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Self
Improvement
Works and Salvation
You would not scramble five
good eggs and one rotten egg and serve the mixture to guests
expecting it to
be acceptable. Even less can you serve up to God a life that has the good
things in it tainted with deeds and thoughts that are rotten
and expect it to
be acceptable to God.
If you wanted to get to
heaven by your good works
then you would have to be perfect
which means
complete obedience to God at all times. But all of us have fallen short of
this! ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Works and Salvation
A leading manufacturing
company developed a new cake mix that required only water to be added. Tests
were run
surveys were made
and the cake mix was found to be of superior quality
to the other mixes available. It tasted good
it was easy to use
and it made a
moist
tender cake. The company spent large sums of money on an advertising
campaign and then released the cake mix to the general market. But few people
bought the new cake mix.
The company then spent more
money on a survey to find out why the cake mix didn’t sell. Based on the
results of this survey
the company recalled the mix
reworked the formula
and
released the revised cake mix. The new cake mix required that one add not only
water
but also an egg. It sold like hot cakes and is now a leading product in
the field. You see
the first cake mix was just too simple to be believable.
People would not accept it. The same is true of salvation by grace. ── Michael
P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Works and Salvation
An old parable says
“A
silly servant who is told to open the door sets his shoulder to it and pushes
with all his might
but the door stirs not
and he cannot enter
use what
strength he may. Another comes with a key and easily unlocks the door and
enters right readily.”
Those who would be saved by
works are pushing at heaven’s gate without result; but faith is the key that
opens the gate at once. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Works and Salvation
Do you recall the last time
you went to a nice restaurant with a friend? Perhaps
after a great meal
the
waiter brought the check
and before you knew it your friend had paid the tab.
Do you remember how you
felt? That you wanted somehow to even the score? Perhaps you vowed to pick up
the tab the next time you went out? These feelings are quite natural. We like
to be independent
not obligated to anyone for anything. For the natural man
the same principle carries over into the way he views religion
for the natural
man tries to earn his way into God’s favor. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Works and Salvation
The last words of the
Buddha
as he was dying
are given as
“And now
O priests
I take my leave of
you; all the constituents of being are transitory; work out your salvation with
diligence.”
As John Noss
the noted
religion scholar explains
“Like Mahavira (founder of Jainism)
the Buddha
showed each disciple how to rely for salvation upon himself
on his own powers
focused upon redemption by spiritual self-discipline. Here was the strictest
sort of humanism in religion.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Works and Salvation
I began to fast twice a
week for thirty-six hours together
prayed many times a day and received the
sacrament every Lord’s Day. I fasted myself almost to death all the forty days
of Lent
during which I made it a point of duty never to go less than three
times a day to public worship
besides seven times a day to my private prayers.
Yet I knew no more that I was to be born a new creature in Christ Jesus than if
I had never been born at all.— George Whitefield
The citizens of Feldkirch
Austria
didn't know what to do. Napoleon's massive army was preparing to
attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town
which
was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned
to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white
flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday
and the people had gathered
in the local church. The pastor rose and said
"Friends
we have been
counting on our own strength
and apparently that has failed. As this is the
day of our Lord's resurrection
let us just ring the bells
have our services
as usual
and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness
and not
the power of God to defend us." The council accepted his plan and the
church bells rang. The enemy
hearing the sudden peal
concluded that the
Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the
service ended
the enemy broke camp and left.
Source Unknown.
[According to a recent
poll] 88% of Catholics and a majority of Presbyterian and Methodist
evangelizers [those who actively try to share their "faith"] believe
that "if people are generally good
or do enough good things for others
during their lives
they will earn a place in heaven."
National &
International Religion Report
August 23
1993.
A total of 36
000 Sadhus
(Hindu holy men) were part of the estimated crowd of 40 million attending the
two month Kumbh Mela festival in India last spring. More than 200 American
Sadhus of the Hari Krishna groups brought millions of dollars worth of Hindu
literature to the festival.
One of our partners in
South India explains the purpose of the ritual bathing in the river
"They come for forgiveness of sins and salvation. Some thousands come
stark naked--some of them rolling on the rough roads for miles
believing the
festering sores on their bodies would earn them salvation...Hundreds have kept
one arm lifted up for years until the arm gets shriveled with dry
gangrene...others have stood on one leg for years
hanging on to a suspended
sling while sleeping...all these are done to appease angry gods."
During the festival
which
takes place in the heat of summer
our Indian Christian partners set up free
medical clinics. About 150 Christian students passed out literature and talked
with pilgrims about the love of Christ. "Some received us with
friendliness
some merely tolerated us
and others ferociously objected to the
spread of Christianity
" wrote our partner. A number of pilgrims accepted
Christ
though circumstances prevented them from taking an open stand at the
Kumbh Mela. But five Hindus
including two Sadhus
were baptized--the ultimate
step of courage for a Hindu.
Partners
published by
Partners International
August 1992
p. 7.
I read about an instant
cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add
water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell -- until
their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that
required only water. Apparently people thought it was too easy. So the company
altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the
mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically.
That story reminds me of
how some people react to the plan of salvation. To them it sounds too easy and
simple to be true
even though the Bible says
"By grace you have been
saved through faith...; it is the gift of God
not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9).
They feel that there is something more they must do
something they must add to
God's "recipe" for salvation. They think they must perform good works
to gain God's favor and earn eternal life. But the Bible is clear -- we are
saved
"not by works of righteousness which we have done
but according to
His mercy" (Titus 3:5). Unlike the cake-mix manufacturer
God has
not changed His "formula" to make salvation more marketable. The
gospel we proclaim must be free of works
even though it may sound too
easy.
R.W.D. Daily Bread
June 2
1992.
7000 Protestant youth from
many denominations were asked whether they agreed with the following
statements:
"The way to be
accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life." More than 60%
agreed.
"God is satisfied if
a person lives the best life he can." Almost 70% agreed.
"The main emphasis of
the gospel is on God's rules for right living." More than half agreed.
Despite the efforts of
evangelists
parachurch ministries and local churches
the percentage of
American adults who are born again Christians is no different now than in 1982
according to a study by the Barna Research Group.
The study found that 34%
of all Americans can be identified as born again--that is
they have made a
personal commitment to Jesus Christ
and say they will go to heaven because
they have confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior.
Among those surveyed
62%
said they had made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important
in their lives today. However
among those who have made a commitment to
Christ
only 55 percent believe they will go to heaven because of accepting Christ
as their personal savior (the basic belief in the "born again"
movement)...Most of those surveyed said they would go to heaven because of
living a good life
or obeying the 10 commandments
or because all people will
go to heaven. Others who said they had made a commitment to Christ said they
were unsure about what will happen to them after they die.
Reported in Inland
Northwest Christian News
March 1990
p. 3.
In one of his sermons
A.C. Dixon told of an incident that took place in Brooklyn
N.Y. A detective
who had been looking for a local citizen finally tracked him down in a
drugstore. As the man began to make his purchase
the officer laid his hand on
the citizen's shoulder and said
"You're under arrest; come with
me!"
Stunned
the man demanded
"What did I do?"
The detective calmly
replied
"You know what you did. You escaped from the Albany penitentiary
several years ago. You went west
got married
and then came back here to live.
We've been watching for you since you returned."
Quietly the man admitted
"That's true
but I was sure you'd never find me. Before you take me in
could we stop by my house so I can talk to my family?"
The officer agreed. When
they got to his home
the man looked at his wife and asked
"Haven't
I been a kind husband and a good father? Haven't I worked hard to make a
living?"
His wife answered
"Of course you have
but why are you asking me these questions?" Her
husband then proceeded to explain what had happened and that he was now under
arrest. He apparently had hoped that his record as an exemplary husband and
father would impress the officer. Even so
he was still an escaped criminal.
Though he was "right" with his family
he was all wrong with the
state of New York.
Source Unknown.