Quote:
Originally Posted by Amcasci
There is only one kind of christian, a sinner who is saved by grace alone, through faith alone in christ alone.
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And that is true . . . as far as it goes. But there are Christians who rest on that fact and basically coast the rest of the way (or at least think that is what they are doing).
I have been thinking concerning the way that "saved by grace" thing is so often taught (though not so much by your branch or Christianity). That is that the emphasis is placed so strongly on the event of "coming to faith" that everything else is nearly ignored. If coming to faith is all there is, then where is the salvation that is worked out with fear and trembling? I did not see it in the LCM (despite the tendency of some of the rhetoric to keep us in fear — fear of failing that paralyzed so many). And while I think I see some of it in the mainstream of evangelicalism, so many of them are set on the idea that it is all simply by grace alone in Christ alone. But Paul said that grace teaches us to obey. It is not only something that provides benefits for which we do nothing. It is the means by which we learn how to do something.
And so many of Paul's writings to the various churches was to get them off of their hind quarters and do what they were supposed to do, whether rejecting the need for OT rituals for salvation, common respect for all believers no matter what heritage or caste, how they treat each other in meetings, what kind of meat they eat, etc. They had to work out how they lived the life that was out of their salvation rather than out of their natural inclinations (or more correctly failings).
The thing that moves us from death to life is a sacrifice that we cannot accomplish. But we must have faith and that does take our will. And your tradition within Christianity primarily teaches a learned salvation. One that is gradual. It begins with someone committing a child to Christ in baptism. (This is not popular among most evangelicals, mostly because they understand baptism in terms of personal decision and testimony — something that can not happen with the baptism of an infant). Then they learn. And at some age, they begin to officially learn the catechism. At the end of it, they are in some way said to be a believer, or confirmed into the church, or something like that. Is that 100% true in all cases? Probably not. But many do come to believe in Christ through all of that. And without any "event" to point to.
But the point in all of that is to show that the new believer has done a lot. But the one thing they have not done is save them self. They cannot save them self. They can come to believe in the One who can save them, and who then will and does save them.
So the question is, did they do any "work" to get there? I would say "yes." But did that work save them? The clear answer is "no." Salvation is only through the death of Christ who paid the final price for our sin. Yet the application of that price to our sin is predicated upon our faith. And faith is more than mental. It is action. We don't believe if we don't live as if we believe.
For that reason, I am actually quite encouraged concerning the salvation of many who have not been raised within evangelicalism's penchant for crisis/event salvation that makes it so cerebral (and sometimes close to meaningless). It may create more emotional events, but does not necessarily get to the real core of the "new believer." Oddly, I am still unlikely to change my affiliation any time soon. At this age, comfort has value and I still find Christ to be strongly proclaimed in a regular and meaningful way. Having said that, I now have the priviledge of worshipping again with an older relative who has moved from the place this forum discusses. So change, even in old age, is not out of the question.