The idea that being saved is the first thing that happens in the Christian Life has its roots in Calvinism. This is now labeled Post Modern Gospel or post modernity and gives credit to The Holy Spirit for our salvation. “Man is helpless to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ without a divine appointment – The Holy Spirit comes into us and enables us to believe” and at that moment we are saved. This is incredibly naive. Jesus gives us a very detailed idea of the work of the Holy Spirit in the age of grace. In John 16:5-16, Jesus gives us insight into The Holy Spirits work and the idea of salvation at the moment of belief is not there, but the idea of The Holy Spirit convicting us of guilt and sin, righteousness and judgment is there.
Post Modernity is, for all practical purposes, Calvinism 2.0, but is not taught as such. What is taught is a muddled mess emphasizing church life with all beliefs accepted about who Jesus was and is today with no understanding of who He is going to be when He comes back. All beliefs are to be accepted without debate. In this culture, teaching and preaching are not used as tools to promote unity of The faith (one faith) or The Blessed Hope (one hope) as Paul describes in Ephesians 4. Instead, emphasizing and promoting The Church is all there is left to do and, of course, cleaning up the mess that this fog has created in our lives and in our churches.
Jesus is many things to many people, but one thing remains the same – from Genesis to Revelation He is The Righteous Judge. “…There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”, Daniel 12;1-2. This is a prophesy of The Second Coming and is not fulfilled until that event. Jesus echoes this prophesy in John 5:28-29, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”
The promise of resurrection comes to all, but The Promise of life in The Kingdom is reserved for those who have been productive for The Kingdom. Man is judged by what was done with what was given to him – The Promise. The Son of Man comes to reward His creatures – not as a worker earning his pay – but as a man pursuing the woman of his dreams. Grace must be understood as the result of a love relationship – not as a free gift without strings.
Salvation is never more than a promise in this mortal life. Man goes from living in The Promise – to living in the Kingdom “on that Day“. The gift of grace is at the moment of conversion when man’s mortal life becomes a spiritual life, begotten by God and serving Him eternally. To see salvation as something to be pursued, focused on, is a complete distortion of God’s Plan of Salvation. That is rebellion against God and that is SIN.
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