I have never felt this need that many Christians have to be assured that they are saved, that they already have their places reserved in the Kingdom of heaven. It’s counting your chickens before they’re hatched. It’s too static and allows no room for growth or change. I’d rather think of the Christian life as a pilgrimage … a process of coming home to God through all the ups and downs of life. Yet through it all of being embaced by Jesus.
Far more important to me, is the seeking of the Kingdom of God, our true home.
The author of the Book of Hebrews has it rightly – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
The Bible, both the New Testament and the Old is riddled with the language of home, but flooded with the experience of exile.
“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (Hebrews 13:14.)
Every Eucharist is a seeking of the Kingdom as the bread is broken and the wine outpoured to assuage our thirst.
The Biblical paradigm of the man, or woman, of God, is of one who has no soil on which to stand and only the Lord’s unchanging nature to cling to. We see this paradigm embodied again and again from the expulsion of Adam and Eve onwards, in Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, Jeremiah, Ezekiel right through to John the Seer on the Island of Patmos. Home is where the Lord is, which if it means everywhere also means nowhere, for there is no specific place to lay your head that is in itself the fixed and permanent right place as Jesus reminds us.
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Never is this saying of Our Lord than in the Martyrdom of St Stephen in the Acts of the Apostles. We are shown the battered and torn body of Stephen whose earthly exile is dramatically shown forth in the stones that furiously rain down upon him. The message of those stones is that there is no place for him in this world, and no place for those like him.
In his martyrdom Stephen gives us a glimpse of the paradigmatic biblical human being.
It is precisely in this terrible and cruel experience of expulsion that he looks up to heaven, full of the Holy Spirit and sees the Glory of God embracing him. Cast out of the earthly city, he is conformed to Christ, who is his true home. Christ is with him and he is with Christ. In all the riot, confusion, commotion and anger his gaze is described as steadfast. He is able to dwell on the unchanging vision of God.
“Behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56.)
Far more important to me than any feeling that I’m saved, that I’ve arrived, is the awareness that in all my trials and temptations, of which there are many, that I am embraced by God and that I must cling to him, if only to his garment. Not letting go is far more vital than thinking I’m already there. Life is uncertain.
One of my favourite Psalms is 27.
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life , to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
Tower of St Stephen’s Church Launceston, my last Parish where I was the PP.
I am always moved by what you post Malcolm. Your words are those of experience, and in them there is wisdom for those who will hear. I leave it to God to decide my fate, which as as well, as that’s the way it goes. I can’t imagine turning up with a docket saying ‘well, Lord, it says here that I’m saved, so there must be some mistake’.
Let us busy ourselves here doing His work and worshipping Him; for the rest, well, eternity is a long time.
Geoffrey, All this business of thinking oneself saved is a bit egocentric. I’ve found over a long ministry that the Lord sends people into our lives and puts us in situations where he wants us to be. Its one of the reasons I remain an Anglican and can wtiness to him in a church that has become in a sense grounded. However one has to have faith that there is deep water ahead and trust God. Fidelity is an important word in my vocabulary.
That is very true, I found I am limited in my understanding of God. If I break my leg is that good or bad? Would it be better to be whole and be hit by a truck? I thank God for the Good things and the Bad things, I expect I should thank God much, much more for the Bad, for in the bad maybe the gift of wisdom is hidden. I find suffering a gift. Man have freewill, so being killed by a shell on a battlefield may only be an act of man or God who is to know? I knew someone a Jack Steward who dragged three wounded soldiers off a bridge during a mortar attack, he was killed and he was the only child of his mother so she too inside suffered far more then death. The question is who but God can understand? Somethings are beyond evidence, if a father sees a strange child in danger, does he need to measure his worth against an unknown child, is he not more valuable to his wife and children if he is alive? What would his wife think of a husband to gave such an view?
Faith is deep water indeed and Fidelity defines the meaning of all mankind,
Semper Fi
You put your finger on something very important here. To imagine that Christianity is about ‘me’ is very typical of this society. St. James defined true religion, and you and Geoffrey are practising Christianity where others theorise.
So, brother Malcolm, being saved is egocentric eh? Well, the flip side is; Not being saved is suicide. Saved is short for; saved from the fire. A new spirit is given to you, from heaven, one that knows Jesus. Its there for the asking.
But Bosco, how can yoiu be sure that you will remain saved, whatever you do? Are you saying that you are no longer capable of sin, or that whatever sins you may commit in the future will be automatically forgiven, even if you don’t repent of them and try to mend your ways?
Yes, Geoffrey has made a similar point to Bosco. I hope he will reply.
Youre the last to know eh Hamish. Jesus died for our sins. All of them. You need to find a church that teaches that.
I dont see where brother Geoff has adressed me. Id be happy to answer any questions.
St Bosco, It can be egocentric and arrogant, yes.
We are to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. There’s always the danger of falling away. Even St Paul was anxious that having preached to others he might be a castaway.
In 1Corinthians 9: 27 Paul says,
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
That’s a warning to us all. I was saved, I am saved, I will be saved. Take nothing for granted until we stand before the judgement seat of Christ and give an account of our stewardship.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21.
Work out salvation. Its not partial salvation. Once youre saved you strat to work. Who told you it comes in pieces? Either you know Jesus or you dont.
Yes ….. exactly. Once you are saved, then you have to work in God’s service.
I think that any saved person fully understands the fear and trembling – you never know what God will require of you next. c/f Job – I think that his trials and tribulations came as quite a surprise to him.
I don’t understand this partial salvation thing either; Jesus has gone so far, but we’re expected to do the rest. ‘God has saved the top half of me, but my legs are a pair of confounded radicals, which keep leading me into sin – and two to one is a good working majority.’
No …. when Jesus saves, he saves completely and the devil doesn’t get it on the rebound.
The saved wont be judged
Malcolm –
Bosco is right,
or so it seems to me
and I hereby declare such a man
an honour
to the city of Dundee.
I’d say that it is egocentric to *not* think that one is saved; it is egocentric to imagine that there is anything in my stewardship of anything at all that might please God.
In fact, I can say with confidence that if my stewardship has anything to do with anything at all, then I am dead meat and can look forward to an eternity of burning sulphur.
But I know that I am saved.
It is either ‘Christ alone’ or else it is ‘Christ plus something else’.
Knowing that I am saved is the opposite of ‘egocentric’; the starting point of knowing that I am saved is knowing that I’m dead meat if anything of me (such as my stewardship) is needed to get me into heaven.
For example – right now I really ought to be grading exams, but instead I’m fooling about on the internet and participating in a blog discussion. I don’t think God will be pleased with the ease that I allow myself to be distracted.
If I am embraced by God right now, it is only a false peace if he is going to require an account of my stewardship when I eventually depart from this life.
By the way – what do you think of Karl Barth? He has a particularly trivial understanding of Romans, which I enjoyed. I disagreed with the conclusion, but enjoyed the arguments – and found myself very sympathetic. He takes the view that everybody is saved – the difference between Christians and unbelievers is that the Christians understand that God is embracing them – but that Christ died for all (and Barth seems to take this to mean all).
Thanks, i think
St Bosco – you’re absolutely right on this one – and it was intended as a compliment.
Malcolm – what you describe is an abusive relationship. ‘…… I am embraced by God and that I must cling to him, if only to his garment.’ ‘…… Yet through it all of being embaced by Jesus.
The thought that is conjured up is that of a woman (because they more often seem to be the abused rather than the abusers in a relationship) enjoying the embrace of her husband, but never sure if she really is good enough; never sure if the relationship will last – when she finally stands before the ‘judgement seat’, she will be unceremoniously dumped; her ‘stewardship’ was not good enough.
It strikes me that if a church teaches people that their basic relationship with God is an abusive one, then you shouldn’t be too surprised if the priests (who are abused by their God) turn out to be abusers.
Im convinced churches are worthless
St Bosco – I agree.
Well Jock, looks like we have common ground. Ive been a lone voice in here, crying in the wilderness. Its nice to have company. Thanks brother Jock
Bosco – yes, we agree on rather a lot. We don’t agree on the end times stuff – but perhaps our previous encounters show that it’s possible to make far too much out of the differences and overlook the fact that on important vital things we are allies.
When Jesus saves, he saves completely. I really don’t understand Malcolm’s first sentence ‘I have never felt this need that many Christians have to be assured that they are saved’ because, well, if you’re not saved, then you’re heading for an eternity of burning sulphur. Surely it is sane and rational to want assurance that we’re not heading for the lake of fire? Is it really egocentric to imagine that an eternity of burning sulphur is something best avoided?
‘Having believed, you were marked in him with a SEAL, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit GUARANTEEING our inheritance’. (Ephesians chapter 1 somewhere)
Now, I know that linguists can twist language to mean the opposite of the plain meaning of the words – and you can call me old fashioned, but I always thought that a seal was a seal – and especially a seal involving the Holy Spirit was watertight. I always thought that a guarantee, especially when written in the Holy Scriptures by none other than the Apostle Paul, really was a guarantee.
Are we to take it that this ‘guarantee’, given in Scripture is worth less than the sort of guarantee that one gets from an electronics company just before it goes bankrupt?
‘Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.’ (Ephesians 2)
This seems pretty comprehensive to me. ‘You have been saved’ is the perfect tense, a completed action that took place in the past. We are already seated in the heavenly realm, whether we like it or not.
We can be sure that when Jesus saves, the devil doesn’t get us on the rebound.
Malcolm – just catching up with reading this blog after some busy days. Just want to say that this post of yours is wonderful. All the best, S.