‘Doing’ does not save.......... Parables 675

June 27, 2000

Well-known evangelist, D. L. Moody was once asked, “Sir, what must I do to be saved?” Moody replied, “I’m sorry, it’s too late.”

Startled, the man asked, “Too late to be saved?”

Moody said, “No. It’s too late to do something.”

Moody did not know this man, had no idea what his life was like or how much of it was left. However, he did know what a person has to do to be saved.

The first question: saved from what? The man obviously knew that Moody was an evangelist, a person who has something to say about God. He may have known that Moody proclaimed the Gospel or “good news.” What he seemed unsure about was the content of that good news — that God forgives sin and grants eternal life to sinners by grace through faith.

Nearly thirty years ago, sin had me in more trouble than I ever expected or wanted. My life was chaotic; everything needed a miracle. I do not recall asking to be saved, but I knew I needed something and cried out to God.

God knew exactly what I needed. He also knew that I was helpless and unable to do anything to get out of my troubles. I needed to be saved, but first I had to hear the good news. He brought it to me in various ways: I read the Bible, and all sorts of other books. I went to church. Finally, I heard it: Jesus is God; He came to earth and put on human flesh so He could die for my sins; then He rose from the dead and offers eternal life to all who believe.

I believed it and when I did, I knew God forgave me and I belonged to Him. I knew that Jesus had come to live in my heart. He gave me eternal life and saved me from sin.

I remember the first time I read about a man who came to Jesus asking the same question as the man who came to Dr. Moody. He was young, wealthy, and in a position of power. If anyone could do anything to gain the favor of God and earn their salvation, this man could.

Jesus asked him about the commandments. The man said he kept them all. Then Jesus said he lacked one thing; he needed to go and sell all he had and follow Him. The man became very sad and walked away. He wanted eternal life but was not willing to pay that price for it.

Before believing the Gospel, I might have assumed this story meant salvation can be had through generous and sacrificial giving. However, I now see that interpretation contradicts other plainer passages. Jesus must have meant something beyond my initial assumption.

Jesus did tell the man to keep the Law but the New Testament clearly says that salvation does not come through keeping the law. Rather, it shows how the Law lays out God’s high standards and no one keeps it. We fall short and we need to be saved from our failure and sin.

This man claimed that he kept all the commandments but Jesus knew otherwise. By asking him to give up all his possessions, He showed the man that he did not keep the first one: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Instead, this man put money ahead of God. No one can earn salvation by giving their possessions away. The point Jesus makes is that rich folks like their money and even if something could be done to be saved, that man was not willing to do it.

Maybe some people are willing. They have a long list of things they “do for God” yet they miss the most important thing — what God has done for them. As the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Our puny efforts to do something for God go beyond being too little and too late; they insult the Giver. His salvation is a gift that we cannot earn, deserve, buy, find by a quest, or obtain by doing anything. As Moody implied, it is already there — waiting for us to receive it.

Christianity is not for audit .............. Parables 269

May 29, 1991

Summer school at Bible College means cramming one full 3-credit semester into two weeks. Classes are four hours a day with mid-term and final exam on the two Fridays. How long students retain the information is debatable but it is nice to concentrate on one subject at a time and have all afternoon to think about what was taught in the morning.

Sandra took one of the same courses I did. She sat in on all the instructional sessions, learned the same information and took part in every class discussion. However, Sandra didn’t plan to bother with the assignments and was unconcerned about the exams. She was auditing the course rather than taking it for credit.

There are some similarities in taking courses at college and living the Christian life. For example, the Bible tells us to be instructed concerning what we are to believe and know how we should put it into practice. It says: “Love your neighbor as yourself” and also: “Let us not love with words, or tongue; but in actions and in truth.”

In other words, love others: don’t just sit around and talk about loving or restrict love to a feeling but do things that show others they are loved. James 2:15-17 is more explicit: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well, keep warm and fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Jesus was just as stern as James. He said, “Not every one that calls me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Jesus, like James, was not saying our good deeds earn a place in heaven but that genuine, living faith will be accompanied by action. Real believers put their money where their mouth is, that is, they KNOW what they believe and DO the assignments.

Another way Christian living is like taking a college course is that we need to be prepared for examinations. Some of these tests come up without warning in the form of trials, something like a “spot quiz” some teachers like to use. I Peter 1:7 says these trials come so our faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed; they are “faith exams” and we pass them by continuing to trust God in the trial.

God also uses exams to see if we will obey Him. Deuteronomy 8 tells how He led the Israelites forty years in the wilderness, to humble them and to test them, to know what was in their hearts, whether they would keep His commandments, or not. Trust can be passive reliance but more often it is expressed in active obedience.

Of course there are final exams. Christian or not, God will examine every life to see if there has been any deeds resulting from faith in Christ. Those who don’t pass this test must face His wrath. Those who do pass it have already been granted eternal life.

Christians have one more exam. It concerns the sorting out of all they have done in their life. Actions of eternal value are rewarded and those with no eternal value are burned. That prospect of that exam clearly shows that believers cannot audit the Christian life!

Sandra wasn’t too far into the class when she decided to hand in assignments. She didn’t write the exams but expressed how sorry she was to have made that decision. She found herself wishing she had taken the course for credit so she could prove she really knew the material she had been taught. May all of us who sit under the teaching of Jesus Christ have the same desire!