In what are you trusting for salvation?
I’ve been wrestling with this question for a while now, having been asked quite pointedly by God through particular circumstances this past year or two.
Am I trusting in my own intellectual understanding of the gospel message? Or in my Bible reading skills? Or in traditions and sacraments? Or in some assurance from my pastor or church community? Or in my family of origin? Or in my good deeds and generosity? Or that I’m a relatively decent bloke, dad, husband, worker, leader?
What am I ultimately trusting in?
God’s Character, Not Our Performance
By God’s grace, may we each truly come to know — to know that we know — that our salvation is assured as a direct result of God’s unchangeable character and plan, through His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
God’s character and plans are unchanging and completely trustworthy. His character is independent of how we imagine him or our understanding of his nature. His plan of salvation through Jesus is an absolute certainty, independent of our performance, attending the right church, liking the right preacher, or saying the right thing.
That’s not to say that our beliefs and actions don’t matter! Quite the opposite. Our beliefs inform our imagination and understanding of God. Our imagination and understanding inform our relationship with God — and relationship is what it’s all about. And ultimately, our actions reflect an inner reality whether we like it or not.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” — John 17:3
Rock or Sand?
Jesus puts it plainly:
“Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell — and great was its fall!” — Matthew 7:24–27
The question isn’t whether storms will come. They will. The question is what you’ve built your life on — and whether what you’re trusting in can actually hold.