Written by Pastor Gardner Saturday, 14 August 2010 13:12

I started the first part of this article with the shocking quote, “There are only two religions in the world.” After hopefully getting your attention, I explained that these two religions were actually systems of religions. There are “do” religions that say you must do something to gain God's approval and earn entrance into heaven and the “done” religion that teaches that Jesus Christ has already “done” everything that is necessary for your salvation.

Anticipating the objection that this is just “my interpretation of the Bible,” I quoted verses from the Bible to let you decide for yourself if the Bible is teaching a “do” or the “done” religion. Here's a continuation of those verses:

 

 

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” John 6:28-29

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28

 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5

 “But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name.” John 1:12

 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” Acts 16:31-32

 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 

Still not convinced? Then let me ask you another question. Do you remember the thief hanging on the cross next to Jesus in Luke 23:39-45? He had lived such a wicked life that he admitted he deserved to die. He hadn't lived up to the list of any “do” religion by any stretch of the imagination. And now he was in big trouble. Even if he wanted to “turn over a new leaf” and start doing the “dos” of a “do” religion he couldn't. He was hanging on a cross! But because he transferred his trust to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Savior of his life, Jesus said to him, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The thief on the cross received eternal life by faith alone in Christ alone!

To those of you who think that it's faith in Christ PLUS something you have to do after you exercise that faith, such as being baptized, the thief on the cross, Jesus' statement, “It is finished,” and the above-cited verses (which are but a sampling of the New Testament teaching on this topic) all clearly refute your claim.

You see, that's what it's really all about. As long as you think you have to do something to please God and earn heaven, you are trusting in yourself. Even if you give a nod to Jesus and say, “Of course, I believe in Jesus. I believe that Jesus died for my sin, but I'm also trusting in my baptism (or fill in the blank from your “to do” list) to save me,” you are still trusting in yourself. But as Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, salvation is not of ourselves. It is by the totally undeserved favor (grace) of God that is offered as a gift to us that is free for the taking. If it has any strings attached to it - if we have to do anything to earn it - then it's not a gift!

The way to accept this free gift and receive Christ as your personal Savior is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 16:31) To believe on someone is different than believing in them. I believe in George Washington. I believe he existed as a person and I know some facts about his life. But I'm not counting on him to do anything for me. I have knowledge about him and I believe that knowledge to be true, but I am not trusting George Washington for anything. The Bible says that even the demons believe in God this way, so we know that's not enough to get you to heaven. (James 2:19)

Believing on Jesus Christ is more than that. To believe on Jesus is to have knowledge about Him, to believe that knowledge to be true, and then to trust Him for your eternal life. In other words, you must know that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth to die in order to pay the penalty for your sin, you must believe that there is nothing you can do to pay for your own sin and that Jesus has already done all that needs to be done by dying on the cross, and then place your trust in Him and what He has done rather than anything you do.

If you've never understood this before, but understand it now, why don't you transfer your trust to Christ alone today? It's the Bible way of salvation.

If you have any questions, or would like a free copy of the book, “done.” please call our church at (419) 399-5061, or email us through our website at www.ebc-paulding.org at the “Contact Us” tab at the top of the page.

God bless.

P.S. Parts of this letter were excerpted from the book, “done.” and used by permission of the author, Cary Schmidt.