Good questions on salvation, church, & forgiveness

[Mike Miller]

A few days ago, the following questions were submitted through the prayer request form on our church's website. I thought the questions were of such a nature that they would be of interest to others.

How does one become "Saved"? I am a spiritual person, not a religous person. I dont' believe in organized religon. Also I have heard I am suppoe to forgive those that wrong me. What happens if I don't and do I need to go to those people who did me wrong even those that apologized and offer my forgiveness?

[Mike Miller]

Thank you for your questions and your honesty. Of course, your questions are short, but the answers are kind of long. I will try to be brief, however, and you can feel free to ask follow-up questions for clarity.

First, how does one become saved? To begin with, let me clarify what being saved means. According to the Bible, we have all violated God's commands and offended him. We have sinned. Because we have sinned against God, and because God is just and good and holy, we must be punished for our sins. The salvation that God offers us freely is the means by which we are rescued from that punishment. So, being saved means having our sins forgiven so that we are no longer under condemnation.

How does that happen? The short answer is that we are saved by God's grace by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin so that He is both divine and human. He is fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect life, keeping every single command of God. He was then put to death on a cross. The physical torture of His death, however, was not the worst part. During His crucifixion, though He was without sin, He suffered all of the wrath of God that our sins deserve. He was our substitute, bearing all the condemnation for our sins in our place. Then, on the third day after His death, He rose physically from the grave and a short time after ascended bodily to heaven where He now governs all creation.

Now, every religion in the world has some concept of salvation (whether they call it salvation or not)--some concept of becoming free from this world and in right relationship with whatever they believe the divine to be (a personal god, a force, or whatever). The one glaring difference between Christianity and every other religioin in the world is the difference between the words "do" and "done." Every other religion teaches that salvation (or whatever they call the ultimate goal) is accomplished by what a person can do. That usually involves some kind of morality, however defined, and often an observance of religious rules and/or rituals. Christianity, however, believes that a person does not "do" anything to gain a right standing with God. Rather, a person must fully trust what Jesus Christ has already "done." We believe that we are hopeless to save ourselves and that Jesus did everything necessary to secure our salvation. We must therefore renounce all effort at saving ourselves and place our trust and hope in the finished work of Christ on the cross. True faith--saving faith--is marked by repentance, or a turning from sin to Jesus. It doesn't mean that we become perfect, but it means that we believe that embracing Jesus with our whole hearts is our only hope. We are saved by grace through faith.

You say that you are a spiritual person, and I think I know what you mean by that. I think you mean that you are not just believing and operating as a purely physical entity--that you acknolwedge the spiritual realm and endeavor to live spiritually (though I do not know exactly how you would define that). You also say that you don't believe in organized religion. I'm assuming you mean that you do not believe an organization is necessary for your salvation and/or your spiritual life. You've probably seen some negative aspects of religious organizations (and maybe had some negative experiences yourself). Though the Bible talks about people who are spiritual, it is clear that there is only one way to be saved, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. Even moral, decent, spiritual people are not saved until they turn to Christ, trusting Him alone for salvation. My hope is that you will consider my words above and place your faith in Jesus.

As far as church goes, like I said, salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Church membership or attendance are not requirements of salvation, nor do they in any way merit salvation. Jesus made it very clear that even very religious people will not go to heaven because they never turned to Him by faith. Moreover, I'm sure there will be saved people in heaven who were not church members. However (and this is a big however), church is very, very important. To begin with, the church is referred to as the body of Christ in the Bible. It is the physical presence of the ministry of Christ in the world. The church is also not just an organization, but the people of God. To love Christ is to love His body and His people. Simply put, we cannot love Christ without loving the church. That's how connected the two are in Scripture. In addition, since the church is His body, if we are disconnected from the body, we are in trouble. What happens to a human body part that become separated (amputated) from the body? It dies. For us to maintain a healthy spiritual life, we must be in the body. The members of the body also care for each other and nurture each other. And in the church, we are fed spiritually by being taught the Bible, we are prayed for, and we are loved. The church is extremely important.

Of course, churches mess up. They are full of imperfect people saved only by the grace of God. Our church, for example, is full of sinners, and its pastor (me) is a sinner. We are not perfect. But we are doing the best we can, loving each other and worshiping God together. It's not about the organization, but it is about Jesus and His people.

Finally, are you supposed to forgive the people that wronged you? Yep. To fail to forgive is to wrong them and sin against God. It's also healthy to forgive. Someone once said that not to forgive is to punish yourself for someone else's sins. Why carry a grudge or hard feelings? That doesn't hurt the other person, but it raises your blood pressure, ruins your appetite, and keeps you up at night. Forgiving is not always easy, though--especially when we've been hurt. But when we are in Christ, He gives us the ability to forgive others. You see, when we turn to Jesus by faith, He places His Spirit within us to comfort us, to strengthen us, and to help us fulfill God's will. Forgiveness is really a supernatural gift that God gives to His people. As He forgives us, we can forgive others.

I hope I have answered your questions sufficiently, but again if not, please feel free to ask follow-up questions.