At CrossCulture in Pomona, CA, we just completed our inductive Bible studies (we call Deep Dive Sessions) on the Book of Romans chapters 1 to 13.
As a result of our deep dive into the concept of Justification by Faith, Sanctification and Glorification, we have discovered that the western gospel message of simply accepting or receiving Jesus Christ as Savior is quite deficient in its message and may tragically redound to many fake conversions. Many western Christians think that there is little to give up to be born again and become a Kingdom child.
Historical traditions and prevailing theologies may be the main cause of this anomaly. Sola Gracia is deceptive despite its good intentions but Sola Fide is closer to the truth. They have to be complementary or otherwise Sola Gracia alone transforms into a false gospel.
Having said that, there are still three resounding truths from St. Paul's magnum opus on Soteriology (i.e., the Book of Romans) that the western gospel message misses out on, namely, the following PREREQUISITES to divine forgiveness and true salvation:
Salvation is an exchange deal with God. One has to give up his physical life for the eternal life that God has offered. If the exchange is not consumated, there is no deal. There is no true salvation. That is what relationship involves, a give-and-take exchange. In most Christian circles, death to self is being erroneously taught as a prerequiste to sanctification. However, reading Romans 6:1-3 clearly declares that death to self SHOULD HAPPEN PRIOR TO JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
Billy Graham had it right when he started declaring that gospel message as getting into a personal relationship with God. This very true statement, however, has been drowned out by the prevailing theologies of today. In some churches, relationship is not even mentioned. In others, relationship degrades to a set of rules to follow in order to be holy. The substance of personal relationship becomes lost in the quagmire and jargon of conflicting theologies which may be partly biblical but becomes misleadingly opinionated in the finer points of maintaining an exciting relationship with God. Relationship always entails a give-and-take exchange. Without this, there is no relationship. As far as salvation is concerned, it is an exchange. Man exchanges a temporal life for eternal life. He cannot have both and go to heaven. There is NO DIVINE relationship unless the potential convert accepts death.
The very essence of the relationship of the vine to the branches in John 15 become lost or hazy either because it is not emphasized or because those who should know better cannot explain it well. Robert Shank had it right when he said that eternal life is a shared life between the vine and its branches which the gardener continuously and diligently maintains by pruning the branches that bear fruit and cutting of and BURNING those that don't. Eternal life is not a possession as others interpret 1 John 5:11-13. Having the Son does not mean either theologically nor pragmatically that the Son is the Christian's possession. Nay, it is the other way around. It should be the Son who possesses those who are being saved, and by possess, I mean the Son OWNS you or there is no relationship. The Son WILL NOT possess anyone whose self-will is pretty much alive. He will only possess those who have died and completely get their life from the Vine.
In the first century church, a potential convert, especially a Jewish convert, knows that he has to give up his life to repent and be baptized. His family will ostracize him, his father will disinherit and disown him, the Jewish leaders might even hunt him down like Paul did before his own conversion.
Hence, a person who tries to receive Christ but unwilling to give his life or even to die for Christ CANNOT BE SAVED according to Scripture.
Because of the anemic gospel that is being preached. Many revivalists, well-meaning and and sincere as they come, fail to explain the concept of true salvation.
Because we fail to emphasize Lordship and Death prior to justification by faith, the living sacrifices offered to God take a life of their own and jump out of the altar on the first opportunity. This would be minimized if these people know that they are dead to sin, dead to self, dead to the world and that if they are not, they are not truly saved and should just stop wasting their time and might as well run away. God is a highly intelligent God who sees the heart and discerns the mind and CANNOT BE FOOLED.
Why do so many western Christians NOT fully grasp and understand when Paul said, "I die daily", when Christ said "carry your cross" and " he who tries to keep his life will lose it and he who gives up his life for the gospel will gain eternal life."???? In the sermon on the mount, why do Christians NOT understand that it is a true Kingdom child's second nature or natural inclination, to "turn the other cheek", "walk the extra mile", "love and bless your enemies", etc. Why do they have to BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN NATURE in order to please God???? On the other hand, we even witness on video or TV the martydom of "eastern" Christians who know that once they are disciples, their lives are no longer their own, so they willingly give their lives without much complaint nor retaliation.
That is because of the anemic western gospel message de-emphasizing lordship and death. We have too many fake Christians and fake conversions in the western world.
As a result of our deep dive into the concept of Justification by Faith, Sanctification and Glorification, we have discovered that the western gospel message of simply accepting or receiving Jesus Christ as Savior is quite deficient in its message and may tragically redound to many fake conversions. Many western Christians think that there is little to give up to be born again and become a Kingdom child.
Historical traditions and prevailing theologies may be the main cause of this anomaly. Sola Gracia is deceptive despite its good intentions but Sola Fide is closer to the truth. They have to be complementary or otherwise Sola Gracia alone transforms into a false gospel.
Having said that, there are still three resounding truths from St. Paul's magnum opus on Soteriology (i.e., the Book of Romans) that the western gospel message misses out on, namely, the following PREREQUISITES to divine forgiveness and true salvation:
Lordship
The western gospel message does not emphasize the necessity of Lordship. In fact, many do not even know nor realize that Lordship is a clear PREREQUISITE prior to accepting the forgiveness that Christ offered on the cross. Christ cannot save anyone whom he does not have any lordship over. One cannot accept Christ as savior if he refuses to accept Christ has Lord. This is why many evangelists openly declare that salvation is not a free ticket out of hell. Although that is true, they are still deficient in pointing out the necessity of the Lordship prior to salvation. Even those who believe in Lordship many times do not fully understand the implications of lordship. To define it simply, lordship is demonstrated by the relationship of master and slave where the master COMPLETELY OWNS the slave, even the slave's VERY LIFE! The slave has ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHTS, NOT EVEN HUMAN RIGHTS! The slave never follows his own will he only waits for his master's bidding and follows ONLY HIS MASTER's will.Death
The western gospel message does not emphasize the necessity of death and giving up one's life for Jesus.Salvation is an exchange deal with God. One has to give up his physical life for the eternal life that God has offered. If the exchange is not consumated, there is no deal. There is no true salvation. That is what relationship involves, a give-and-take exchange. In most Christian circles, death to self is being erroneously taught as a prerequiste to sanctification. However, reading Romans 6:1-3 clearly declares that death to self SHOULD HAPPEN PRIOR TO JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
Billy Graham had it right when he started declaring that gospel message as getting into a personal relationship with God. This very true statement, however, has been drowned out by the prevailing theologies of today. In some churches, relationship is not even mentioned. In others, relationship degrades to a set of rules to follow in order to be holy. The substance of personal relationship becomes lost in the quagmire and jargon of conflicting theologies which may be partly biblical but becomes misleadingly opinionated in the finer points of maintaining an exciting relationship with God. Relationship always entails a give-and-take exchange. Without this, there is no relationship. As far as salvation is concerned, it is an exchange. Man exchanges a temporal life for eternal life. He cannot have both and go to heaven. There is NO DIVINE relationship unless the potential convert accepts death.
The very essence of the relationship of the vine to the branches in John 15 become lost or hazy either because it is not emphasized or because those who should know better cannot explain it well. Robert Shank had it right when he said that eternal life is a shared life between the vine and its branches which the gardener continuously and diligently maintains by pruning the branches that bear fruit and cutting of and BURNING those that don't. Eternal life is not a possession as others interpret 1 John 5:11-13. Having the Son does not mean either theologically nor pragmatically that the Son is the Christian's possession. Nay, it is the other way around. It should be the Son who possesses those who are being saved, and by possess, I mean the Son OWNS you or there is no relationship. The Son WILL NOT possess anyone whose self-will is pretty much alive. He will only possess those who have died and completely get their life from the Vine.
In the first century church, a potential convert, especially a Jewish convert, knows that he has to give up his life to repent and be baptized. His family will ostracize him, his father will disinherit and disown him, the Jewish leaders might even hunt him down like Paul did before his own conversion.
Hence, a person who tries to receive Christ but unwilling to give his life or even to die for Christ CANNOT BE SAVED according to Scripture.
Discipleship
The western gospel message does not emphasize that salvation involves not only the willingness but the readiness to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Paul may not have emphasized this in the book of Romans, he clearly assumed that discipleship was the overriding principle of being Kingdom people.
In Acts 11:26, Luke-who travelled with Paul on most of his journeys, candidly states "it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians". We need no complicated exegesis to discern that disciple = Christian and Christian = disciple. One cannot claim to be a Christian unless he is first a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ (and NOT the other way around as is often taught)- plain and simple application of this verse.
In Acts 11:26, Luke-who travelled with Paul on most of his journeys, candidly states "it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians". We need no complicated exegesis to discern that disciple = Christian and Christian = disciple. One cannot claim to be a Christian unless he is first a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ (and NOT the other way around as is often taught)- plain and simple application of this verse.
Now look at Luke 14:25 - 43, Jesus discusses discipleship and the cost of discipleship in no uncertain terms, no qualifications nor exceptions, no apologies nor disclaimers.
In order to be a true disciple or true Christian, one has to be willing to give up loved ones, "even life itself" [Luke 11:26], one has to carry his cross and follow Jesus (without hesitation) [Luke 11:27]. In order to be a disciple, one has to "give up all your possessions" [Luke 11:33]. This concept are quite foreign to the western gospel message, not necessarily because it is rarely mentioned, but because it is not even given the emphasis it deserves until after western Christians discuss spiritual growth in which case it is mostly too late to discuss.
In order to be a true disciple or true Christian, one has to be willing to give up loved ones, "even life itself" [Luke 11:26], one has to carry his cross and follow Jesus (without hesitation) [Luke 11:27]. In order to be a disciple, one has to "give up all your possessions" [Luke 11:33]. This concept are quite foreign to the western gospel message, not necessarily because it is rarely mentioned, but because it is not even given the emphasis it deserves until after western Christians discuss spiritual growth in which case it is mostly too late to discuss.
Consecration - The Logical Result of True Salvation
Romans 12:1-2 talks about our reasonable, logical, spiritual response to ALL that God has done to redeem us based on all the discussions from the previous chapters. In western Christianity, we find all these revival meetings with all the sincerity and tears but almost immediate backsliding as soon as these altar call people get out the door. Why is this?Because of the anemic gospel that is being preached. Many revivalists, well-meaning and and sincere as they come, fail to explain the concept of true salvation.
Because we fail to emphasize Lordship and Death prior to justification by faith, the living sacrifices offered to God take a life of their own and jump out of the altar on the first opportunity. This would be minimized if these people know that they are dead to sin, dead to self, dead to the world and that if they are not, they are not truly saved and should just stop wasting their time and might as well run away. God is a highly intelligent God who sees the heart and discerns the mind and CANNOT BE FOOLED.
Why do so many western Christians NOT fully grasp and understand when Paul said, "I die daily", when Christ said "carry your cross" and " he who tries to keep his life will lose it and he who gives up his life for the gospel will gain eternal life."???? In the sermon on the mount, why do Christians NOT understand that it is a true Kingdom child's second nature or natural inclination, to "turn the other cheek", "walk the extra mile", "love and bless your enemies", etc. Why do they have to BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN NATURE in order to please God???? On the other hand, we even witness on video or TV the martydom of "eastern" Christians who know that once they are disciples, their lives are no longer their own, so they willingly give their lives without much complaint nor retaliation.
That is because of the anemic western gospel message de-emphasizing lordship and death. We have too many fake Christians and fake conversions in the western world.
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