Will good works get you into Heaven, or only bad works keep you out?

May, I ask you a question, “How does one receive salvation, justification, the new birth, and eternal life. Is it—

• By believing in Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31)?
• By repentance (Acts 2:38; 2 Peter 3:9)?
• By baptism (John 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5)?
• By the work of the Spirit (John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 3:6)?
• By declaring with our mouths (Luke 12:8; Romans 10:9)?
• By coming to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 10:26)?
• By works (Romans 2:6, 7; James 2:24)?
• By grace (Acts 15:11; Ephesians 2:8)?
• By His blood (Romans 5:9; Hebrews 9:22)?
• By His righteousness (Romans 5:17; 2 Peter 1:1)?
• By His Cross (Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 2:14)?

Under normal circumstances, can any of these Scriptural ways be eliminated? If so, which ones? Can we be saved without faith? Without God’s grace? Without repentance? (Now, here’s the real test) Without baptism? Without the Holy Spirit?

I would suggest that the wise disciple would make sure all of these points are covered. Yes, and even including water baptism—regardless of what your theology of baptism is, how dare you neglect it? 

Yet, I find an appalling disregard to the urgency of baptism, or a concerted effort by the average parishioner to become fully engaged in the good work of the Church. Sunday school classes are left teacher less, nurseries are poorly attended, and, of course, on and on the list could go.

My question is this? Whatever happened to the good old days, when we were told that works did matter? 

Works, according to Scripture, can either affirm us, or condemn us (Romans 2:5-11; Ephesians 2:10).

For we know, as 2 Corinthians 5:10 reminds us,

"[We] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad," 

Further, we also know that Christ said to John the Revelator,

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done," which definitely describe a future judgment according to man's works. (Revelation 22:12,)

So, works matter. Consider faith as a many sided virtue, part of which is understanding, commitment, and obedience, and all of which is bathed in love.

I say this because to properly exercise faith we must understand what are committed to, and then why we have placed our faith in that something or someone. Faith is therefore commitment, an intelligent commitment in obedience.

Obedience, as well as commitment, implies conformity. We must conform to the requirements of our commitment. If, for instance, we seek employment, and then find it, we commitment to the requirements thereof with the expectation that we will be rewarded at the end of the day or for the period that we have agreed to work. 

That’s faith. Not blind faith, but faith with expectations. Why, the expectations? Well, simply because we trust the one who hired us to pay us when our work is done.

Now, there are many parts of this analogy that can lead us off on a thousand rabbit trails, but the central point is that faith is much broader than a simple mental assent, or to accept as it were a job, then expect to be rewarded for our laziness for not getting the job done.

No, committed faith, saving faith is willing to hold up its end of the bargain. For the child of God, a worker in His vineyard, we must be faithful to expect a reward in the end. 

The rules of engagement are perfectly clear that—

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

Now, that is a pretty stern message to the lazy Christian, who feels that they can just coast into their Heavenly reward without exerting any or hardly any effort at all. And, the truth of the matter is that no one is exempt. 

So, we must all work, for there will come a day, when no man shall work. (John 9:4)

In closing, I would like to ask: Could it be that we need to seek out a new paradigm for salvation in the ultimate sense? Could it be that our salvation is incrementally a process that begins at conversion but continues step by step through out life, and is only completed we are ushered through the Gates of Heaven? That is not to say that if death should suddenly interrupt the process that we would be barred eternally from Heaven; but it is to say that the task does not end with a simple "I do." As in any marriage, we, too, have our responsibilites.

Now, for a brief analogy which I think will be helpful in understand what I have just written in the above paragraph.

I taught at two fine institutions--one, North Central University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the other in North Dakota called Trinity. In both of the schools, each had a student to die before graduation, one in a car accident, and the other with cancer. Neither had completed their course work; however, when graduation time came both were awarded their degrees posthumously. They had been faithful to the best of their abilities right up to the end, and were rewarded as such. Had either of them dropped out or flunked, neither would have received the degree, but since such was not the case, but both granted the degree.

I would suggest that, perhaps God operates similarly. So, as the journey continues; so does our commitment.

Blessings!

JimR_/

Suffering: The positive side . . .

Philippians 3: 10-11 . . .

 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

----0----0----0----

Dear Friends, financial and prayer partners!

Most Christians I know, particularly Pentecostal Christians feel very comfortable with Paul’s assertion that he wants to know Christ and the power of His resurrection; yet, the average Christians balks at wanting to participate in Christ’s sufferings. Suffering for the sake of Christ is not what they signed up for; and so it is easy for most to just slide past that bit about suffering and sacrifice and move on to the next power surge. The next revival. The next miracle. The next celebration. Where ever the power is, you can look for them there. That’s for sure.

Perhaps one of these days I will muster up enough courage to write a book on suffering. Now, there is where the real power is—that is, in suffering.

I say this primarily for one good reason, and that is that I have yet to meet a saint that hasn’t suffered. Think about it. Have you?

Oh, don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to go looking for a chance to suffer, sooner or later suffering will find you. It will come. Perhaps with a painful divorce, or the sudden unexpected death of a child or a spouse. It will come. Now, the question is—not just for you, but for me and everyone else as well—what will our reaction be? The Bible makes it crystal clear that Jesus did not lose his life. Jesus willingly laid down his life; and I would suggest that this is a lesson for us. That is, to embrace suffering.

Jesus says in John 10:17ff:

“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

In other words, His suffering was not without purpose. So, for that reason alone He suffered. There was no other way around it. Suffering was a must for Him. He embraced it.

Now, on a different plane and on a different level, we, too, often times must go through tough times which we can either accept and turn into an advantage for the good, or in the worst case scenarios for the bad.

Think about it this way, is it not true that we are part of His mystical body? If that be the case, then we, too, can use our suffering for the good of the body.

Please understand, however, that I am not advocating suffering for suffering’s sake. There is no value in that. What I am saying, however, is that when we suffer it need not be for nothing. Once again, we must take Romans 8:28-29 to heart to make our hardships work for us. For—

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom. 8:28-29 NIV)

So, the next time suffering comes your way, embrace it as an opportunity for God to conform you into the image of His dear Son, who in His deepest hour of suffering set the example for us. Paul reminds us that —

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together (1 Corinthians 12:26 ESV).

Now, if that is the case—and I believe it is—what better way may we comfort those that suffer than by sharing the consolation of our suffering with them.

How so, you say? May I suggest that you start with love—the example of His love, so that when you suffer loss you use that as a teachable moment to comfort others in their loss.

Let’s just consider the First Ronald McDonald House, as an example—

It all began in Philadelphia in 1974 when 3-year-old Kim Hill, the daughter of Philadelphia Eagles football player Fred Hill and his wife, Fran, was being treated for leukemia at St. Christopher's Hospital For Children.

During Kim's three years of treatment, the Hills often camped out on hospital chairs and benches and ate makeshift meals out of vending machines, while they watched other parents doing the same thing. They learned that many of the families traveled great distances to bring their children to the medical facility but couldn't afford hotel rooms.

The Hills knew that there had to be a solution. Fred rallied the support of his Eagles teammates to raise funds. Through Jim Murray, the Eagles' general manager, the team offered its support to Dr. Audrey Evans, head of the pediatric oncology unit at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Evans dreamed of a comfortable temporary residence for families of children being treated at her hospital.

Murray enlisted Don Tuckerman from the local McDonald's advertising agency, who with the support of McDonald's Regional Manager Ed Rensi, launched the St. Patrick's Day Green Milkshake (now known as the Shamrock Shake) promotion. Funds raised went toward purchasing an old house located near the hospital.

And thus, the first Ronald McDonald House came to be in Philadelphia in 1974 - a "home away from home" for families of ill children. By 1979, 10 more Houses opened. By 1984, local communities founded 60 more Houses (including our House in Albany); then 53 more opened by 1989. Today, more than 250 Ronald McDonald House programs in 26 countries support families around the world - providing comfort to more than 10 million families since 1974.

What a legacy! And, just to think, it was birthed in sorrow.

The journey is ours, together let's make the best of it!

JimR_/

Why I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions . . .

"One Man's Opinion"
A weekly Christian commentary by Jim Roane

Happy New Year! 2015 is just over the horizon, and with it will come all the joys, toils, and challenges that each new year brings. Some will cringe at the though and cling to the sorrows of yesteryear, while others will embrace each new challenge with confidence and hope for a better tomorrow.

This is just human nature, isn't it?

Fortunately, however, the choice is ours, not in particular to what we face, but how we deal with the challenges. For some of us, this will mean issues of health. Cancer is lurking behind every hospital visit, it seems, these days. If not that, then there is always the chance of something else. For me, the challenge was cancer, now it's to get an upper hand on diabetes. For some it will be the annoying phone calls from debt collectors that threaten to string you up to the nearest yardarm. Well, believe it or not, I too have faced bankruptcy, too; but I refuse to cave in and am better off today than ever before.

So, what's the message?

Well, for me it is pure and simple. Trust! Yes, trust. Trust that if God has seen me through yesterday, He will also see me through all of my todays and tomorrows as well. And, He has. That, however, should not come as a surprise.

Why, you say?

For one good reason, I say. It is because He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. And, that includes walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death . . . and it can't get much worst than that.

So, the choice is ours. We can either wallow around in self pity and pessimism, or choose a far better path, that being, of course, a cheerful optimism that God will keep His word.

In line with this, it may surprise some of you that I do not believe in New Year's Resolutions. Nope. They're a waste of time. If you can not make a new resolution each day to make tomorrow count just a little more for the good, then waiting for New Year to roll around will only end up frustrating you. Bad habits are hard to break, and just working on them once a year is no cure.

So, what's my advice for the New Year?

Oh, that is pretty simple. Resolve each day to do the best you can, and tomorrow will take care of itself. So, here's yours for a better tommorrow!

The journey is ours, let's make the best of it!

JimR_/

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