The "Test" Of Salvation

[NotUnderLaw]

So here it is

Quote:Friends, in this booklet we have examined the biblical tests of true salvation. Now it is time to receive the grade.

Have you passed the test?

This is nothing to take lightly. This test is pass-fail. You either pass the test or you fail the test.

Do you remember the things we have looked at to see if one indeed has true salvation?
o Have you believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior?
o Do you enjoy fellowship with the Father and with the Son?
o Are you sensitive to sin?
o Do you obey God's Word?
o Do you reject the world?
o Do you eagerly anticipate Christ's return?
o Is there a decreasing pattern of sin in your life?
o Do you suffer rejection because of your faith in Jesus Christ?
o Do you love other believers?
o Does God work in response to your prayers?
o Are you able to discern between truth and error?
o Do you experience in your life the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit?

Friends, put yourself to a difficult, searching, brutally honest examination. Pray over this list that we have gone over and ask God to make this matter clear in your heart and mind. Your eternal destiny is at stake.

First of all, this was not found on a fundy site (well, not an IFB one anyway).

Secondly, the more despairing and brutally honest with ourselves we are, the more likely we are to fail (eg, I don't love other believers as much as I should. I don't pray as much as I could etc etc). Only the self righteous pass this test (each title came with a huge chunk of text accompanying it, which made it really legalistic - especially the stuff about obeying the word).

Thirdly, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Cults pass this with flying colours.

Your thoughts?

I think it is dangerous to base your assurance of a test that is based in what you do.

[co_heir]

I would fail that test with flying colors! My salvation is based on the fact that God has shown me grace because of the finished work of Christ, and made me his child. It has nothing to do with my works of lack thereof.

[pastor's wife]

(03-14-2012 04:46 PM)NotUnderLaw Wrote:  the more despairing and brutally honest with ourselves we are, the more likely we are to fail (eg, I don't love other believers as much as I should. I don't pray as much as I could etc etc). Only the self righteous pass this test.

This.

As you say, an over-scrupulous person could easily fall into despair over this list. These statements are so vague and overreaching that a person with an extra-sensitive conscience could easily say, "No" because he doesn't think he is ENOUGH of any of those things.

And some of them seem especially unfair to young people: it's kind of hard to be rejected for your faith when your parents completely shelter you from everyone else! Also, as mentioned earlier on the blog, young people have a hard time looking forward to Christ's return because they naturally long for things like a marriage and family and ... well, yes, sex.

What about "does God work in response to your prayers?" Isn't "no" an answer to prayer?

And the one about discerning between truth and error seems really sketchy to me. Who decides what is true?

I also really struggled with whether or not the Holy Spirit was evidenced in my life. In my church, the Spirit was greatly downplayed (lest we be like the Pentecostals) so then to be told that you weren't saved unless you "felt" the Spirit was an especially agonizing thought.

I do think most of these questions are based on Bible verses, probably from 1 John, but I too am uncomfortable with checklists about MY behavior that purport to guarantee my salvation. My salvation rests in the hands of Christ.

[Don]

Few things make my blood boil like this.
Mancentered? *check
Presents a weak god in need of his people sanctifying themselves? * Check
Performance based religion? *Check
Does damage to the cause of Christ and the things of God? *You bet your sweet bippy it does.
Ignorant? *One can only hope it is merely ignorance that produces something like this.
Pompous? *and judgmental

So Don, tell us how you really feel. *can't, words would only get in the way of the Good old fashioned Marine Corps nuclear meltdown I would like to express.

[IFB No More]

I do not entirely disagree with this checklist, but I would like to question the context of this article.

First of all, many of the stuff in the checklist is very subjective. What does "loving the world" mean? Is being loud and noisy the only means of correct Christian witness? The writer, in trying to avoid the specifics to avoid being labelled being "legalistic" - has ended up with some very stretchable statements that can end up even more "legalistic".

If I can argue for anything good about the checklist, it contains a lot of statements about the (Biblical) Law. Yet the Law has only three purposes - to show us our sinful nature, to show us our need for Christ and His saving work, and to remind us what we *ought* to be.

In this context when this checklist is aimed at professing Christians, the Law should only be for the defiant - those who "become Christian" - for any reason other than to believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Yes, some people become Christians for the money, some for the company, some for the morality - but none for Christ Himself! And especially those who misuse God's grace as an excuse to sin.

But the Law ought not to be used against the average believer. To do so would be to pull up the tares *together* with the wheat (to use one of Christ's parables). You end up hurting many Christians who struggle daily with sin, who struggle with life's necessities - who desperately need comfort and love from God - and not the merciless letter of the Law.

And so here is the problem with this checklist - to misuse the Law and assume it can somehow hammer the believer to perfect obedience before God. And the belief that a Christian can, and should become *perfect* in *this world*. No wonder self-righteousness abounds in much of Conservative Evangelicalism (including Fundyland)!

[TurningIntoDavid]

(03-14-2012 04:46 PM)NotUnderLaw Wrote:  So here it is
[quote]
o Have you believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Yup.
o Do you enjoy fellowship with the Father and with the Son?
Uh... I think so... When I feel fellowship, I enjoy it...
o Are you sensitive to sin?
Kinda...
o Do you obey God's Word?
Sometimes.
o Do you reject the world?
Nope. I'm pretty sure God doesn't reject the world - in fact, as every Fundy knows, God loves the world. Why should we reject it?
o Do you eagerly anticipate Christ's return?
Sure do.
o Is there a decreasing pattern of sin in your life?
Sometimes.
o Do you suffer rejection because of your faith in Jesus Christ?
All the time. Christians tend to dislike and disown people who have faith that Jesus Christ is literally going to save everybody.
o Do you love other believers?
Sometimes.
o Does God work in response to your prayers?
I like to believe that He does. Sometimes it's hard to believe.
o Are you able to discern between truth and error?
Not always. This test, though, is error...
o Do you experience in your life the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit?
Sometimes.

Friends, put yourself to a difficult, searching, brutally honest examination. Pray over this list that we have gone over and ask God to make this matter clear in your heart and mind. Your eternal destiny is at stake.

I do worry sometimes that my willingness to argue and desire to convince others that God is saving everybody may be a symptom of leftover fundamentalism...

[Bob M]

The check list in my opinion, is typical of most fundy groups. The church of Christ, the pentecostals, the reformed and the fundies all have something similar. But they are all different, focusing on their particular emphases.