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Birth certificate vs. driver’s license
Scott McKnight nails it on the head in his book, 
Jesus Creed:
For some, conversion is like a birth certificate while for others it is like a driver’s license. For the first, the ultimate question is, “What do I need to do to get to heaven?” For the second, the question is, “How do I love God?” For the first, the concern is a moment; for the second, the concern is a life.
Dean had a great post here this past week related to discipleship, and I think McKnight’s quote follows that up well. I’m still chewing through his book (Scott’s – I’m still waiting on Dean’s to be published), and loving the ultimate simplicity of the Christ-follower’s life being focused on LOVE.
– Love God.
– Love people.
Everything else falls into place.
I certainly don’t want to be overly harsh or produce doubt in needless places, but the average American church-goer, whether current or past, needs to truly reexamine their supposed profession of faith. I don’t know that NOT going to hell is actually a motivation that produces repentance and receives the full gift of God’s grace through salvation.
Jesus tells us, as do the apostles, that repentance is involved in this willing decision of faith to place one’s life in the gracious and loving arms of our Creator in Christ. Merely trying to save ourselves from damnation, without any shred of devotion and ambition to surrender one’s life to Christ is a dubious “conversion” at best. It may not even produce a birth certificate. Rather, it may be closer to the seed that fell on rocky soil in Jesus’ parable.
It is healthy to search your heart occasionally as to the true nature and evidence of your faith. Were you simply trying to escape punishment, or were you genuinely trusting Christ with your life and intending to follow Him? The New Testament urges our certainty at this point.
I’ve heard so many church-goers assert “I believe in Jesus” or “I asked Jesus into my heart,” or “I’ve accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior” and just not seen the fruit that should come from those life realignments. At the very least, they ought to be concerned that language like “asking Jesus into my heart,” and “accepting Jesus” is not found in the New Testament in any of the passages relating to salvation. Rather, salvation is always accompanied by the unlimited kindness and grace of Christ in association with our recognition of Him as King, Lord, Christ and our accompanying repentance.
Some may be scratching their heads, wondering and conflicted about this issue of repentance. “I thought you just had to believe?” you may ask. You do. And you don’t. You see, there is obviously a kind of belief that results in action and adoration, while there’s another kind of belief that results in mere intellectual assent. One kind says, “I believe and will change.” The other kind says, “I believe and recognize the reality of the situation, but…” This latter belief is not ready to submit to or receive Christ as Lord. In James 2.19, we are told, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
So what kind of belief do you have? Do you have proof of birth? Better yet, are you licensed to drive?
I appreciate your post. That is a nice concise argument that, given poor writing skills like mine, could easily dawdle on into a 20 page essay. I think the issue is a matter of saying “OK” to God. He calls. We answer. That call and answer are different for every person, and the results from that interaction are different for every person. I believe that it is absolutely possible for a person to bear fruit that is not “really” considered fruit by the modern church. Peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control … but come on … let’s look around at ourselves… Read more »
Hi Jeff, A couple of things come to mind. Firstly I guess you’re touching on the age old evangelical problem of separating justification from sanctification, something that doesn’t happen in the New Testament, but has happened in evangelical theology. Personally I think we can trace the historical reasons for this but I won’t bore you with a lesson in church history right now! Secondly, when you do the first act of separating, you are then forced to turn conversion into an issue of “saved from” because you’re only dealing with the issues of escaping punishment. We fail to address the… Read more »
Excellent distinction, Richard, and a helpful reminder for this discussion regarding sanctification/justification. I’ve always liked the expression about how we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. However, for the entry at hand, I sincerely hope that people will reflect deeply on whether they’re saved, according to the New Testament. As I said, I don’t mean to elevate doubt, but rather to encourage honest and holy introspection. I believe scripture encourages it. On another note, just as the issue of profanity is a cultural one between the States and the UK (as it would be… Read more »
The most significant verse in the Bible for me on my journey towards faith was “Let a man examine himself” (1Cor.11:28 if memory serves. This was my moment of clarity when I realsied I needed to make a decision. So “holy introspection” worked for me! On the cultural differences about mistaken salvation, I suspect that there are many similarities-poor theology, lack of clear witness, folklore thinking, shallow faith experiences etc-but the biggest difference still lies in church attendence. In the UK only 5-7% of the adult population attend church on a regualr basis, and for those that do, once a… Read more »
We have the same issues here in Kentucky. Everybody is supposedly “saved”. You ask them when they got saved, they say it was when they were 15 at a Christian concert, but when it comes down to it, they only said some words, but didn’t’ make a commitment. You ask them where they go to church, they say, “oh i don’t know the name of it, but it’s that church down on the corner of salt lick and lickskillet” Then you ask them who their pastor is, they can’t tell you that either. My pastor here says that the challenge… Read more »
i think there is such a gross under-estimation on the part of many professing Christians, of exactly what it cost for Jesus to redeem us. several (jeff and tj) have commented on the state of faith of those here in the deep south USA, and i really believe that the old saying “familiarity breeds contempt” is so true in this part of the country as it applies to faith matters. when i was a bi-vocational youth minister in MS, i also had a paint contracting business, and was partners with a couple of other contractors. we had some of the… Read more »
I can honestly say that my “salvation” was motivated by fear of dying & burning. Shortly after I read the New Testament, something didn’t seem right about repeating a prayer & that being my ticket to heaven. Thankfully the Lord lead me to meet wonderful leaders & friends ever since & I know now that just a prayer at the alter is not salvation. That last point you make about believing is very crucial in our walk with Christ. This is where we get it wrong, the definition of believing is unclear to many or we choose to ignore it… Read more »
Great to hear from you, Esbeida! Thanks for stopping by and for the encouraging comments and snippet of your testimony!