05/18/2019
Who is ultimately responsible for your salvation? Who do you look to to guide you through faith and into eternity with God? It is so easy to lean on our religion, look to our individual churches, or denominations, and even some trusted persons of faith, to provide us with the truth, but when it comes right down to our faith and salvation we alone have the responsibility for believing, and what we have faith in must be discerned, and determined by us. No other man except the risen Christ can bring us to God. No other spirit than the Holy Spirit can guide us.
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Colossians 2:8 ESV
This verse is a stern warning regarding what we believe. It warns us against hollow belief in philosophies, human tradition, and worldly spirits that can lead us astray, but then comes the real shocker... it warns us of being lead astray from within Christianity itself.
Don’t misread what I am saying here... there are many good and godly people who council us in our Christian faith, and the Church is indeed the bride of Christ, but the final responsibility for our salvation rests on our own discernment, our own revelation of scripture, and by way of our own personal relationship with God, and Jesus Christ. Listen to what Paul says to the Philippians...
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13 ESV
I was born into a Christian family, and much of what I believed in my early years came as a result of my upbringing. I trusted, with little question, in my mother and father when it came to matters of faith. I trusted in the pastors and Sunday school teachers, at the Churches we attended to teach me of our faith, but there came a time when I began to mature as a person, and as a Christian; at this time I started to seek God personally... to ask questions and search for answers. No longer was it alright to accept carte blanch what others said about God and Jesus... I needed to read the Word of God , and step into a personal relationship, and understanding. We all need to come to this point in our faith, and question our religious beliefs before saying to ourselves. “Yes, this is what I believe!” God calls each of us to this moment of decision, He teaches us, and Jesus himself speaks of it...
“Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—”
John 6:43-45 ESV
Sometimes we go through this process of spiritual maturation and conclude that what we have been taught as children regarding faith is exactly what we believe, however sometimes we come to realize that what we have been taught isn’t completely scriptural, or not entirely in accordance with what the Spirit is speaking into us. Then too there are those of us who wander off into the desert for a while seeking truth, and chasing a red herring, only to return to where they had begun, and finally say “This is indeed what I believe!”
The point here is that the journey is an intensely personal one... not a journey of the Christian Faith, the Church, or a church, but of each one of us individually. God calls us to Jesus, and He also teaches us... one at a time.
We hear the knock...
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20 ESV
We recognize the voice...
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27 ESV
We receive Jesus...
“But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
Galatians 3:25-27 ESV
We will seek God all of our lives...
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”
Psalms 63:1-4 ESV
We will individually be judged...
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."”
Matthew 12:36-37 ESV
And we will individually be saved...
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2 ESV
So this is a personal journey from birth, through death, before judgement, and into eternity; it is a personal responsibility as well. When we stand before the throne of judgement we will stand before Jesus alone... no one else... just us. So seek well, and don’t be misled in your faith. Trust only in your own discernment, and seek faith, and this discernment, diligently, and with an intense focus on God through Jesus Christ.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for this personal journey I am on with you, and thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who you sent to purify me, redeem me, and make it possible for me to walk with you. I thank you for this, and for abiding in me, even as Jesus does. Thank you for your Holy Word that instructs me Father, and which helps me discern your truth in my life. Teach me each day of your truth and goodness, and let no false doctrine, regardless of how trivial, corrupt my faith. Open my eyes Lord to your Word, and your truth so that in my fear and trembling I can at last find salvation. Forgive me Father of Grace for those things I have accepted as part of my faith that you did not intend, and forgive those who have taught these same things out of ignorance, or lack of discernment, and understanding. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who has drawn me to Jesus, and taught me of yourself. Praised be your Name, your Son, and your Holy Word, for these are the foundations of my faith. These are the sources of my knowledge, and the way of my journey; it is by them that I seek you with all my heart, soul, and mind. Help me Father so that all glory will rest upon you at my judgement as saved, and in my worship as I sing of your greatness before all of heaven.
Rich Forbes
Note of interest on the term Red Herring:
This term originated from a news story by English journalist William Cobbett, c. 1805, in which he claimed that as a boy he used a red herring (a cured and salted herring) to mislead hounds following a trail; the story served as an extended metaphor for the London press, which had earned Cobbett's ire by publishing false news accounts regarding Napoleon. - wiktionary entry