from heaven and build His church. In our places of worship, let us ask the question, “Has anybody been saved here lately?”
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