1. SalvationSalvation – delivering a person from eternal death, that is, from sin and its consequences, and granting him eternal holy life in communion with God. It consists of restoring unity with God, the Source of life.
This connection was dissolved by the Fall of the first people, due to which humanity was damaged by evil - subject to sin, damnation and death. In this damaged, dilapidated state, people are unable to correct themselves, powerless against the sin living in them.
But the Creator, who before creation foresaw the fall of man, out of His boundless love and ineffable mercy, determined in the eternal Council of the Most Holy Trinity to save him, restore him to his dignity and value, revive him to true life, direct him to his destiny.
For the sake of saving people, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Virgin Mary. Having united in Himself the divine and human natures, being true God and true Man, the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished the work of salvation in all its fullness: he preached the doctrine of true life, performed miracles, took upon himself the cross of suffering for all humanity, was crucified and died on the cross , resurrected and became the Leader and Performer of new life for people.
Having no personal sin, Christ took upon Himself the entire lot of humanity expelled from paradise - humanity, to which it was said: “Cursed is the earth for your sake.” He Himself became a Man and, as the Lamb of God, took upon Himself all human sins and became a Sacrifice, redeemed them. Thus, the incarnation on earth of the God-man Jesus Christ opened the way for humanity to overcome sin.
As God, he powerfully crushed the power of the devil, bringing with him from hell to paradise all the righteous held there, starting with Adam himself, and was resurrected. As Man, He revived humanity in Himself, making it capable of a new eternal life in God. Through His life and teaching He instructed believers and provided a model for them to follow. He revived people, brought new, blessed forces into the world.
The Lord opened the way for eternal blissful life to those who believe in Him: He founded His Church, sent down the Holy Spirit and through Him gave the gifts of grace necessary for rebirth, spiritual improvement and to achieve entry into the open eternal Kingdom of Heaven.
Thus, He established the New Covenant of God with people, according to which humanity will live until the Second Coming of Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, took upon Himself the guilt of all people. But only those who believe in Him, who assimilate the salvation of Christ, enjoy this salvation. God does not want people to perish, but many perish without accepting “the love of the truth for their salvation” (2 Thess. 2:10). To achieve salvation, one must know and truly understand the Gospel. You need to believe in God, openly confess your faith and act in accordance with Christ’s commandments: fight sin within yourself, become part of the Church of Christ and participate in its sacraments that revive a person, heal him from sin and help him grow spiritually.
St. Theophan the Recluse writes about salvation:
“God created us and honored us in His image, so that we would live in God. We were in a living union with Him. That was how it was in paradise. The fall of our first parents dissolved this union. But God took pity on us and did not want us to be outside of Him, to remain in falling away, but was pleased to invent a method of reunification, which consists in the fact that the Son of God and God came to earth and became incarnate, and in His person united humanity with the Divine, and through this gave us all the opportunity to unite through Him with God. Those who believe, are baptized and others receive the sacraments, united alive with the Savior, and through Him with God. And this is salvation! Our goal is life in God, but there is no other way to God than the Lord Jesus Christ. There is One God and One Intercessor for God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). Thus, one must believe in Christ the Savior, receive the sacraments, fulfill the commandments and everything that the Holy Church contains and prescribes. He who is with the Church is with the Lord. Be so, without being foolish , and you will be on the saved path.
...The grace of the Holy Spirit for salvation is necessary for us and it alone is powerful to bring about our salvation in us... the grace of the Holy Spirit can only be given and received through the sacraments established by the Lord Himself in the Church by the hands of the apostles.”
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov):
Here is the true teaching on this subject, the teaching of the Holy, Universal Church: Salvation lies in the return of communion with God. This communication was lost by the entire human race through the fall of our forefathers. The entire human race is a category of lost beings. Destruction is the lot of all people, both virtuous and evildoers. We are conceived in lawlessness, born in sin. “I will go down to my son, lamenting to hell,” says the holy Patriarch Jacob about himself and his holy son Joseph, the chaste and beautiful! Not only sinners, but also the righteous of the Old Testament descended into hell at the end of their earthly journey. Such is the power of human good deeds. Such is the price of the virtues of our fallen nature! In order to restore man's communication with God, otherwise, for salvation, atonement was necessary. The redemption of the human race was accomplished not by an angel, not by an archangel, not by any other of the highest, but by limited and created beings - it was accomplished by the infinite God Himself.
Venerable Macarius of Egypt. Spiritual conversations:
. About the kingdom of darkness, that is, sin, and that God alone can take away sin from us and deliver us from slavery to the evil prince
. That the power of the Holy Spirit in the human heart is like fire; also about what we need to discern the thoughts arising in the heart; also about the dead serpent, which Moses nailed to the top of the tree, and served as an image of Christ. This conversation contains two conversations: one of Christ with the evil Satan, and the other of sinners with Satan.
. About the spiritual anointing and glory of Christians and that without Christ it is impossible to be saved or become a partaker of eternal life
. About the treasure of Christians, that is, about Christ and the Holy Spirit, leading them in various ways to achieve perfection
. Christ alone, the true physician of the inner man, can heal the soul and adorn it with the robe of grace
. This conversation teaches that not a single person, if not supported by Christ, is able to overcome the temptations of the evil one, shows what those who desire divine glory for themselves should do; and also teaches that through Adam’s disobedience we fell into slavery to carnal passions, from which we are delivered through the sacrament of the cross; and finally, it shows how great the power of tears and divine fire is
. That it is not any art, not the wealth of this world, but the coming of Christ alone that can heal a person. This same conversation shows the very great affinity of man with God.
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Doctrine of Salvation
Salvation, according to Athanasius, lies not simply in the forgiveness of the sins of the human race, but in delivering the world from death and corruption:
Therefore, that disembodied, incorruptible, immaterial Word of God comes to our region, from which it was not far before, because not a single part of creation remained deprived of Him, but, being with His Father, fills It and the entire universe in all its parts. But he comes, condescending to us with his philanthropy and appearance among us. And seeing that the verbal human race is perishing, that death reigns over people in corruption: noting also that the threat of a crime maintains corruption in us and it would be inappropriate to abolish the law before fulfilling it; noticing the indecency of what had happened, because that which It itself was the creator of was destroyed; noticing the evil nature of people that exceeds all measure, because people gradually increased it to the point of intolerance to their own detriment; noting that all people are guilty of death? He took pity on our race, had mercy on our weakness, condescended to our corruption, did not suffer the possession of death, and so that what was created would not perish and would not be in vain, what His Father did for people,? takes on a body, and a body that is not alien to ours. For he did not just want to be in the body and only wished not to appear. And if he had only wanted to appear, he could have accomplished his Epiphany through another most perfect one. But our body accepts, and not simply, but from the most pure, uncorrupted, unskilled Virgin, a pure body, in no way inviolable to male communication. Being omnipotent and the Creator of the universe, in Virgo he prepares a body for himself as a temple and assimilates it to himself as an instrument, allowing himself to be known in it and inhabiting it. And thus, having borrowed from us a body similar to ours, because we were all guilty of the corruption of death, having put it to death for all, he brings it to the Father. And He does this out of love for mankind so that, on the one hand, since everyone was dying, the law of the corruption of people would be put to an end by the fact that its power was fulfilled on the Lord’s body... and on the other hand, people who had turned into corruption would again return them to incorruption and revive them from death by appropriating the body and the grace of the Resurrection, destroying death in them like stubble with fire.
(Ibid. 8)
Saving the world for St. Afanasia? not a speculative problem, as for Origen, but a matter of life and death. The created world? real, living and therefore precious in the eyes of God; death? such a powerful enemy that it can only be defeated from within, only with its own weapons? death, and, moreover, the death of God himself incarnate. For this reason, the Incarnation of God occurs, by which the power of death is overcome and corruption is destroyed:
The Word knew that corruption could not be stopped in people otherwise than by inevitable death; It was impossible for the Word, as the immortal and Son of the Father, to die. For this very reason, It takes upon itself a body that could die, so that, as a participant in the existing Word over all, It would endure death for all, so that for the sake of the Word dwelling in It it would remain incorruptible, and so that, finally, it would cease to exist in all. corruption by the grace of resurrection. Therefore, the body He took upon Himself to offer to death as a sacrifice and slaughter, free from all filth, was immediately destroyed by this offering of what was similar in all similar ones. For the Word of God, being above all, and offering His temple, His bodily instrument as a redemptive price for all, by His death completely fulfilled what was due, and thus, through such a body coexisting with everyone, the incorruptible Son of God, as it should be, clothed everyone in incorruption by the promise of resurrection. And corruption itself in death no longer has power over people, for the sake of the Word that has taken possession of them through a single body... The human race would have perished if the Lord and Savior of all, the Son of God, had not come to put an end to death.
(Ibid., 9)
Unlike the Neoplatonists, who understood salvation as the achievement of a vision of God, St. Athanasius speaks of adoration, i.e. about achieving an incorruptible state. Deification is possible only through the incarnation of God the Word, who took on flesh so that we could become bearers of the Spirit:
Who wouldn't marvel at this? Or who will not agree that this is truly God’s work? For if the works inherent in the Divinity of the Word were not accomplished through the body, then man would not be deified. And vice versa, if the things inherent in the flesh were not attributed to the Word, then a person would not be completely freed from this, but although, as we said before, he would be freed for a short time, yet sin and corruption would still remain in him, as was the case with people who lived before... Many became holy and pure from all sin: Jeremiah was sanctified from his mother’s womb (Jer. 1:15), John, while still in the womb, “jumped joyfully” at the voice of the Mother of God (Luke 1:44). However, “death reigned from Adam to Moses and over those who did not sin, like the transgression of Adam” (Rom. 5:14). And thus, people nevertheless remained mortal, perishable, accessible to the suffering inherent in nature. Now, since the Word became a man and acquired its own flesh, this no longer concerns the body because of the Word that was in the body, but was destroyed by Him, and people no longer remain sinful and dead according to their passions, but having risen by the power of the Word, remain immortal forever and incorruptible. Therefore, when the flesh is born from the Mother of God Mary, the one who gives being to others is called born, in order to transfer our birth to Him and for us, as one earth, not to depart into the earth, but, united with the Word, which is from heaven, to be from Him raised to heaven. Therefore, not without reason, He also transferred other infirmities of the body to Himself, so that we would no longer be like men, but as members of the Word, and become partakers of eternal life. For we no longer die according to our former existence in Adam, but since our existence and all bodily infirmities have been transferred to the Word, we rise from the earth upon the resolution of the oath for sin by Those who bore the oath (curse) in us and for us. And rightly so. Just as we all who exist from the earth die in Adam, so, having been reborn from above by water and the Spirit, we are all quickened in Christ, because our flesh is no longer, as it were, earthly, but has been brought into identity with the Word by the Word of God Himself, which for our sake became flesh.
(“Against the Arians.” 3, 33)
The teaching about the relationship of God with man and about the salvation of man has different interpretations in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Catholic ecclesiology is imbued with the spirit of jurisprudence; Catholics place emphasis in it on the legal side of these relations, approaching them with the standards of the human community.
Orthodox theologians note the following points of disagreement with Catholics in the doctrine of salvation:
According to Catholic doctrine, a Christian should do good works not only because he needs merit (merita) to obtain a blessed life, but also in order to bring satisfaction (satisfactio) in order to avoid temporal punishments (poenae temporales). Closely related to this is the opinion that, along with ordinary merits, there are supererogatory deeds and merits (merita superrogationis). The totality of these merits, together with meritum Christi, forms the so-called treasury of merit or treasury of good deeds (thesaurus meritorum or operum superrogationis), from which the Church has the right to draw to blot out the sins of her flock. This is where the doctrine of indulgences comes from.
In general terms, the Roman Catholic understanding of the essence of the relationship between God and man is as follows: God, offended by a person’s sin, is angry with him and therefore sends him punishment, therefore, in order to turn God’s anger into mercy, it is necessary to bring satisfaction to God for sin. Salvation here is thought of primarily as deliverance from punishment for sins.
Therefore, in fear of punishment for sins, the laity thought more about punishments and means to avoid them than about eliminating the sin itself. Punishment served not so much to reacquire God the Father as to avoid God the Judge.
The founder of the legal interpretation of the doctrine of the salvation of language is Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), a Roman Catholic saint, the father of Western scholasticism. It was he who introduced the term “satisfaction” (satisfactio) into theology.
In Orthodoxy, salvation is understood primarily as deliverance from sin itself: And he will deliver Israel from all its iniquities (Ps. 129:8); He will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21); For this is our God, deliver us from our iniquities; For that is our God from the deception of the enemy, the world of Ebabel; You freed the human race from incorruption, granting life and incorruption to the world (stichera of Octoechos). Sin introduces corruption, “corruption” into human nature, removes man from God, and encourages man to be at enmity with God. But God does not leave sinful man in His care: “You, being the enemy, have loved me dearly” (canon of Octoechos). From a sinner, God requires not satisfaction for sins, but a change in lifestyle - birth into a new life.
Thus, in Orthodoxy the matter of salvation is conceived in moral terms, while in Roman Catholicism - in legal terms. These are preliminary remarks about two different understandings of the matter of salvation, which should help to better understand what follows.
Roman Catholic teaching on
original sin
According to Roman Catholic teaching, original sin reflected not so much on the nature of man, but on the attitude of God towards man. God took away the supernatural gift of righteousness from him, as a result of which man remained in a state of pure naturalness (status purorum naturalium). According to the figurative expression of Cardinal Bellarmine, the state of man before the Fall differs from the state after the Fall only in the same way as a clothed man differs from an undressed man, since the very nature of fallen man has not changed.
Such a view is alien to Orthodoxy. As the Rev. taught. John of Damascus: “God created man sinless by nature and free by will; sinless not because he was inaccessible to sin, for the Divine alone cannot sin, but because to sin did not depend on his nature, but on his free will "With the assistance of God's grace, he could be and succeed in good; with his free will, with God's permission, he could turn away from good and be in evil." Original sin, the fall of this man who emerged from the hands of the Creator perfect in both soul and body (cf. Gen. 1:3) entailed not only the deprivation of grace, but also the moral corruption of nature, damage to the powers of the soul (cf. Gen. 3:7-13), darkening the image of God in them. Therefore, the Apostle Paul calls, turning to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, to put off their former way of life, the old man, which is being corrupted by the deceitful lusts... and to put on the new man, created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:22- 24). “Destroyed by crime, in the image of God the former, all that exists of corruption (that is, everything that has undergone corruption - D.O.) ... the Wise Creator renews (creates again) ...,” is sung in the first song of the canon of the Nativity of Christ. Inspired words about the sacrament of the new creation of man in Christ are contained in the canon of Holy Saturday: “You who create new things on earth, the sacrament, the graceful adviser to You who gives birth forms the council, in You the magnificent new creation of me.”
Christ’s deliverance of the human race from “corruption” is spoken of in many hymns of the Orthodox Church:
“Therefore (by resurrection) you renewed the decayed human nature, O All-Powerful One.” "We praise you, consumer aphids."
The essence of salvation is that Christ became for the Orthodox followers of His teaching the head (beginning) of a new life, a new Adam, and that they become participants in this new life in Christ. He is the beginning of a new humanity: the firstborn Christ, says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 15:23), He is the firstfruits, the firstborn from the dead, so that He may have primacy in everything (Col. 1:18). This, of course, is not denied by Catholics. But, using the same expressions as Orthodox Christians, they fill them with content that greatly obscures the moral essence of the work of Christ.
Roman Catholic teaching on
satisfying God for sins
The soteriological teaching of Anselm of Canterbury, professed by Catholics, is set out in the essay “Cur Deus homo” (“Why God became man”). As can be seen from the reasoning quoted below, it is focused not on what moral harm sin causes to a person, but on what satisfaction for sin a person must bring to God in order not to be punished. To sin, according to Anselm, means to take from God what belongs: the owner is deprived of what the slave owes him. The sinner must return to God what he has stolen from Him (quod rapuit). Moreover, according to Anselm, what was taken from God must be returned in abundance - compensation for the insult inflicted on God. To clarify, Anselm resorts to the following analogies: one who has caused damage to the health of another will not exhaust his guilt if he only restores his health; he must still compensate for the suffering caused; the one who stole must return more than what he stole (I, 11). Sin cannot be forgiven by the mercy of God without restoring the honor “taken away” from God (ablati honoris).
Absolution without punishment would be tantamount to the absence of order and legality (I, 12). “There is nothing more intolerable in the order of things than that a creature takes away due honor from the Creator and does not return what was taken away... God does not defend anything with greater justice than the honor of His dignity (quam suae dignitatis honorem).” He does not protect it completely, “if he allows it to be taken away from Himself without restoring it and without punishing the one who took it away” (I, 13). And although Anselm admits that man can neither increase nor decrease the honor that belongs to God (I, 15), he builds his entire soteriological system on an analogy with the human relationship between the offender and the insulted. “It is impossible for God to lose His honor (Deum impossibile est honorem suum perdere), therefore either the sinner will voluntarily give what he owes, or God will take from him by force.” Since God takes from a person what should belong to a person, that is, bliss (I, 14), in order to enjoy bliss, a person is required either not to sin or to bring sufficient satisfaction for sins.
This “either-or” alternative is alien to Orthodoxy; One thing is required of a person - holiness, and not because by sin a person offends God’s honor, but because he defiles himself. According to Alselm, “any sin necessarily requires either satisfaction or some kind of punishment” (I, 15). Without these conditions, God may not forgive the sin of the repentant. One cannot think that a sinner can beg God and that God, in His mercy, can forgive a sinner his debt without punishment without receiving proper satisfaction. “It is ridiculous to attribute such mercy to God (derisio est, ut tails misericordia Deo attribuatur), says Anselm. Pardon can be granted only after the debt has been paid in accordance with the extent of the sin” (I, 24).
Anselm of Canterbury and theologians close to him sometimes talk about the sinfulness of human nature, but from this they only draw the conclusion that satisfaction must be brought for sins. Even mentioning in one place the posthumous cleansing of sins in purgatory, Anselm, as is clear from the context, means by this the same satisfaction.
A person’s bringing to God as satisfaction for sin such moral deeds as love, faith, obedience, a “contrite and humble” heart, one’s abilities, etc., according to Anselm, is not enough, since a person is obliged to bring all this to God regardless of what was accomplished sin (I, 20). Jesus Christ brought satisfaction for the human race, giving His life “for the honor of God” (II, 18).
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) takes the same point of view on the issue of satisfying God for sins. Replacing the moral understanding of the matter of salvation with a legal one, the council asserts that in addition to the satisfaction brought by Christ, people themselves must bring satisfaction to God. A holy life is far from what is required for this purpose. One of the canons of this council says: “If anyone were to say that... the best repentance is only a new life, let him be anathema!” (Session XIV, Canon 13).
According to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the satisfaction brought for people to God the Father by Jesus Christ does not always free people from the need to bring additional satisfaction for sins already forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance. “If anyone were to say that God always forgives all punishment along with guilt... let him be anathema” - this is the definition of the Council of Trent (Session XIV, Canon 12).
Roman Catholic theology divides sins into two categories: mortal sins and venial sins. Mortal sins entail eternal punishment in hell. For venial sins, temporary punishments are imposed in purgatory.
God's satisfaction in freeing a practicing Catholic from eternal punishment is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. This death also serves as satisfaction, freeing a person from temporary punishments for sins committed before baptism. Thus, in the sacrament of Baptism, for the sake of the redemptive merits of Jesus Christ, a person is absolved of both all sins and all punishments for them. In the sacrament of Repentance, he must either suffer punishment in purgatory, or bring satisfaction from himself for them to God.
About these additional means of satisfaction, the rules of the Council of Trent say: “If anyone were to say regarding temporary punishment, that God, according to the merits of Christ, is in no way satisfied with punishments sent down by Him and patiently endured by a person, or appointed by a priest, or even imposed ( sinner) on oneself on one’s own initiative, such as: fasting, prayers,
alms and other deeds of piety... let it be anathema" (XIV session, canon 13). It is characteristic that not only deeds of piety, but also prayer, that is, conversation with God, in this canon is regarded as punishment. Get rid of torment in purgatory a person can also through the so-called
indulgences.
The modern Catholic Catechism, adopted in its original version in 1992, which is now the official statement of faith of the Catholic Church, restates the doctrine of Anselm of Canterbury as follows: “Many sins cause harm to one’s neighbor. Every effort must be made to repair the damage; simple justice demands this. sin wounds and weakens both the sinner himself and his relationship with God and others. Absolution in confession removes sin, but does not correct the disorder caused by sin. Having risen from sin, the sinner must do something else; he must offer accordingly satisfaction or propitiation for one's sins."
The basis of the Roman Catholic teaching on satisfaction is based on ideas taken from human relations about justice that ensures social interests. According to the principles of such justice, damages must be compensated, taxes paid, etc. Catholics look at satisfaction as “a means of securing God’s interests” (14). Meanwhile, these concepts do not apply to God and His justice. God, who is rich in mercy, does not protect “His own interests” and does not demand any compensation from the sinner who turns from the way of sin. This was already known to the Old Testament people: “And the wicked,” says the prophet Ezekiel, “if he turns from all his sins that he has committed, and keeps all my statutes and acts lawfully and righteously, he will live and will not die.” All his crimes that he committed will not be remembered to him: in the righteousness that he will do, he will live (Ezek. 18:21-22). The entire book of Job is a denial of the transfer of ideas accepted in human society to the truth of God. A clear indication that God's justice is not like the justice of human relationships is the parable of the workers who received equal rewards for unequal work. And the father did not demand satisfaction from the prodigal son, although he himself asked to take him as a mercenary.
The repentant feeling after confession should not only remain in a person, but also intensify according to the meaning of the words of the final prayer of this sacrament: “give him an image of repentance” and accompany the person throughout his life, since confession is not at all the end of repentance. But deeds arising from the desire to atone for sin - prayers, tears of repentance, penance, according to the Orthodox understanding, are by no means satisfaction. The meaning of all this is moral.
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The rescue(from the Greek “σωτηρία” - deliverance, preservation, healing, salvation, good, happiness) -
1) Providential action aimed at uniting man and God, delivering him from the power of the devil, sin, corruption, mortality, joining him in eternal blissful life in ();
2) activity, incarnate for the sake of the reunification of man and God, him from sin, liberation from slavery to the devil, corruption, mortality; who created, constantly taking care of her as her unchanging Head ();
3) human activity, carried out with the assistance of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, aimed at likening and spiritual unity with Him, joining the eternal blissful life; 4) actions of saints aimed at providing one or another help to sinners.
How interconnected and free are people in salvation?
It is obvious that a child raised in a dysfunctional family, for example, in a family of drug addicts or simply atheists, initially has fewer opportunities to know God than a child from a relatively prosperous Christian family. People influence each other, for example, we see numerous examples in the world around us when one person kills or maims another. Nevertheless, everyone can achieve salvation, because God has given each of us an internal guide—conscience—and calls every person to His Church. “...And from everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, more will be exacted from him” ().
Is it possible that God, by His categoricalness, only pushes people to greater zeal in the matter of salvation, uses severity only as a pedagogical device, but in the end will save everyone?
No, not everyone will be saved. Moreover, we see that quite often the Lord calls people not in a harsh, threatening form, but in a soft form, but when a person does not hear this sublime call, he allows him to reap the fruits of his unbelief through difficult trials and tragic circumstances. People who did not come to their senses during earthly life will reap the fruits corresponding to their lives. One of the consequences of their going to hell will be their personal inability to live up to the standards of God's Kingdom.
Who is more categorical about the possibility of salvation for all people: the Apostles, the holy fathers of previous centuries or modern theologians?
The apostles and holy fathers are more categorical. With rare exceptions, such as, for example, the opinion expressed by the saint, the general view of the holy fathers of the Church was reduced to a literal understanding of the Gospel testimony about the separation of sinners from the righteous at the Last Judgment and the eternity of hellish torment.
Why do they exclude the possibility of repentance at the Last Judgment for an atheist or an inveterate sinner who has seen God in glory? Wouldn't he instantly prefer to enjoy communion with God and enter the Kingdom of God? Won't God help him?
The shortest answer to this question is simple: if a person even has a glimmer of repentance beyond the boundaries of earthly life, then the Lord will help him; it is not for nothing that we call Christ the Savior. It remains to be seen how realistic it will be for an atheist in worldview or life to repent and turn to God after death.
After all, atheists do not consider themselves sinners, do not desire and do not have experience of repentance and communion with God. During earthly life, a person’s deep inner self-determination occurs; Without the experience of repentance in this world, how can an atheist demonstrate it in the next world? If someone does not want to learn to swim, what is the probability that he will learn to swim if the boat crashes? If a person was hiding from the sun, then what would it be like on a sunny beach in the afternoon?
At the Last Judgment, God will appear in the radiance of holiness and the power of grace, for Christians it is desirable and joyful, they have the experience of communion with God and union with God in the Sacraments. Atheists are alienated from God, they have no experience of life in God, for them this energy is painful, because sin and holiness are incompatible. If a person did not seek God, did not know Him, then why can we think that he will be able to accommodate His grace in eternity?
And will atheists see God as the One they desire? Or will His appearance be unbearable for them, just as it is unbearable for a liar to hear the truth about himself?
There are few people in the world who belong to the Church of Christ; will so few people really find the Kingdom of Heaven?
Christ warned about this: “ Enter in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in through it; For strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.” ().
First, let's not forget that all of humanity potentially perished in the Fall.
Secondly, some will be saved through the prayers of the Church.
Thirdly, salvation is a voluntary matter; it is impossible to force someone to love God and their neighbors, but the Kingdom of Heaven can be called the Kingdom of Love.
Let us remember the biblical prototype of salvation given to us by God - Noah’s Ark, in which only 8 people wished to be saved.
Is it permissible within the framework of theology to use the word “salvation” in relation to particular cases of assistance provided by some members of the Church to others?
At the same time, theological practice allows the use of the term “salvation” in a more private sense.
Thus, in the Book of Judges of Israel, Othniel is named the savior, who delivered (with the assistance of God) the Israelites from the power of Husarsafem ().
The text of one of the most common prayers to the Most Holy One contains an appeal to Her, as the Lady, with a request for salvation: Most Holy One, Save us!
In this case, salvation may mean a meaning close to the everyday understanding: deliverance from danger, disaster, illness, death, etc. On the other hand, the meaning attached to the request for salvation may be deeper.
Thus, a request to save is appropriate both in conditions of ordinary everyday danger and in conditions of a threat that arises within the framework of religious life. For example, a believer can ask (or other saints) for salvation from the attacks of the unclean, deliverance from their evil influences.
As part of regular prayers to the Mother of God, a petition for salvation can also be used regarding deliverance from eternal
Appreciation
Part 1: “Greatness, path and practice of salvation”
1. Introduction.
2. The importance of the doctrine of salvation.
3. The greatness of salvation.
4. The path of salvation is the Gospel.
Appreciation.
The material is compiled using:
A course developed by ministers of the Word of Grace Church (Vancouver, Washington);
Books Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem;
Books "How to Shepherd Your Child" by Ted Trip.
Part 1 - “Greatness, path and practice of salvation”
1. Introduction.
1. Get to know each other(introduce yourself and introduce the city).
2. About how it will go this conference (schedule, lunch and questions).
3. This conference is part of the program of the Almaz Church Bible School. The doctrine of salvation is the 6th year of this school. The school course is called “Soteriology”.
« Soteriology"(from Greek) soterion - salvation, deliverance + logos - word, doctrine = doctrine of salvation; part of theology that deals with the question of salvation.
This course consists of two parts:
1 - “Greatness, path and practice of salvation”
2 - “Exploring the Gifts of Salvation”
*** By the way, I invite you to become a student of our School. I'll talk about it in more detail a little later.
4. About the role of the Bible at this conference.
Only the inspired Bible must be explained so that we can understand the way of salvation and gain the right conviction.
Therefore, I will make every effort to reveal the Bible's teaching to you. I will explain specific passages in the context of the Bible.
Therefore, I urge you to be very careful and constantly check whether the doctrine that I will preach is obvious from the Bible.
2. The importance of the doctrine of salvation.
The topic of salvation does not seem to be a popular topic among Christians. In general, conferences are not something popular that many Christians are looking for. This is because seeking the Word of God is not a high value among many Christians. And even more so, participation in a conference dedicated to such a topic does not cause a stir among most believers. Therefore, we observe here some miracle of Ukrainian Christianity when we see people who came to this conference.
And yet the topic of salvation is very important for every true Christian, as well as for every person who has not yet been saved.
The doctrine of salvation is an incredibly important doctrine for a number of reasons:
1. The Bible, first of all, teaches about the way of human salvation. One who correctly understands salvation, understands the Bible, understands God and correctly understands the sacrificial feat of Jesus Christ. This is why Christians must deeply understand the way of salvation and the various elements of salvation.
2. The path of salvation, i.e. gospel, has been perverted since the early years of Christianity , and today it is being perverted in horrific ways. Sects, religions and even Christian churches pervert the Gospel. Therefore, Christians must be deeply taught the Bible's doctrine of salvation. Otherwise they may get confused, etc. the biblical church can go far from the truth of God, and become a dead religion (which we can clearly see in the history of many European countries).
The present:
The gospel preached at the cliché level by many Protestants.
The gospel preached by man-centered Protestants.
The prosperity gospel preached by charismatic churches.
The Gospel preached by Orthodox and Catholics.
The coming future for Ukraine:
Video interview with Billy Graham and Joel Osteen
3. Without a deep understanding of the gospel and strong preaching of the gospel, churches become filled with unregenerate “Christians.” These "Christians" are deceived about their condition and are having a destructive influence on the spiritual life of the church. Churches become weak and uninfluential. And the idea of true Christianity is distorted when it is experienced among “unregenerate Christians” or carnal Christians who do not live the gospel every day.
4. Without a deep understanding of the gospel, it is very difficult for people, even those who grew up in the church, to understand why they are not born again even though they have prayed the prayer of repentance.
Misunderstanding of how a person who knows Christianity well (d.v.r.) can convert:
“Why am I not born again, since I know the gospel and believe in God? I prayed the prayer of repentance. I did this sincerely and even with tears. What can I do? Maybe nothing. Maybe God Himself should save me by some miracle? And what should a person experience at the moment of repentance?
5. Without a deep understanding of the Gospel, Christians cannot be established (strong and calm) in their salvation. They will invariably be bombarded with questions such as:
Am I saved? And what confirms the truth of my salvation?
Can I be saved if I have not yet been baptized?
What will happen to me if Christ comes and I have not yet been baptized, or I have sinned and have not had time to repent, or I am not yet so righteous as to be considered worthy of Christ? What will happen to me?
Panic fear of losing salvation.
A frivolous attitude towards salvation.
6. Without a deep understanding of the Gospel, Christians remain unable to explain the way of salvation to unbelievers, nor do they have the courage to do so. As a result, the church is unable to influence non-believers. The church can only rely on special preachers or special evangelizations, which reduces the evangelization of the church to a minimum. And in personal evangelism, Christians hope for a special occasion when they will be able to convey the gospel.
Thus, conviction of the Bible's doctrine of salvation is incredibly important to the successful Christian life of the individual believer. O and the life of the entire church. Therefore, we need to make every effort to delve deeply into the Bible's teaching on salvation in order to gain biblical conviction on this fundamental issue.
3. The greatness of salvation.
Before we study the way of salvation, let us consider some truths that show the greatness of the plan of salvation. We need to do this because... without understanding the general plan of salvation, we cannot truly understand every truth of salvation.
We need to see the whole picture so that we can understand each part of it individually. Also, without seeing the whole picture, we will not be able to correctly determine the dominant, i.e. what is main in the picture and what is secondary.
It is because of the lack of a common vision that Christians are tempted to think that man is the center of salvation. And the path of salvation is understood as a primitive key to the door to heaven, where everything comes down to the personal benefit of not going to hell.
Aspects that magnify salvation:
1. Salvation was planned in eternity, even before the creation of our world. Therefore, salvation is not just about the individual. The plan of salvation concerns the eternal world of God and has a high meaning for the eternal God.
Salvation comes not cheaply, but with the most expensive price - the blood of the Son of God.
Salvation does not come down to one person and his desires. The salvation of man is inscribed in the picture of God's majestic plan, the scope of which begins before the creation of the world and the end of which never comes, because... the glorification of God and the knowledge of God in the act of salvation will continue forever.
2. This salvation included the research and study of the Old Testament prophets, godly men of God.
These great men of God longed to gain insight into God's great plan of salvation. Those whom the whole world was unworthy of were burning with the passion of realizing God's salvation.
They longed to know this path, because... God's salvation is the pinnacle of all human history. There is nothing more delightful and majestic than the appearance of God in the feat of the cross of Jesus Christ.
3. Angels are eager to penetrate and understand the gospel of salvation, because... for them the gospel contains mysteries and magnificent truths.
1 Peter 1:10-12
4. The possibility of salvation was purchased at an incomprehensibly high price. The price for the possibility of salvation is equal to the death of the Son of God through the most terrifying weapon of murder - the cross.
1 Pet.1:18,19, Isa.53
5. The salvation of a person produces the most radical change in a person. There is nothing even close to producing such a radical change in a person.
6. Salvation concerns not only an individual or even a separate group of people, but extends to the entire universe. We are talking about the complete restoration of the Kingdom of God over the entire creation of the universe!
The victory of Christ on the cross of Calvary
1 Corinthians 15:22-28
Rom.10:13-15 Isa.52:7
Rev.19:1-16
7.The ultimate goal of human salvation lies in the exaltation of the Son of God Jesus Christ. Salvation does not end with the individual! The salvation of a person is an indication of something greater than the person himself and his salvation. The salvation of man points to the manifestation of the majestic glory of God in that salvation.
Result:
God says salvation is:
Not human-centric, i.e. does not concern only one person;
Not focused on satisfying just a few human needs;
It is not aimed only at satisfying the personal grievances, demands or fears of an individual;
It is not just a “key to the door” from hell to heaven.
The Bible states that salvation is:
God-centered;
Reveals the majestic Glory of God;
- “Advances” the great Kingdom of God;
Will shine with great glory in the future;
The salvation of an individual from hell and from his sinful weaknesses is one of the fragments of the great plan of salvation;
A person is maximally transformed when he lives not in the petty illusion of saving him alone, but in the great reality of saving the entire universe for the sake of the manifestation of the Beauty of the Magnificent Glory of God.
4. The path of salvation is the Gospel.
1. Introduction.
Firstly, this is a very important question, because Our whole life depends on a correct understanding of God's path of salvation. This is a matter of life and death, heaven and hell! This is not just some religious position. You cannot make a mistake here, you cannot have one of many options for salvation. We need to know God's only true way of salvation.
Therefore, we must study Scripture and Scripture alone to form an accurate conviction that fully reflects God's truth about salvation.
Secondly, we cannot be content with a shallow or truncated version of the Gospel, because... this is fraught with serious consequences. A shallow or truncated understanding of the gospel is at the root of most of the problems that destroy people's lives and souls.
Third By studying the gospel deeply, we must come to a concise formulation of the way of salvation so that we can remember it well, be able to live the gospel and effectively communicate it to others.
2. Brief statement of the Gospel.
In order to thoroughly understand the depths of the gospel, we first need to look at it in a short form, so that as we study the depths of the gospel, we will clearly understand what they refer to and how they are interconnected.
In this passage, Paul distills the gospel into six truths:
1. Christ died for our sins (v. 3).
2. Christ was buried (v. 4).
3. Christ is risen (v. 4).
4. Christ appeared to the disciples (vv. 5-9).
5. All this happened exactly according to the Scriptures (vv. 3, 4).
6. People are saved by faith in this gospel if their faith has certain characteristics (vv. 1, 2, 10).
However, here the Apostle Paul does not explain the meaning of death, resurrection and faith. In other epistles the apostle spends many chapters explaining the gospel, so that Christians will understand the depth of the gospel and then be able to formulate it briefly, but with a deep understanding of each truth.
For a gospel summary to be effective for salvation, every truth of the gospel must be correctly understood. For example, if a person misunderstands the reasons for the death of Christ, then he essentially does not know the saving Gospel.
So, we have seen a brief summary of the Gospel and we need to answer the question: “WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?”
Let's once again formulate the Gospel briefly, but a little more deeply than Paul did in THIS passage. And we will do this by placing more meaning in the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Gospel - The Way of Salvation:
1. God is majestically holy.
2. Every person is terribly sinful.
3. The wrath of God and the punishment of eternal hell.
4. Man cannot solve the problem of sin, anger and hell.
5. The amazing love of God.
6. The substitutionary and atoning sacrifice of Christ.
7. The means of salvation is saving faith.
We will now move on to an in-depth study of these six gospel truths.
3. Gospel Study.
Each truth of the gospel will be taught in this manner:
1. Study texts that deeply explain a particular gospel truth.
2. Study the example of Jesus' evangelism to illustrate how Christ communicated this truth.
3. Awareness of the consequences of neglecting this truth in evangelizing your heart and the hearts of unsaved sinners.
1st Truth of the Gospel –
God is majestically holy.
1. 1st truth of the Gospel - God is majesticly holy.
1) God is the majestic King and the source of life for everything
Acts 17:24-30
In Acts 17 we see the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostle Paul. It is absolutely clear that Paul began his presentation of the Gospel by teaching the Gentiles about who God is. We can see this in many sermons in the Bible (for example, Jesus preaching the gospel to the rich young man and the Samaritan woman at the well).
God is the majestic Creator of all that exists. Everything owes its appearance and its continuation of life to Him. He is the only Source of life and without Him nothing can live. God is above everything that exists. He determined all the laws of the visible and invisible world. Everything happened, is happening and will happen according to His laws. Nothing exists apart from God. Everything needs God. God naturally causes Him to be admired, revered, and exalted in the hearts of people who truly understand Him.
2) Holiness of God
God is incredibly holy, He is absolutely pure and hates evil! God is so separate from all sin that the angels declare it three times in Isaiah 6. The God of the Bible is so holy that the human mind could never create such a concept of deity. God in His majestic holiness surpasses our ability to know Him completely.
To better understand the Gospel of Christ, we will study one instance of Jesus evangelizing a young rich man.
Mark 10:17-22-34
Mark 10:17,18
Chapter 1 "SERMON ON THE CHARACTER OF GOD"
This rich young man is ripe for our “evangelistic” work. We would “beat” the “decision” out of him in a few minutes, and we would also give him the confidence that he has eternal life. His name would be included in statistical reports, and the story of his conversion would spread throughout the world!
At first, Jesus draws attention not to the young man’s question itself, but to the words with which he greeted Him. The young man called Jesus “Good Teacher.” But our Lord did not accept this compliment. The questioner saw in Jesus only the great Teacher. He did not understand that he was speaking with Christ, the Son of the living God. The Savior used this opportunity to say, in essence, the following: “The goodness of any creation of God (which you consider Me to be) is not worthy of our attention and recognition. Only God is good by nature and essence.” (Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man, Intervarsity Press, 1961, p. 31.
At the beginning of the conversation, Jesus wanted to awaken in him awe of the holiness of God and admiration for Him. Therefore, He used the young man's greeting as an occasion for instruction. Jesus began His sermon by mentioning one of the qualities of God - His infinite holiness, or goodness.
The motives and motivations of the evangelist are in the content of his words. The young man who asked Jesus was primarily concerned with his own needs (how to find the path that leads to eternal life). However, Jesus turned the conversation in a different direction - He began to talk about God and His glory. His entire response was designed to glorify His Father. The young man wanted to find a solution that would help him get rid of the fear of death and condemnation. Jesus sympathized with his fears, but first of all He wanted to lay the foundation by addressing the larger issue. Jesus' answer showed that He had come to glorify Jehovah, to proclaim His name, to tell of His extraordinary goodness. This was the reason for Christ’s coming to earth to save people.
Evangelism is always associated with the need to preach about the qualities of God. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4), He taught her that God is Spirit. When the Apostle Paul addressed the pagans in the Areopagus (Acts 17), he devoted most of his sermon to the qualities of God still unknown to his listeners. He began with a story about God the Creator, the Creator of all things, the Almighty Lord,
who raised Jesus from the dead. Praising God's qualities is a necessary part of our sermons for glorifying God.
Modern sermons are mostly anemic - they are bloodless because they say nothing about the nature of God. Evangelists focus their attention on the individual. Man sinned and lost a great blessing. If a person wants to make up for this huge loss, he must do such and such. But the Gospel of Christ tells a different story. It begins with God and His glory. It tells people that they have offended a holy God, who in no way can turn a blind eye to sin. It reminds sinners that their only hope of salvation lies in receiving the grace and power of this God. The gospel of Christ calls people to seek forgiveness from the Holy Lord.
There is a huge difference between the content of these two Gospels. Sermon about the character of God. One of them is trying to show people the way to heaven, ignoring the Lord of Glory. The other seeks to magnify the God of all grace in the salvation of man. The first mechanically answers the question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, without having sufficient grounds for doing so. Another says:
"Wait a moment. The God to whom we turn is thrice holy; He alone is good, unattainable in His shining holiness! We will return to your question at the right time. But now deny yourself and turn your gaze to the holy God of Scripture. Then you "You will see yourself as you are - a creature rebelling against the infinitely righteous Creator. You are not yet ready to talk about yourself and about eternity."
This does not mean that preaching about the nature of God is isolated from the sinner's quest for salvation. Preaching the attributes of God is essential to the conversion of a person. Without knowledge of God, the sinner does not understand who he has offended, who threatens to destroy him, or who is able to save him. Without a clear idea of God, we cannot address Him as a Person, and the words “personal Savior” become an empty phrase.
Jesus made the rich, self-centered young man look at the One whose holiness caused Isaiah to cry, “Woe is me! I am lost!” (Isa. 6:5). Is this part of Scripture unimportant? If you think so, then you have not comprehended the simplest things about faith. The rich young man came running to Jesus because he realized that he might not inherit eternal life. But he didn't realize exactly why. Who did he insult? He felt no remorse in offending the holy God. He was ready to talk about religion, but he was completely ignorant of God. He sought to know the joy of salvation, but could not admit, like David: “I have sinned against You, You alone, and have done what is evil in Your sight” (Ps. 50:6). He had no knowledge of the Lord.
When Saul, on his way to Damascus, saw a light shining from heaven, a voice asked him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Saul immediately asked, “Who are you?” Who was I chasing? How so? The young man ran to Jesus with the same question, for he had never yet realized the extreme holiness of God.
Sinners are convinced that love is the most important quality of God. But that's not where Jesus started. The Bible talks more about the holiness of God than about His love, perhaps precisely because people readily remember all the qualities of God that are favorable to them, and completely forget about those qualities that disturb or threaten them.
Thousands of sinners believe that God has only one quality - love. Although it is part of the truth, it becomes a lie if it is presented as the complete truth. When you say to a person who knows nothing about the Lord: “God loves you,” what is stored in his memory is approximately the following: “Yes, He loves me and will never hurt me. He loves me; He is merciful, forgiving and kind. So, There's nothing wrong with my soul." The common man knows nothing of the holiness of God; instead of this
he uses a perverted concept of God as an all-encompassing stream of goodness. Modern evangelism reinforces this error by its silence or vagueness of position.
Telling a rebel, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” is a terrible lie. The truth is that God is holy. Therefore, at this moment He is angry with the sinner. The sword of His wrath is already raised over the head of the guilty one and will always torment him if he does not repent and turn to Christ. This plan is not so “wonderful” at all. God's redemptive love for sinners is only in Christ, and the sinner is outside of Christ. The modern approach is diametrically opposed to the one Jesus took when discipling the rich young man. Christ did not allow him to remain in serene ignorance, but aroused fear in him with words about the holiness of God.
Modern people are always ready to mention the name of God, just like that rich young man. But it would be wrong to say that these people are talking about the same God as we are. When we say “God,” we mean “Creator.”
When sinners say “God,” they often mean someone who is dedicated to fulfilling the sacred desires of a person, no matter the cost. And first of all, when we say “God,” we mean “He whose holiness is perfect,” “who does not leave unpunished.” Sinners often think that their “God” is so lenient that he would never punish such wonderful people as they are.
By removing the doctrine of God from the gospel, we are not just making an innocent change of emphasis - we are tearing the heart out of the sermon.”
“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” - asked the religious young man. You must make your request to the Existence. But before you rush to Him, let me warn you. He is so holy that even if one ray of His glory were to shine before your eyes, you would fall prostrate before Him, oppressed by a terrible sense of your own uncleanness. He is a consuming fire, and you must cry out to Him for mercy. Do you think you did Him great honor by “accepting Jesus”? No, it is the holy God who has done you great honor by commanding you to trust in His Son.
When someone devalues the gospel by reducing it to a five-minute infomercial, no one is outraged. If someone insists on preaching about the nature of God, he is a doctrinaire. Clearly something is wrong in our churches.
Not known to God.
A person cannot admit that he is sinful;
Man cannot know the depth of his sinfulness;
Man cannot comprehend the justice of God's punishment;
Man cannot repent;
A person cannot begin to revere God, begin to appreciate Him and love Him more than himself;
Man cannot submit to God's way of salvation as the only one established by God;
A person sees himself and his needs/desires at the center of everything, and sees God as an auxiliary resource near this center;
A Christian cannot grow spiritually;
Man cannot receive salvation;
Christianity “develops” with the help of worldly technologies, superficially.
2nd Truth of the Gospel –
Every person is terribly sinful.
1. 2nd truth of the Gospel - “Every person is a terrible sinner.”
1) The terrible fall of mankind
Thus, the essence of sin is not simply the breaking of certain laws. First of all, the essence of sin is (1) rebellion against God Himself and (2) rejection of the authority of His Word. Thus, a person puts himself in the role of an exalted god, who must be trusted and who must be obeyed! This is the essence of each of our sins - !
Sin is a displacement of God!
Sin is simply the refusal to regard God as God when something else is put in His place. Moreover, the bad thing is not so much that man himself is put in the place of God, but that something else is generally chosen instead of God. Replacing God with some finite object is a sin, no matter what selfless motives may be followed.
This statement is supported by the texts of the Old and New Testaments. The Ten Commandments begin with the command to treat God rightly. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3) is the first prohibition of the law. Likewise, Jesus declared that the first and greatest commandment is this: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30). A proper relationship with God is of paramount importance. The essence of sin is not pride, but idolatry in any form.
It may be asked what determines failure to love, worship, and obey God in the first place. I suppose it's unbelief. Any person who truly believes that God is Who He says He is will give Him His proper place. Everything else is sin. When one's own ideas and perceptions are placed above the revealed Word of God, this entails a refusal to recognize its truth. When a person strives to fulfill his own will, this means
that he considers his values higher than God's. In short, it is the non-recognition of God by God.
Man is a creation of God who needs the Source of his life. Without a connection with God, a person is empty and decays, like a body without life.
Humanity is in a state of terrible sinful rebellion against God, who is the source of all life, the Creator of men, the one who is the very essence of the world. Rebellion against God is the most unnatural, perverted, vile, savage and terrifying action and condition of people.
2) The terrifying nature of every human sin.
The nature of every “sweet”, “intelligent” sin of man is filled with a terrible vile rebellion against the One who created us and who mercifully cares for us!
2. An example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ.
Mark 10:17-22-34
Mark 10:17,18
Excerpts from Walter Chantry's book The Gospel Today. True or altered?
Chapter 2 “PREACHING THE LAW OF GOD”
The Lord continued His instructions by directly quoting the next 5 commandments, although in a different order. Doesn't this seem like a strange answer to the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life"? Of course, Jesus did not believe that the young man could inherit eternal life by keeping the law. “A man is not justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ... for by the works of the law no flesh will be justified” (Gal. 2:16). Why didn't Jesus talk about the gift offered to everyone? Indeed! Why didn't He offer His services as a "personal Savior"? Why such attention to the law?
The law of God is an essential element of preaching the Gospel, since “by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20). The fact that the holy Law of God is absent from modern preaching is perhaps one of the reasons for the failure of modern evangelism.
Only in the light of the law do we begin to see the serpent of sin in our hearts.
After all, what is sin? We find the answer in the Bible, in 1 John. 3:4: “Whoever commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is iniquity.” The word "sin" has no meaning if it is divorced from the righteous Law of God. How could the rich young man understand his sinfulness if he did not understand the law at all? How can modern sinners, being completely ignorant of God's holy Law and its requirements for them, see themselves as lost sinners? The concept of sin is alien to them, since their minds have not accepted the Divine Law.
Usually modern evangelism consists of running to the cross of Christ as quickly as possible. But the cross in itself, without the law, means nothing. The suffering of our Lord appears as a tragic nonsense in the eyes of those who do not have due respect for the perfect commandments. Jesus on the cross satisfied the just demands of the law to preach the Law of God to sinners. If sinners do not understand the requirements of the 10 Commandments, they will not see the meaning of Christ's crucifixion and His shed blood. Not suspecting that the holy Law of God condemns people, a sinner, having learned about the cross, may sympathize with Christ, but there will be no saving faith in his soul. Christ became a propitiation (Rom. 3:25), that is, the wrath of God caused by breaking the law was poured out on Him and not on sinners.
A typical soul-saving booklet asks: “Do you believe that all people are sinners?” If there is any doubt, you back up your words with the quote: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). But there is no definition of sin attached to this. There is hardly a person, including the most inveterate sinners, who would disagree with this general statement. Anyone would answer, “Of course, I am less holy than God. Nobody is perfect.” The rich young man would also agree with this.
Many Christians fear the Law of God like fire; they consider it a useless relic of bygone centuries, the use of which in our time alienates sinners from the grace of God. Our Savior used the law as the primary means of evangelism. He knew that only the preaching of the 10 Commandments could force a sinner to admit his guilt and, therefore, awaken in him a desire to receive the grace of God.
Every true believer would agree with Paul, who related his conversion to knowledge of the law: “I knew no sin except by the law” (Rom. 7:7). It is the Law of God that condemns sin in us. Until a sinner realizes his guilt, he will never beg Christ for mercy. At best, he will ask: “What do I need for eternal life?” A person who understands the law clearly knows that only the grace of God can help him.
Satan skillfully uses a cunning trick to disable the law and prevent lost sinners from coming to Christ. He convinces them that law and love are irreconcilable enemies; they are exactly the opposite. Considering them to be contradictory, people will certainly choose love and reject the law; for no one will dare to despise love. Thus, the evil one declares love independent of the law and contrary to it.
It's amazing how many times this idea is repeated. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (John 14:21). Love cannot be expressed without the dictates of the law, and the law cannot be observed spiritually except from motives of love.
The law does not give the sinner the path that leads to life. The law kills the sinner and shows him the only hope of justification - in the grace of God.
He does this “so that every mouth is stopped, and the whole world becomes guilty before God... for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:19-20).
People do not turn to Christ precisely because they do not feel that they have sinned against the Lord. They are not tormented by their own sinfulness, because they do not know what sin is. They have no concept of sin because the Law of God is not preached to them. It is not enough to merely remark in passing: “all have sinned.” It is necessary to devote a lot of time to this issue. Talk about the 10 Commandments until you “put sinners to death” (Rom. 7:11). Only when you see that your hearers have been wounded by the sword of the law will it be time to pour the balm of the gospel into those wounds. It is the sharp needle of the law that paves the way for the scarlet thread of the Good News. (Samuel Bolton)
When Jesus said, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor,” he was proclaiming the Tenth Commandment in its practical application. Christ used God's words "thou shalt not covet" as a knife to open the festering sore of greed in the soul of this young man. This sin was invisible to the human eye. He did not sparkle with all the colors of the rainbow on the surface, in the behavior of the young man. But greed, with all its dirt and ugliness, ruled his soul. For the first time, the Law of God, like an arrow, pierced the consciousness of this sinner.
The young man loved his wealth more than God and His Son, which is why he turned away from the Lord. But he left with a clear awareness of his sinfulness. He lacked the love of God on which the whole law rests (Matt. 22:40).
As you can see, Jesus did not require the young man to agree with Him that he was less holy than God. Christ pierced him with the sword of the Law of God and inflicted a deep and painful wound on his consciousness. The Savior did not try to convince him that “all have sinned.”
He continued to explain the law to the young man until a deep conviction was imprinted in his soul that he was a rebel rebelling against the holy God, and that his soul, poisoned by greed, had been sold to Satan.
Not wanting to compromise, to sacrifice the truth of the holy Law of God in the name of love, the Lord allowed the young man to leave.
Truly, the 20th century church saw that it was possible to say little and still have converts. They assume that the brevity of our evangelism will save effort, spread the Gospel as widely as possible, and, of course, preserve unity among evangelical Christians. As a result, they succeed in spreading a pale shadow of truth so that the world cannot see it. Four facts, repeated endlessly, bore sinners and weaken the church.
It is time to turn again to the fullness and richness of the Gospel of Christ. We must preach about the holiness of God. We must preach about the eternal Law of God and its practical application. General phrases have the same effect as Jesus' general reference to the law: ignorant, insensitive, self-righteous protest. Oh, if we only learned to preach the moral law as it applies to the inner man! Where are the pulpits from which it is clearly stated that the righteous Law of God makes severe demands on the motives, desires and aspirations of our souls? If you find them, you will also find churches where sinners, conscious of their guilt, are ready to hear about the way to salvation.
3. What happens when the truth about man's sinfulness is not known.
Man does not need forgiveness and salvation;
Man does not focus on God, does not love Him;
A person cannot repent biblically and the prayer of repentance for him acts as a “key to the door of heaven”; the prayer of repentance is a religious rite and nothing more, because there is no reversal of the heart;
A person does not lament and uses Christianity for self-development, self-justification and self-affirmation. Salvation for such a person is only help and self-ennoblement;
A Christian does not grow spiritually because... The gospel doesn't work in him. Such a Christian grows in self-righteousness and self-satisfaction. He cannot understand the beauty of the Savior more deeply and love Him more. He tends to become a superficial lawyer, deceived as to his real condition. Such a Christian will not be able to create the souls of other Christians, because... will be demanding, harsh or indifferent to them;
Man sees God as needing man, running after man. Or he will see God as cruel, because... He punishes unfairly, for practically nothing;
A person will see Christianity, and the whole world, as human-centric. He will see the Gospel in the same way;
The evangelization of such Christians will be weak, because... deprives the gospel of its very essence - salvation from the wrath of God for the sins of people. The evangelization of such Christians can come down to psychological technologies.
3rd Truth of the Gospel –
The wrath of God and the punishment of eternal hell.
1. 3rd truth of the Gospel - The Wrath of God and the punishment of eternal hell.
1) The occurrence of anger is a logical reaction of God.
The difference between the exalted holiness of God and the horrific fallen sin of man is filled by the wrath of God.
The horror of sin evokes God's natural response of wrath.
Justice requires compensation for the damage caused. The glory of God was attacked by vile insults and justice requires an appropriate punishment, namely, plunging the offender into eternal hellish torments without any possibility of liberation from them.
When the Bible talks about salvation, what exactly does it mean that a person must be saved from? Should a person be saved from failure, from weakness, from an uneasy heart or feelings of guilt, from an uncomfortable future? No! People must be saved from the wrath of God! This is exactly what John the Baptist preached about in Matthew 3:7 “When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You generation of vipers!” who told you to flee from the wrath to come?”
From wrath, which realizes the justice of God in that the eternal hopeless torment of the lake of fire is approaching. In hell the wrath of God will be poured out forever!
2) The quality of God's wrath.
Ps.17 is a description of God’s saving action, but the punishment is worse than this
3) The form of the completed outpouring of God's wrath is eternal torment of hell.
Hell is not a place where there will be no God at all! Hell is the place where God's wrath will be poured out forever, without stopping and without hope of liberation from God's wrath.
The punishment of hell is called death in the Bible. And this death is described as ETERNAL, i.e. endless death that never ends. Any person or angel who is condemned to eternal torment will never be able to escape such punishment in any way. The Bible nowhere teaches about purgatory or that those living on earth can influence the fate of the dead.
Matthew 25:30-46
Rev.19:11-20 – Rev.20
2. An example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ.
In this case, Jesus was not talking about wrath and impending eternal punishment. But the reason for this was not that this truth was not in His gospel. The reason for this was that the Jewish youth knew this truth very well, because... was instructed in it from childhood. John the Baptist, in evangelizing the Pharisees, preached about the wrath of God, as we have already read in Scripture.
When communicating with different people, we must find out which truths a person does not understand deeply and explain them more. The gospel is like a diamond with many facets. We must find out which of the facets is not known to man, and it is precisely this that we try to convey to man.
3. What happens when the truth about wrath and hell is not known.
Man cannot take seriously a sin that offends God. Man cannot comprehend the horror of sin and the height of God's holiness;
A person cannot understand the seriousness of his situation. A person may think that nothing terrible will happen because of his sins. A person may think that even hell can be escaped;
A person cannot adequately appreciate the sacrifice of Christ, because... will see it as not so critically necessary;
Those raised in the church may think that it is easiest to accept the Gospel when you have sinned a lot, i.e. lived a worldly life. However, the truths of God's wrath and the approaching hell cannot be known through experience while you are still alive. The truth about wrath and hell is powerful to crush any person raised in the church;
Christians water down the gospel so much that it no longer has the power of a sword to pierce the heart. They turn the God-centered, powerful Gospel into a man-centered, psychologically verified one, thereby making it cloudy, ineffective, and sometimes even false;
Christians do not have the strength, the motive, the courage, the dedication to preach the Gospel to people “in season and out of season”;
Christians and churches become unfruitful and uninfluential;
Christians are beginning to use psychological technology in evangelism and church growth.
4th Truth of the Gospel –
Man cannot solve the problem of sin, anger and hell.
1. 4th truth of the Gospel - The hopelessness of man, because. he cannot solve the problem of sin, the wrath of God and the approaching hell.
When we see (1) the exalted holiness of God and in its light (2) the terrible sinfulness of every person, then from the difference between (1) and (2) we see (3) the furious wrath of God and the approaching punishment.
Such a terrible situation cannot be solved by man, because... a person, permeated with sin as DNA, cannot do anything that could be meaningful to God in order to appease His wrath. Moreover, even if a person became absolutely holy, even then this would not provide forgiveness for his past sins, because... that wouldn't be fair. For the punishment for one sin is eternal death! After just one sin, a person is in hopelessness! No good deeds, no religious rituals can in any way solve the problem of the burning wrath of God.
Based on this, we can only smile or cry when we hear about how people think of finding salvation through “indulgences.”
Having accepted the first three truths of the Gospel, i.e. Having submitted to them, a person begins to experience the 4th truth, namely: his complete hopelessness and fear.
However, a person who does not want to be in this state begins to pervert the truths of the Gospel in order to convince himself that he has hope based on himself or on an incorrect idea of \u200b\u200bGod.
The great tragedy is that many church ministers deceive people and give them false hope, hope that is absolutely not based on the Revelation of God - the Bible. May they repent and begin to preach the pure Bible gospel.
2. An example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ.
Mark 10:21,22
The young man was embarrassed (Strong's Number: 4768 to become gloomy; to be embarrassed) and saddened (Strong's Number: 3076 to embarrass, burden, grieve, grieve, torment, torment, grieve;). He became gloomy and began to be tormented and tormented in sadness, because... I found myself in a state of hopelessness.
Jesus, by His proposal, showed the young man the sinfulness of his heart, which he did not want to give up, his self-righteousness was shattered into pieces, he had no hope left.
3. What happens when the truth about a person’s hopelessness is not known.
Man cannot deeply and truly know the greatness of the holiness of God, the horror of sin, and the seriousness of hell;
Man cannot truly understand the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross;
A person does not have sufficient motivation to seek God and repent;
A half-false or completely false path of salvation is preached;
Christians do not have the courage and courage to preach the gospel to the people around them;
Churches are filled with unregenerate “Christians” who have never experienced the faithful operation of the gospel.
| Obviously, the first part of the Gospel confuses a person! The Gospel, first of all, “kills” a person, i.e. shows his spiritually dead and hopeless state. The gospel does not begin with offering joy or solving problems! The Gospel, first of all, clarifies the most serious problems in which man finds himself. If you skip this part of the Gospel, then the sinful idolater, who worships himself, without being broken, will attach Christ, and His love, and His promises to his idolatry. Jesus successfully evangelized the rich young man and that is why he left Him in a broken state. Jesus did not alienate this man from Himself and salvation, but, on the contrary, brought him closer. That. The Gospel shows that God has two plans for man. Firstly, a terrifyingly terrible plan of punishment, and secondly, a plan of salvation from this approaching punishment. And without understanding the first plan, man will NEVER be able to truly understand God's second plan. So, the good news of God must first break us and only then can we talk about salvation, because... Only after brokenness do we recognize our lost and hopeless state, in which we need a Savior. May God bless us to experience the first part of the Gospel and, if we are already true Christians, to constantly experience this first part so that we will be able to truly experience the second part of the Gospel. Without living the gospel, Christians cannot grow spiritually. May God bless true Christians to preach the Gospel, not excluding its first part! May God give us courage and a deep understanding of the gospel so that we do not deceive lost sinners with a false gospel! |
Now we are ready to move on to the second, no less shocking, part of the Gospel! Now we are ready to understand this second part of the Gospel biblically!
5th Truth of the Gospel –
The amazing love of God.
1. 5th Truth of the Gospel – The Awesome Love of God.
The distance between the majestic holiness of God and the depth of man's sinful fall is filled by the just wrath of God. And man cannot change this terrible situation in any way. But at this moment the radiance of God's love lights up. Parallel to the wrath of God, God fills the gap between God and man with His amazing, gracious love.
It is absolutely obvious that a person cannot truly know the love of God unless he has known the previous truths of the Gospel. This is why all the truths of the Gospel are so important, even those that are most uncomfortable for our narcissistic hearts!
God's love arose for people only on God's initiative, and not because people begged for it or deserved it. God loved people according to the decision of His heart, out of the wonderful nobility of God.
God loved people thanks to:
Your dignity, not the dignity of a person;
Your value, not the value of a person;
His own righteousness, not the righteousness of man;
Your beauty, not the beauty of a person;
Your own initiative, not the initiative of a person;
Your self-sufficiency, and not the need for a person.
God's love is self-sacrificing, self-initiated AGAPE love! Without it, the sinner would not have the opportunity to receive salvation.
John 3:13-22 – evangelization of Jesus
1John 4:8-11
God's love is incredibly amazing! She gave people the only way to salvation! God's love is so sweet that David devoted himself to seeking God, because he believed that “Your mercy is better than life. My lips will praise You” (Ps. 62:4).
“6 Lord! Your mercy reaches to the heavens, Your truth reaches to the clouds!
7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, and Your destinies are like a great abyss! You protect men and animals, O Lord!
8 How precious is Your mercy, O God! The sons of men are at rest in the shadow of Your wings:
9 They are satisfied from the fatness of Your house, and from the flow of Your sweets You give them to drink,
10 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”
What horror did the woman endure when she was caught during adultery and wanted to kill, beating her to death with cobblestones? It was the horror of awareness of sin and awareness of the approaching punishment for sin. However, what sweetness this woman experienced when Jesus showed her love that people were not capable of. Oh, it was an unearthly, supernatural sweetness.
2. Example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ
| Mar.10:21 |
In the evangelization of Nicodemus, Jesus taught about the love of God for people, and in a conversation with the rich young man, He did not speak about it directly, but showed it with Himself!
When evangelizing ourselves or others, we must know all the truths of the gospel, but focus on those that we do not understand.
3. What happens when the truth is about God not known.
Man cannot love God and value Him more than himself;
Man cannot truly admire God and be devoted to Him;
Man cannot be filled with the sweetness of worship, of submission to God;
A person will follow God only for his own sake, i.e. out of fear that the fearful God would punish him;
Man will not be able to overcome the crisis into which the Gospel has led him, i.e. he will stay away from the Gospel;
A person will not be able to truly understand the life, teaching and feat of Christ;
The Christian will not be able to shine with the devotion, love, and beauty of the character of Christ;
A Christian will not be able to overcome the crises into which the Gospel will lead him, i.e. he will stay away from the Gospel;
A Christian will not be able to fervently and boldly preach the Gospel to atheists;
The church will be characterized by demandingness, legalism, or mercy based on a perversion of God's commandments.
The love, mercy, grace of God are not the only ones, but one of the most important, primary pillars on which true Christianity rests. Love is meant to be truly biblical, evangelical, and not humanistic, person-centered.
The love, mercy and grace of the God of the Bible makes Christianity an absolutely unique “religion.” All other religions have no such thing as the grace of God! Christianity is a “religion” that cannot be invented by humans. Christianity is based on the supernatural revelation of God Himself!
6th Truth of the Gospel –
The substitutionary and atoning sacrifice of Christ.
1. 6th truth of the gospel - The substitutionary and atoning sacrifice of Christ.
God's love for people was manifested in the fact that He gave His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of people. God did this because... only this could create a way for people to escape the wrath and punishment of God's justice.
If God simply forgave people, He would sin against His justice, holiness, and truth. But this cannot happen.
Therefore, Jesus came and became a substitutionary sacrifice, i.e. He replaced the sinner and took all the just wrath of God upon Himself. He became an atoning sacrifice, i.e. a sacrifice that redeems sinners from the slavery of sin.
It was Jesus' sacrifice on the cross that made it possible for man to be saved.
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we, having been delivered from sins, might live for righteousness: by His stripes you were healed.
25 For you were like wandering sheep (having no shepherd), but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
(1 Peter 2:24,25)
18 For Christ also suffered once for our sins, the righteous for the unjust, to bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit,
18 But all things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 For God in Christ reconciled the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to [people], and gave us the word of reconciliation.
20 So we are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; On behalf of Christ we ask: be reconciled with God.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin for us to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2 Cor. 5:18-21)
1 Peter 2:24; 3:18
The sacrifice of I. Christ is the only basis of salvation.
Nothing else has the power to give us redemption-salvation.
Not the Eucharist, not our righteousness, not the sacraments...
The horror of Christ's suffering shows how:
1. Holy is God;
2. Man is sinful;
3. The wrath of God is terrible and the punishment of hell is dangerously approaching;
4. Man is unable to solve this problem;
5. God's love for people is great.
The suffering of Christ shows the majestic beauty of God, His nobility and attractiveness. A person who knows the suffering of Christ cannot remain indifferent to Jesus! If he is indifferent, then there is no faith and repentance in this heart.
2. An example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ.
3. What happens when the truth about Christ's sacrifice is not known.
Man has no basis for salvation, no matter how much he believes in all the other truths of the Bible;
Man cannot understand the Bible correctly;
Man cannot understand any of the truths of the Gospel accurately or deeply;
A person will fall into the religion of works, on the basis of which he thinks to deserve salvation;
Man will remain under the curse of the law and under the wrath of God;
The whole “Christianity” of such a person will be perverted and pagan;
A person will not be able to love God, because... will not be able to understand God's love for him;
Without understanding the sacrifice of Christ and without love for Jesus there is NO CHRISTIANITY! NO CHRISTIANITY!!!
7th Truth of the Gospel –
The means of salvation is saving faith.
1. 7th truth of the Gospel - The means of salvation is saving faith.
1) The means of salvation is faith.
Summary of gospel truths learned:
Example: a dying man in the desert finds a vessel with life-giving moisture, but he can only drink it with the help of a cane. The life-giving moisture is God and the sacrifice of Christ. The cane is the faith with which life-giving moisture saves a dying person from thirst.
15 We are by nature Jews, and not sinners of the Gentiles;
16 However, knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; For by the works of the law no flesh will be justified.
(Gal.2:15,16)
9 Finally attaining through your faith the salvation of souls.
21 So is the law contrary to the promises of God? No way! For if a law had been given that could give life, then true righteousness would have come from the law;
22 But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, so that the promise might be given to those who believe through faith in Jesus Christ.
23 But before the coming of faith, we were confined under the guard of the law, until [the time] it was necessary to open ourselves to faith.
24 Therefore the law was our guide to Christ, that we might be justified by faith;
25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under [the guidance of] a teacher.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus;
(Gal.3:21-26)
2) Characteristics of saving, biblical faith.
Not every faith saves, because... Jacob teaches:
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? can this faith save him?
17 Likewise, if faith does not have works, it is dead in itself.
19 You believe that God is one: you do well; and the demons believe and tremble.
20 But do you want to know, O unfounded man, that faith without works is dead?
22 Do you see that faith worked together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
(James 2:14,17,19,20,22)
Only faith, which has specific characteristics, saves. Namely:
1. Personal reverent/worshipful attitude towards Jesus.
For it is necessary to believe not in the formula, but in the Person.
“For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
2. Personal conviction on every point of the gospel.
“After John was betrayed, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
and saying that the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14,15)
3. Repentance before God in prayer, confession of faith.
“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,
For with the heart they believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth they confess unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:9,10)
4. Acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, conversion, repentance, commitment to live righteously.
1 My children! I write this to you so that you will not sin; and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the [sins] of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 Whoever says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 But if anyone keeps His word, in him is truly the love of God perfected: by this we know that we are in Him.
(1 John 2:1-5)
8 For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God:
9 Not from works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in.
2. An example of the evangelization of Jesus Christ.
Excerpts from Walter Chantry's book The Gospel Today. True or altered?
Chapter 3 “PREACHING REPENTANCE BEFORE GOD”
Jesus prepared the heart of the rich young man to receive the gospel correctly. He reminded him of the Law of God and showed him what the specific application was
this law in his life. Now His listener was ready to learn what to do to gain eternal life. He had to repent and believe.
By insisting that the rich young man sell everything he had and give it to the poor, the Lord was pointing to a specific sin - greed - in his heart. But this test, measuring the depth of his greed, was not chosen by chance. It served to measure the depth of the desire for wealth: the Gospel demanded that he renounce his wealth. He had to turn away from the "golden god" in order to gain wealth in heaven.
This is the essence of true repentance. The New Testament word translated "repentance" means "change of mind." To be saved, a greedy person must turn away from his all-consuming passion for wealth.
Jesus demanded that the rich young man rethink his priorities, rebel against his own philosophy of life, and reject the idol that his soul served.
We are already accustomed to hearing the words “accept Jesus as your personal Savior,” a formula that you will not find in Scripture. It has become an empty phrase. Perhaps these words are precious to a Christian. But they are completely unsuitable for showing the sinner the path to eternal life. They completely ignore such an essential element of the Gospel as repentance. This necessary element of the preaching of the Gospel is gradually disappearing from the pulpits of evangelical churches, although the New Testament is full of references to it.
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus said that “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). When Jesus met the woman at the well, he told her to renounce adultery. Jesus met Zacchaeus and forced him to turn from thievery to philanthropy. Now Christ tells the young rich man: “Turn from your passion for wealth! Repent!”
The apostles preached the same truth. Being closest to Christ and understanding His approach to evangelism, they “went out and preached repentance” (Mark 6:12). On the Day of Pentecost, Peter exhorted his listeners: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Preaching in the temple after healing the lame man, he spoke about the same thing: “Repent therefore and be converted, so that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Peter was carrying out the commission given to him by our Lord. The story of this mission can be found in Ev. Luke 24:46-47. This is the only place where it is said about the doctrinal content of our sermons. Jesus insists that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Paul repelled the attacks of the Areopagus philosophers with the words: “God now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). One can hardly call the call of sinners to repentance an optional part of the apostolic preaching. Simply talking about “accepting a personal Savior” is missing the point.
In Ephesus, the Apostle Paul went from house to house, “proclaiming to the Jews and Greeks repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” And before Agrippa, Paul said that his mission was “to open the eyes of them (the Gentiles), so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, and through faith in Me they may receive forgiveness of sins and a lot with those who are sanctified” (Acts 26:18 ). The Apostle Paul preached to the pagans “that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance” (Acts 26:20).
Today we are quite right in telling people to confess their sins and receive forgiveness. But evangelists and pastors forget to call sinners to repentance. Consequently, lost souls believe that they can continue to live their old lives by “adding” Christ to it as a personal insurance policy against falling into
hell after death. Riches of earth and riches of heaven: who would refuse to have both! The pleasures of sin and the joys of eternity are not a bad deal! Sinners are no longer sad, like the rich young man, that in order to gain eternal life they must turn away from sin. But this is an integral part of the gospel promises. Scripture everywhere brings together repentance and forgiveness of sins (see Acts 3:19, Luke 24:47, Acts 26:18, already quoted). Repentance is necessary for forgiveness.
It is not enough to just confess your sin. A person's heart must be willing to turn from their former life of sin and put on righteousness. No man can serve both God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). God will not save a single person who continues to serve Mammon. Admitting “I sinned by loving wealth,” while continuing to serve this wealth with pleasure, is not repentance. To gain salvation, the young man had to not only admit his sin, but also renounce it.
“He who conceals his crimes will not prosper; but he who confesses and forsakes them will receive mercy” (Prov. 28:13). Although sorrowful confession is an essential part of repentance, it is not all repentance. A change of mind leading to a decisive renunciation of sin is the soul and heart of true repentance.
However, it is not at all surprising that so little is said about repentance today. How can a person turn to God Whom he does not know? How can a sinner turn away from sin which he does not see, since the law of God is unknown to him?
They are afraid of the thought of possible death. But they are not upset that they have offended the holy God. They look at sin as an inevitable mistake of creatures who cannot help themselves.
Evangelists must use the moral law to bring out the glory of an offended God. Then the sinner will be ready to cry - not only because he sees a threat to his safety, but because he is guilty of treason against the King of kings. “And they will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and will mourn for Him” (Zech. 12:10).
Who was to blame? Who doomed You to death, Lord?
Alas, I was the traitor, only I, the Lord!
More than once in vanity have I denied You, Lord,
And the nails on Your cross are my sins, Lord!
Johann Hermann
The law must point a person to his specific sins. It must be applied spiritually to reveal hidden crimes. Then and only then will the sinner know what exactly he must turn away from in order to achieve salvation.
No doubt the rich young man would have enthusiastically accepted the modern version of the Gospel. Without realizing the need for repentance, he would gladly accept Jesus' help to get to heaven. Of course, he would admit that he is not worthy of the glory of God (although he would mean something completely different than the Apostle Paul did in Romans 3:10-18). Of course, he would accept the gift of eternal life, which does not oblige him to anything. But he would not free his hands from filthy wealth to receive the righteous Son of God. The obstacle on his way were the words: “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor.” He was not willing to do this to gain eternal life. He wanted to accept Christ. He ran towards Him with all his might. But he does not dare to renounce mammon.
The churches are filled with people who call themselves Christians but have never heard that Jesus demands repentance from those who seek eternal life. People are eager to “accept Jesus as their personal Savior,” without giving up anything. The preacher never told them that treasures in heaven could be acquired only on one condition - repentance. Therefore modern "converts" often remain as worldly after their "decision" as before; for their decision was wrong. The greedy still cling to their wealth and pleasures. Welfare and pleasure, as before, are their idols.
Often the crowds that followed Christ thinned out when He insisted that “anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). He didn't talk about abundant life or "victorious" giants of faith. He demanded that EVERYONE who wanted to be His disciple renounce EVERYTHING. The young rich man had a choice: either turn away from earthly riches for the sake of heavenly ones, or remain with his earthly riches and perish. He had to say goodbye either to his sin or to the Savior. We have no right to lower Jesus' requirements for those who want to enter His Kingdom.
Christ did not invent a new Gospel specifically for the twentieth century. But the sad truth is that evangelical missionaries, churches and literature have unconsciously bypassed the teaching of repentance and replaced it with the demand
"mournful confession" This cornerstone, irreplaceable stone of the gospel has been forgotten. If “the first principles of the doctrine of Christ” (Heb. 6:1) are rejected, what state will their souls be in at the end? No wonder evangelism is ineffective! The church has good reason to be concerned. She does not preach the Gospel of Christ!
Chapter 4 “SERMON ABOUT FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD”
But Christ demanded from the rich young man faith in Himself and repentance - renunciation of the dead works of sin.
This “conscious” young man had his own philosophy of life, where wealth was located very high on the scale of values. His thoughts were focused on the desire for wealth and admiration for it. His love concentrated on one object - wealth. His will chose any path that would allow him to increase and preserve his earthly possessions. Calling the young rich man to repentance, the Lord forced him to renounce his philosophy of life. He had to tear his thoughts, feelings and will away from earthly riches, otherwise he would not take possession of the treasures in heaven.
The Savior addresses the lawbreaker: “Come. Believe in Me. Give Me your mind, your love, your obedience!”
Again, some confusing, erroneous ideas about faith need to be cleared up. How could the young man accept the Savior? Only by following Jesus: “Learn from Me, imitate Me, obey Me. You called Me “Teacher”. Well, now act like My disciple and follower. I don’t want you to acknowledge Me as Teacher only in words. Come and follow me". Jesus asked in Heb. Luke 6:46: “Why do you call Me, “Lord!” Lord!" and do not do what I say?
This call of Jesus is contrary to modern evangelism. Too often modern sermons imply that Jesus is our personal Savior, ready to deliver us from all troubles and dangers. He is depicted standing ready to rush to the aid of anyone who will allow Him to be their Savior. But what the preachers don't say is that He is the Master to be followed, the Lord to be obeyed. Scripture is clear about the need to follow the Lord as a teacher. The narrow gate is located at the beginning of the narrow path to eternal life. This is not a supplement for more energetic believers.
However, He never offered help or salvation to those who did not want to follow Him.
The sinner must know that Jesus is not the Savior of any man who refuses to bow before Him as Lord.
Christ knew nothing of the fabrication of the people of the 20th century that it was not necessary to accept Jesus as Lord. For Him, this is not a second step that provides additional blessings, not essential to getting to heaven. The modified gospel of today deceives people into believing that Jesus will gladly save even those who refuse to follow Him as Lord. This is simply not true! Jesus' call to salvation is: "Come, follow Me!"
Recognizing in practice the Lordship of Jesus, submitting to His commandments, following Him is the very essence of faith in salvation. Only those who “confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9) will be saved. “Believe” and “obey” are such similar words that they are used interchangeably in the New Testament. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son (English translation - “he who does not obey the Son”) will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36). To believe is to obey. Without obedience you will not see life! If you do not bow before the scepter of Christ, you will not receive the benefits of His sacrifice. This is what Jesus said to the rich young man.
This young man sincerely desired to inherit eternal life and would gladly “invite Jesus into his heart” to receive this gift. But Jesus did not wait for the young man to invite Him to enter his heart - He Himself offered the conditions:
"I will give you eternal life if you will come and follow Me. Become My servant. Submit your mind to My teaching, for I am a great Prophet. Submit your will to My commandments, for I am your King. Only on these terms do I offer salvation and life."
If Jesus had been content with the young man's mental agreement that He was his Savior, the New Testament would have been a different book. Firstly, the young man would leave happy. If Jesus wanted to become the personal Savior of someone who does not acknowledge Him as Lord, John would not have written: “If anyone says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2). :4) If He had offered the rich young man treasures in heaven without requiring him to follow Him, James would never have written: “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).
The “eternal life” and “treasures in heaven” that the young man craved were only part of the salvation for which Jesus came to earth. It was prophesied: “He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Salvation is about deliverance from sin, not merely from annihilation or eternal poverty. Jesus demanded that the young man submit to Him as Lord. Then he would be freed from the power of sin. Faith is not just a nod of the head in response to a series of statements. This is following Christ.
How strange such a sermon would seem to modern people! They are used to talking about accepting Jesus, His salvation and help. But He also requires us to submit to His rules, to submit to His authority, to worship Him reverently as Lord. Your friends tend to think that following Jesus is the icing on the cake. What would they think if you, like Jesus, insisted that adoration of Christ as the absolute Monarch is the basis necessary to enter the Kingdom of God?
If your message is as simple as the words of Jesus, you will probably find that many "evangelical" Christians will frown when they listen to you.
“You complicate the truth and condemn our teaching,” they will complain. They will also accuse you of preaching salvation through good works.
Someone may ask:
"Aren't you saying that when someone raises their hand and comes forward and prays with the preacher, it doesn't matter? Because an evangelist told me it's as simple as the ABC: Receive the gift of God. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for sinners. Confess your sins."
At least for the young man described in chapter 10 of the Gospel of Mark, this was not enough. Jesus demanded that he repent and follow Him as Lord.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was extremely honest with the rich young man. He clearly told him that if he wanted to become His follower, he must take up the cross: “Take up your cross,” this source of pain. “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33), the Lord assured His disciples. The young rich man knew from the beginning that obeying Jesus would involve discomfort and sacrifice. He not only needed to turn away from all the pleasures hidden in carnal lusts, but he also had to renounce many things that were completely permissible from the point of view of the Law of God. He will lose friends. Along the way, hours of painful introspection and prayer await him. Discipleship comes at a high price.
“First, sit down and count the costs” (Luke 14:28), Jesus told the young rich man.
“I don’t want to deceive you. I don’t offer you the end of all earthly sorrows and a flower-strewn bed of pleasures. I don’t want to lure you with false
promises. The path of My follower is thorny. Storms will constantly rage around you. Sincerely believing Christians will have to overcome many mountains of difficulties and valleys of humiliation. Let the symbol of the cross always be before your eyes, so that you remember what difficulties await My disciples. I want you to come. But I also want you to consider the price at which your apprenticeship will be purchased."
Although perhaps unintentional, deception accompanies many modern calls to Christ. Listeners are reminded that they are sad, lonely, experiencing disappointments and failures. Their life is a heavy burden. Troubles surround them on all sides. The future is dark and menacing. Sinners are then invited to come to Christ, who will change all this and put smiles on their faces. He is portrayed as a kind of “cosmic psychologist” who will resolve all problems in one session. Nothing is said about the discipline that Christ requires. There is not even a hint that following Christ involves pain and sacrifice.
It is therefore not surprising that many of those who "come forward" to swallow the pill of the "modern gospel" are no longer to be seen. They react like young recruits. The sergeant encouraging them to join the army told them about what they would see in the world, about the honors, glory and exploits that awaited them. But not a word was said about early rises, grueling marches, or the guardhouse. There was no mention of blood, fire and horror on the battlefield. Sometimes a young "convert" after a few days of "Christianity" will suddenly wake up and see that his problems have become more complicated. The psychological "honeymoon" quickly ended. Thinking that the evangelist has fooled him with his rosy promises, he becomes disappointed and you will not see him again.
But despite the transience of such a “conversion”, it is included in the statistical report as evidence of the success of the latest evangelistic campaign. He is not baptized and does not become a member of the church. He is not a teacher or even
Sunday school student. He doesn't serve the church. He does not testify and does not build the body of the Lord. Although this "convert" strengthened the evangelist's reputation, the poor pastor was left with only disappointment and headaches. Independent evangelistic organizations are reaping joy while the church sinks deeper into regrettable confusion and anxiety.
A more honest approach is needed. Modern people deserve to be treated as Christ treated the young rich man. We need to tell them that the Lord, to whom we call them, commands them to take up their cross. To put into our hearts the full awareness of the seriousness of the decision that They have to make, it is better for us to say: “sit down and think” than “stand up and come forward.” "Do not go forward blindly. Once you put your hand to the plow, you should no longer look back. There are treasures in heaven. But they belong to those who bear their cross on earth."
We have no evidence that the rich young man ever believed in Christ and repented of his sins. But he had a true understanding of the gospel and its meaning for life. “Confessions” were not forced out of him by cunning tricks, skillful manipulations using psychological methods that are so popular among traders. When he left, he actually knew the complete answer to his original question.
CONCLUSION
Of course, there is nothing more important than preaching the truths that Christ revealed to His disciples! Therefore, more than anything else, we need to destroy the terrible tendency of viewing the Gospel only as a set of facts. True gospel proclaims all the truths of God, explaining their essence and application in the lives of sinners. Remember how our Lord dealt with the young rich man. Let this be a guide for you in the content and methods of evangelistic work.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a pearl worthy of being purchased at the cost of everything else.
3. What happens when the truth is about God not known.
Man cannot benefit from the life-giving moisture of Christ’s sacrifice;
A person uses false means of salvation (non-saving faith, the Eucharist, good deeds, rituals,...);
Man will be deceived into thinking he is saved;
A person who is not saved or saved will be disappointed in the ways of the Bible because... they are not effective in his practice of life;
A Christian will not be able to grow spiritually, because... has no biblical faith;
The Christian will be ineffective in evangelism.
5. Practice of salvation.
1. The essence of salvation determines all the conditions and details of salvation.
What will happen to me if I am not baptized and die?
What will happen to me if I sinned, did not have time to repent and Christ came?
2. Spiritual growth occurs through living the Gospel.
3. Safety of salvation.
1. Extremes.
2. The basis of this question.
3. Final answer.
4. Various questions from the audience.
1) Walter Chantry “The Gospel Today. True or altered?
2) John Stott "Cross of Christ"
Let the generation grow
delighted by God
dedicated to the Bible,
building the Church,
expanding the Kingdom of God!
