Salvation

Today in Bible Study, one of my students wanted to know how they could know they are saved. They love the Lord, they said, but couldn't understand how to be sure they were saved. (This conversation started, BTW, in a workshop I did a coupla weeks ago. I asked people if they were saved, why they thought so, and how they could explain the process to someone else).

Wow. What a conversation ensued! We discussed our thoughts about salvation, and discovered we aren't all as clear as we'd like to be. I, for instance, happen to believe that Christ's shed blood is shed for all, and that it's not dependent on anything I do or don't do. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that I'll get into heaven; that does depend on what I do or don't do -- or does it?

If Christ shed His Blood for the remission of my sins, then nothing more is necessary. If that's the case, doesn't that sort of make me a Universalist? It would, I think, if I believed the salvific process were limited to a discrete point in time. I don't. I don't believe that salvation is an event, or that it means we are automatically saved from sin and therefore we get an express ticket to heaven, as long as we repent of any subsequent sin we may commit.

I believe that Christ's shed blood saves my soul from suffering the consequences of sin. I'm saved from the law which demands my (spiritual) death. That's what Jesus has done for me and for everyone, and that's the beginning of the salvific process. But I have free will. I'm free to accept that salvation or reject it. It's still there, available to me, and not dependent on me, but if I don't want it, it wouldn't be forced upon me. I think some of the confusion comes up in this idea of rejecting or "losing" our salvation. The question is whether our actions could impact our salvation.

I think perhaps more than our actions, our intent impacts our eternal salvation. The student used the example of the self-righteous people who profess to be saved, but whose lives suggest they have not learned to love their neighbors. If they believe with their hearts and confess with their mouths, are they not saved? Don't we all exhibit actions that are less than perfect?

The answer to both questions is a qualified "yes." There is a process of "sanctification" that goes on. That "sanctification" is our growing in Christ, our Christian maturity. We may confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts yet still behave like knuckleheads -- if the salvific process is going on in our lives, the time will come when we examine our behavior, are convicted, and will resolve to do better. This is the process of Christian growth, of sanctification.

I don't believe it's enough to simply confess with my mouth and believe in my heart. I think that belief, for me at least, has to result in some sort of transformative action. Saved from what? To what? How does my salvation change me? It changes me because it strengthens my soul to become ever more aware of my complete lack of merit or ability to enter the Kingdom on my own. The salvific process assures me that, despite who, how, or where I am, it's not where I was yesterday -- it's (prayerfully) a bit closer to the heart of God. Or at least it should be.

At the end of the day, at the end of my time here on earth, I don't think I'm going to be judged absolutely. I think God is going to judge me, not on the curve, but on the Cross. God's gonna look at all the crap I have done and continue to do, but God's still gonna have mercy upon me because Jesus has opened the door to make that possible. Even if I act like an idiot, as long as I'm a bit less of an idiot today than I was yesterday, and I'm the best idiot I can be, I believe God will have mercy on me.

Of course, I won't ever know for sure in this lifetime. I can never say "I'm saved," with any force that approaches absolute-ism, because the salvific process is not completed until I die. And no, I don't believe I can do anything to lose my salvation, but I could choose to reject it. (I think. I'm not really sure about that. But if I have free will, it seems that God would not force me to be saved).

I had a thought. Even though the scientists say it's just chemical activity in the brain, many people -- people of faith and people not of faith -- people who've had near death experiences say they've seen a white light at the time of their "death." Some approached the light and were given the opportunity to return; some did not. Perhaps, at the time of our death, we get a chance to Walk in the Light and to embrace the salvation offered to us, the salvation that will become complete when we leave our body.

That's what I believe about salvation. But there are a lot of different views on salvation. As I study them, mine are definitely closer to those of Orthodox or Catholic understandings of salvation than they are to Protestant understandings. At the end of the day, though, they are all rooted in the power and sacrifice of the Blood of Jesus.

Saved? Yup, by the Blood of Jesus. But it's an active verb; I don't get to stop there. Being saved just means m soul is not automatically condemned to Hell. The process is ongoing. I'm continually BEING saved, over and over again, growing in spirit, and groaning on towards perfection.