No doubt, you've heard it asked, "Are you saved?" or "When were you saved?" And all to often you'll hear a response like, "I was saved back in '78."
First of all, no one was saved back in '78." Salvation is a gift of God--God alone. No decision a person makes can facilitate salvation. (Please see post entitled "Decision Theology").
Some believe that once a person is saved, that person can never lose their salvation. The second clause in this belief is often contingent upon an erroneous first clause. Let's give the benefit of the doubt and assume a correct assumption of the nature of salvation (again, see "Decision Theology").
The question then must be, "Can a person lose salvation?"
If not, then Christ becomes a disposable need. Use Him once and you're done needing Him. Some will argue that we still need Him to guide and teach us. But I ask, why? If your salvation is sealed and secured why do need guidance. You don't. Essentially, you could do whatever and it wouldn't matter ultimately. Get saved and then become a hateful mass murderer. It's not impossible; it's happened to people before.
One of the greatest theologians of the modern era, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote extensively on the topic in a book entitled "Cheap Grace." The name may give away Bonhoeffer's position.
Consider the verses: 1 Cor. 10:12; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 3:17; Heb. 2:1-3; Heb. 12-19. All attest to the fact that we can fall out of salvation.
How then do we regain our salvation? The LCMS says it this way, "A person can be restored to faith in the same way he or she came to faith in the first place: by repenting of his or her sin and unbelief and trusting completely in the life, death and resurrection of Christ alone for forgiveness and salvation.
Whenever a person does repent and believe, this always takes place by the grace of God alone and by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God's Word in a persons heart."
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Meanwhile because you are obviously very much identified with your current entirely mortal meat body, your entire being is saturated with a hell-deep fear and trembling, because you know that your body is going to disintegrate and die one day--perhaps even in a horrific circumstance.
ReplyDeletePlus if the beatific vision is not true of you now, or in the moments preceding the start of your death/transition process, you are NOT going to go to "heaven".
It must be said that total repentence is not neccesary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We do not even know all of the sins we commit. How then could we possibly repent of them? The "beatific vision" is not dependent on repentence. Were this true then you could easily say that God has predestined all to hell. Faith must be the essential factor.
ReplyDeleteAs for fearing death, death is not the worst case senerio. "What is life, for me it is Christ. To die then is gain." If I am in a horrific accident and I die, then I go to Life; if I survive then I suffer. Only fear of the horrific circumstance should exist.
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