Salvation

Hand in hand with the evangelical belief about the Bible is the evangelical belief about salvation. It is impossible to understand evangelicals without knowing the plan of salvation as described in the Bible.

Man was, like everything else, created by God. But man was the crown of creation, made to be God's own companion. Made to be like God, not in his power but in his eternal spiritual existence and in his ability to choose good or evil. Of all God's creation, only man has those two qualities. Man was made to worship and serve God.

Instead, man sinned -- that is, man did that which is displeasing to God and outside of God's commands. First Adam and Eve, but in our own time every one of us. The penalty for sin is death, spiritual and physical.

Physical death is not instant, but it is certain. After physical death follows spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God. Understand, death in this sense does not mean that life ceases, it means that it is lived eternally in hell, apart from God.

Hell is a real place. A place of punishment designed for those who sin. Since we are all guilty of sin, we all deserve hell. But in His mercy God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to earth to live as a man. Jesus did not sin, therefore did not deserve death. But He died anyway, thus paying for our sins.

In concept this is the same as if I got a speeding ticket and you paid it for me out of the goodness of your heart. There was a debt to be paid and Jesus paid it, therefore it is no longer owed.

However, I could refuse your payment. If I did that, I would have to pay the penalty myself, either coming up with the money for the fine or serving a period of time in jail. Thus your gift, however well meant, comes to naught.

Just so, you can refuse God's gift, but that means that you must pay the price yourself. Or you can accept the gift, repent of your sin and turn your life over to God, following His will. In that case, while you still eventually experience physical death, you never have to experience spiritual death. Instead you spend eternity with God in heaven.

Understand, you cannot earn salvation. At the very least that would require you live a perfect life, something none of us can do. The only way to be saved is to accept the gift from God. The only other choice is to pay that fine for yourself -- and that is too horrible to contemplate.

The lone exception is for those who are too young or too feeble minded to understand what God and salvation is all about. For those who die in that condition the term many use is safe, which means that they have all the benefits of salvation without having actually accepted that gift from God, but only because they were unable to do so.

I have seen television interviewers become very agitated with evangelical Christians for this position. Please understand, this is what we believe, not what we wish. We have no more say in this matter than we do about the laws of gravity. We believe if we jump off the Empire State Building we will fall to our deaths. We believe that if we do not accept Jesus, on His terms, we will suffer spiritual death.

We can wish people could fly, or that God would spare the "good guys" who didn't follow His plan of salvation all we want to, but that won't change either thing. In believing the Bible is true, which we do, we must follow what it says or act in a way we believe is sinful and against God. Castigating us for that is shooting the messenger.

Does this make us "elitist," as some have asserted? Not at all, and for two reasons. First, we understand and accept the fact that we are no more deserving of salvation than anyone else. We were, and are, sinners ourselves. It is only by God's grace that we are not headed for the same eternity we warn others of.

Second, God's gift is open to anyone who will accept it. I don't see how anything could be more egalitarian than that. This is not a matter of politics, policy, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, wealth, education, denomination or even religion. It is simply a matter of following the steps outlined in the Bible. Some of these things may change once you accept God's gift and learn more of His will, but if that is the case, those are changes you will desire once you understand they are God's will for your life. The requirements for salvation are inflexible, but they are also simple, finite and available.

Not only is it possible for anyone to be saved, but God, and evangelical Christians, want everyone to be saved. Indeed, the term evangelical is a name we gave ourselves and is based upon our dedication, as a group, to providing for every person on earth the information that will help them understand how to be saved. We don't want to be exclusive or elite, we only want to do that which is right according to God's word.

We would be more deserving of disdain if we failed to say forthrightly what we believe. Not to take this stance is akin to allowing a child who does not know better to walk off the Empire State Building because we don't want to make him, or his parents, angry. What a foolish and mean thing to do, for even if that child does not know he is in danger, or lacks the judgment to appreciate his danger, we do know.

In the same way, by telling others who are unaware of their danger or fail to appreciate the seriousness of that danger, of Christ's only plan of salvation, we offer them the opportunity to avoid that judgment which will come to them upon their physical death if they do not accept Christ and His gift. We believe -- I believe -- that is the single kindest thing we can do for any person.

Genesis 1-2, Hebrews 9:27, Matthew 10:28, 25:41, Romans 3:23, 5:12, John 3:16, 14:6