Paul's Passing Thoughts

“Salvation is not a mere mental assent to the death and resurrection of Christ; it is joining Christ in that death and resurrection through the Holy Spirt.”

We live in a day of Christian impotency in regard to living that glorifies God. The glory of megachurches and dynamic multimedia presentations cannot cover for the fact that Christians have no answers for life’s toughest problems. This shouldn’t surprise us because our spiritual forefathers didn’t believe mankind possesses the faculties that comprehend reality itself. Martin Luther considered reason to be man’s foremost deception.

Few Christians understand our Protestant roots, and therefore are confused about its present-day rotten fruits. The assumption is that we still don’t have something right while the source is assumed impeccable. For purposes of this post, the introduction can be boiled down to this: for 500 years, Protestantism has emphasized salvation and not Christian living because Protestantism views salvation as a process, not a finished work. Hence, the goal is to be able to “stand in the judgment” rather than a focus on Christian living, and frankly, Christian loving. For the most part, the laity doesn’t even understand how most Protestant pastors process reality itself.

Christian living is uncharted territory. Don’t be deceived by all the literature proffering a Christian living that is sanctification by justification. Christian living that is salvation in process is a fundamental principle of Protestant thought.

Regardless, the answer is to get busy and reverse the trend. Let’s not worry too much about what we don’t know in regard to Christian living which is not much, but let’s start somewhere and continue to learn. So, if an unsaved person unwittingly comes to us for help, how should that person be guided?

If that person wants to change, they have come to the right place because our wisdom should come from the One who created us. He who created us knows how to fix us. However, keep in mind that the vast majority of Protestant counselors don’t believe that people can be fixed whether they are Christians or not. The use of the word “change” among Protestant counselors is outright deception; Protestant ideology does not endorse people-change in the literal sense. “Change” is really “heart change” which is a mere capacity to SEE reality differently for the purpose of wellbeing, not well-doing that glorifies God. For an example of that, watch this clip very carefully and think about what this “Christian” bestselling author is really saying.

Hence, Protestants point to “saints” in perfect peace as the goal while their own lives and the world around them are burning down, but is that peace from God, or their Gnostic worldview?

So be encouraged; if someone comes to you—you don’t know much, but you at least believe people can change. Now to the subject at hand: how should we counsel an unsaved person?

A good start is to tell the unsaved person that God’s wisdom can change his/her life for the better. In fact, many secular organizations use many wise principles that help people change for the better, and these principles are common to all people because of how creation is wired. But we offer something more: forgiveness in Jesus Christ (Aside: “Christ” is a term for “Messiah”).

You see, a person can stop doing a sin, but unfortunately, they are still accountable for the sin. The fact that they stopped doing it will improve their present life, but they will still be condemned for the act committed. The Bible states this to be the fact because they are still “under law.” The law keeps a record of every violation against it and God will condemn according to those violations accordingly. It is not true that an unsaved person cannot change, they most certainly can, but they are still under condemnation.

Jesus Christ died to end the law. If they believe in Christ, they not only have temporary change for the better, they have forgiveness for every sin they ever committed. What about really, really bad sins? Is the really bad sin in the law? Then it’s taken away. Is it not in the law? Where there is no law there is no sin. What about future sin? Where there is no law there is no sin.

So, if they believe in Christ, they can sin unabated without condemnation? No, because Christ was also resurrected by the Holy Spirit. They are not only believing in Christ’s death, they are believing the old them that was under law also dies with Christ, and is also resurrected with Christ in the “new way of the Spirit.” Instead of temporary change, they can have real change: the old self dies and is resurrected into a new person; now that’s change! Salvation is not a mere mental assent to the death and resurrection of Christ; it is joining Christ in that death and resurrection through the Holy Spirt.

What is the “new way of the Spirit”? Simply stated, the law that formerly condemned the person they were is now the guide to love God and others. In addition, fear of death is not necessary because fear of death has to do with judgment under the law when it formerly condemned us. Sin also uses the condemnation of the law to enslave people because it cannot be used to please God by those who are under its condemnation.

Said another way; we are offering eternal life rather than a more comfortable condemnation. But also, life more abundant in the here and now.

What about future change for the glory of God? Well, you have now gained a brother or sister—that’s a journey that you will now take together. You are now two counselees sharing the mutual experience of God’s instruction and leading by the Holy Spirt who has sealed us until the day of redemption. We know Him because he will never leave us or forsake us. Neither of you know much, but you will learn it to together for the glory of God.

And salvation is not a process, growing in love is a process, and there is no fear in love. Salvation is a settled issue, and Protestantism is not salvation.

paul