TURNING SINNERS INTO SAINTS

TURNING SINNERS INTO SAINTS

                Yesterday we spent most of the day preparing what would amount to 288 loaded grocery carts full of food for the poor in our community. It is a big job and people from the church and from the community and even a group of guys from the local prison all join together to form an assembly line.

                 Well, I am one of those types that likes to tie up loose ends so once the line was in full production, I started breaking down the hundreds of boxes that are flying off the line as the food is unpacked and re-packed in family sized bags. This is the ministry called “Second Harvest” in which a truck load of food comes from various corporate donations and I believe purchased in part by our church. This Saturday there will appear our monthly line of people to give groceries too. The entire church property will be covered with cars and people.

                In addition to that our church has what we call the “Bridge Ministry” where a group of mainly young people takes about 75 meals to the homeless who live under the bridge. They go down on Sunday between the morning and evening services and this time it was brutally cold being about 21 degrees.

                There is a good feeling attached to doing such things. It is a feeling like you are doing the right thing. On Saturday, we in the worship team will sing for the people for about four hours as one group after another fills the dining area waiting for their food. We invite the people to sing along and some of them do. But it is more than just a food handout, for quite a few go down to the church building for prayer, for clothing, for job connections and such. It is really a good program and a helpful one.

                The Bible definitely promotes the care and feeding of the poor and in fact if all churches were doing their part, starting 50 years ago, then our government would not have needed to create a welfare program and that would be good, since unlike churches, Governments use such programs to grow the government, raise the taxes (Making more poor people) and to gain more and more control over the population.

                So, since my hands were busy breaking down boxes my mind was thinking about these things. After all, for all the work we are doing and the people we are helping, it will not buy us even one hour in heaven, so we must be motivated by something other than earning points toward salvation, in fact I would say that the best motivation is love. Along this line 1 Cor. 13:3 says:

                “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love it profits me nothing.” Wow! God must have a different grading system.

                The fact that we humans reach out beyond our own survival to help others, is a faint reflection of the fact that we were created in His image. In truth it all starts with the one sentence: “For God so loved the world that He gave…”John 3:16

                It is no small thing to help the poor. After all, in the judgment of the nations Jesus does not quiz us on our doctrines (something we spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about and wrangling over) but He says, “I  was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, in prison and you visited me.” Mt. 25:31-40

                In this text we are told that Jesus separates the nations based on their care of the less fortunate. So there will be sheep nations and goat nations based on our care of others. This is indeed a subject that is close to God’s heart and that makes it very important.

                But it is also made clear that our salvation is not based on such things.  And the fact that some ecumenical movements are abandoning the Gospel in favor of community outreach is very scary for indeed our number one commission is to take this Gospel of the kingdom to the entire world. As Mt. 28:18-20 says:

                “And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

                In the book of Mark the last thing Jesus says is: “And these signs will accompany those who have believed: In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents and if they drink any deadly poison it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. (This one sentence sort of blows the doors off of any suggestion that the gifts of the Holy Spirit would end with the apostles doesn’t it?)

                The book of Luke ends with Jesus opening their minds to see the continuity of God’s message through time. He said:

                “”These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me, in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled,” and then He ended by saying: “I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke24:44, 49.

                Clearly then that which Jesus poured out on the Day of Pentecost is that which was to empower the church until the end of time and in spite of their 3 ½ years of direct hands on training by Jesus Himself, He told them not to go anywhere until they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit that would empower them for ministry. So why is it that so many churches today won’t touch the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with a ten foot pole? Our Gospel has been stripped of its power.

                In His discourse on last day events Jesus said: “And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all nations and then the end shall come.” Mt. 24:14

                So, feeding the poor is very important in God’s eyes, but it must be accompanied with the Gospel of the Kingdom. Feeding the poor will minister to their bellies but it won’t save their souls. In fact the only way to turn sinners into saints is through the blood, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

                In His parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus lets us know that there is an infinite gap or chasm fixed between two realms. There is no bridge between heaven and hell except the cross of Jesus and once you die, the realm you will end up in will have been settled. The rich man could not cross over and Lazarus could not help him. But this is more than a parable. It is a firm and unchangeable reality.

                God is in the business of turning sinners into saints and while He requires His saints to do good deeds and to help others, these acts of kindness are not what save us. In fact, an infinite price was paid that could only be paid by an infinite God, in order to deliver us from the realm of hell and into the realm of His eternal kingdom.

                Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.   Jn. 14:6.

                We have a most precious Gospel. And in all of our discussion about doctrine and prophecy and such, we need to remember that the Gospel is set apart from all the works and the efforts of men. When it comes to our eternal salvation the Gospel stands alone. It is entered into through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and there is no other way.

                God has not designated a certain denomination to be keeper of the gate. Jesus Himself is the door… and apart from all of the things we discuss and the prophecies we try to understand one thing remains true. WE FIND OUR SALVATION AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. And the cross is more than an “emblem of suffering and shame,” it is a passage way into a different realm. In this new realm we are empowered by the Spirit and not by the flesh. In this realm we are being transformed by that same Spirit into the image of Christ. In this same realm, eternal life is planted in us so that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. 2 Cor. 4:7 We become temples of the Holy Spirit.  1 Cor. 3:16, 17.

                In this realm we have passed from death into life. John 5:24. In this realm we step out of the lineage of fallen Adam and we become sons and daughters of God and joint heirs with Jesus.

                So while love and even a sense of duty may drive us to good works, we must not confuse our good works with Jesus’ infinite work on the cross. They are infinitely set apart. A Christian is not just a good person. He is one born again, having died to this world in order to embrace and live in a better kingdom… one bought for us by none other than the infinite Son of God. He alone is worthy of our worship. He alone can turn sinners into saints.