In my last column, we discussed a “litmus test” for spiritual salvation. But one could ask, “So what, what’s in it for me?”

Theologian Frederick Buechner wrote in his book, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons: 

“If we only had eyes to see and ears to hear and wits to understand, we would know that the Kingdom of God in the sense of holiness, goodness, beauty is as close as breathing and is crying out to be born both within ourselves and within the world; we would know that the Kingdom of God is what we all of us hunger for above all other things even when we don’t know its name or realize that it’s what we’re starving to death for. 

“The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis, a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are all of us homesick for it.”

So, what is the means of entering this Kingdom of God spoken of above? What must I DO to come into the good of it for myself?

Saving Faith

Salvation is not about doing anything. It is about reaching a settled state of belief about who Jesus Christ was and is and what He did for all of us by dying on the cross.

Such a settled state of belief naturally includes a decisive, unmistakable transfer of confidence away from oneself and to rest it permanently and irrevocably upon Jesus Christ, who becomes our personal savior and everlasting protector of our eternal welfare.

Theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote in his book, Salvation:

“This one word ‘believe’ represents all a sinner can do and all a sinner must do to be saved. It is believing the record God has given of His Son.

“In this record, it is stated that He has entered into all the needs of our lost condition and is alive from the dead to be a living Savior to all who put their trust in Him. It is quite possible for any intelligent person to know whether he has placed such confidence in the Savior.

“Saving faith is a matter of personal consciousness. ‘I know whom I have believed.’ To have deposited one’s eternal welfare in the hands of another is a decision of the mind so definite that it can hardly be confused with anything else. On the deposit of oneself into His saving grace depends one’s eternal destiny. To add or subtract anything from this sole condition of salvation is most perilous.”

G–God’s  R–riches  A–at  C–Christ’s  E–expense.

GRACE! God’s unbelievable, unmerited, unlimited, unbounded, unbridled, uncompromising, unconditional, unmatched, favor toward such undeserving, ungodly folks as us.

Making It Mine

The common denominator among the world’s religions is the uncertainty surrounding our spiritual destination after death.

That is why they unvaryingly insist on doing good works to somehow build up a balance of “spiritual currency” to appease God in the hopes that he’ll let us in.

How sad to live in the land of “ifs” — God has declared “It is finished!” from no less prominent a pulpit than the bloody cross of Christ.

In his paper entitled, “Should We Stop Asking Jesus into Our Hearts?” The Summit Church pastor J.D. Greear commented:

“Salvation is a posture of repentance and faith toward the finished work of Christ in which you transfer the weight of your hopes of heaven off of your own righteousness and onto Jesus Christ. It does begin in a moment, but it persists for the rest of your life. The way to know you made the decision is by the posture you are currently in.”

No Spiritual Homelessness

If ever there was a purpose for Jesus leaving the joys and comforts of Heaven and coming to a cruel and violent Earth, it was this: He wants you to heed His call and follow Him to your true home in glory.

He made the way crystal clear in John 14:1-6: 

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be … I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

How About You?

Where is your spiritual “homebase?” It’s important.

4-1-1

Click here for a fascinating AI-generated audio overview of this essay.