Salvation Unlimited

IT IS CUSTOMARY to magnify the greatness of man above the revelation from God and point with undisguised satisfaction to the natural goodness of man in the hope that ultimately the world will arrive at the millennium. But the belief that man can, by himself, save civilization is sheer foolishness. Mankind will never undergo the necessary change of heart and life by any human method of development. Modern man needs more than liberty by law and discipline, however good this may be for the social and civil order. He needs liberty by Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, " 'If you dwell within the revelation I have brought, you are in deed my disciples; you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' ... If then the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free" (John 8:31-36, N.E.B.).*

It is not easy to get man to think seriously about his own spiritual needs. Modern man is not concerned much about his sins or his distance from God. Unfortunately, the pleasantness of sin is a distinct possibility. Much of sin offers men both delight and pleasure. People do succeed in the ways of unrighteousness here on earth. Not all sin is unattractive. The wages of sin are not always seen in the light of failure and wretchedness.

Often men come to believe that sin is terrible only when it results in dis ease, poverty, prison, extended suffering, and death; and that so long as one can escape these things, sinful living can be made desirable. But sin is never more perilous than when it is successful. It is never more costly than when it pays off. It is never more disastrous than when it appears attractive.

Most of the ways of educated men and women are exempt from the crudities and vulgarities that one finds on skid row. The excesses and brutality of men disgust right-thinking people. But men seem to be little disturbed by the attractive sinfulness of our day, the licentious living magnified in modern fiction and portrayed on screen, stage, and television.

The smarter and the greater man appears to be the more importance he attaches to himself, the more he deifies himself. Man, with all his wisdom, has exploited his fellow men and the world in which he lives. The world is no longer a safe place in which to dwell. Outside of God, man can only wax worse and worse. The alienation of the human heart from God is the most tragic thing that has ever happened to man.

Is Man Really Lost?

The Bible begins with God and ends with God. "In the beginning God created" (Gen. 1:1). "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly" (Rev. 22:20).

Between the beginning of our world and its end lies the history of man. Let us remember then that certain facts confront those who dwell on the earth. First, God created man in His image. Second, man fell from original righteousness with the consequent involvement of the human race in sin. Third, in view of the fact that man is a historical being, God must enter into human history and become part of the historical process if man is to be saved. God's invasion into our world on a rescue mission occurred in the person of God's Son, Jesus Christ. These are supreme historical realities, not illusions. Because they are facts that belong to the history of man, man must pay attention to them (see Heb. 2:1-3).

The rescue of our world cannot be realized by glossing over the facts. But what shall we conceive this human tragedy to mean in terms of man's eternal destiny? Is it really true that hundreds of millions of people are lost, that most people who live on this planet are destined for eternal extinction? Or is God so loving and merciful that He will forgive and save all His lost children, regardless?

When the Bible affirms that "there is none righteous, no, not one: . . . there is none that seeketh after God" (Rom. 3:10, 11), does this mean that all the "good" people in the world who do not believe in Jesus Christ are going to suffer the agonies of hell-fire and the outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth? Is there danger that we consider God as permissive and grandfatherly, and refuse to consider the possibility of man's being eternally lost?

Jesus warned that men could perish forever. Men could build their lives either upon the rock or on the sand. The consequence of building on the sand would be final destruction, but on the rock, life eternal. He said further that men must choose one of two masters; they take one of two roads, the broad road or the narrow way. The choice men make would be decisive for the life to come. Christ spoke of the final day when He would separate the sheep from the goats.

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, . . . before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. . . . Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:31-41).

Why Discourage People?

Why not soften the blow? Why discourage people by talking too much about their sins and their being lost? Why not limit the classification "goats" to the incorrigibles? Why not include with the "sheep" all the fair-minded, the orderly, those who give a good ac count of themselves as law-abiding citizens? Why make salvation so difficult? Men need a simple way of salvation. If men are living good moral lives, why not let this be enough to usher them through the pearly gates?

Why not recognize that all churches are heading toward the one kingdom of God? Why not make a simple confession of belief in God sufficient to save men? Why not believe that to be saved God simply requires men to live up to the best they know, regard less of race, color, creed, country, or religion? Why press the authority of the Bible upon people who live respectable lives? Why clothe the pulpit and the preaching with the claims of an infallible Bible and insist that men obey all the commandments of God? Is it not better to believe that the God who guides the stars will at last bring our earth-ship to the safe haven that God destined for her at Creation? Is not God far too good to let His wayward children perish at last?

However, salvation is not to be purchased at the price of error and falsity. Sinful men are dependent upon what God has revealed. Bible truth can never be a fetter upon the freedom and salvation of man. For man to be redeemed and transformed there is need of a divine agency, but with the solemn endowment of freedom of choice.

God's revelation in Jesus Christ and in His Word alone can show man the way, the truth, and the life. Man must see the truth of God before he can appropriate it. His response to God's way of salvation cannot be blind reception. Redemption is reconciliation to God and restoration of man to the image in which God created him. His salvation cannot be realized except as he discerns God's supreme effort in human history for man's rescue.

Men do differ as to the nature of man, sin, and Jesus Christ. The struggle of the Christian church shows the encounters between truth and error. The choice lies, therefore, between the Word of God and the word of men. What a man believes does matter. Men may affirm they care little or nothing for the great truths of the Bible. Men also may affirm they care little or nothing for the doctor's knowledge of medicine. But this is perilous. The sound mind must insist that the doctor, the dentist, the builder of the house, the man who repairs his shoes, must know his business before he begins to practice it. So it is that if a man does not believe the revealed Word of God, then there will be no need to live by it. He has made the choice and he cannot avoid the consequences.

Man's lost condition is clearly seen in the greatness of the salvation provided for him by God in Jesus Christ. The price that God paid to save man speaks unmistakably of who man is and how vital it is to rescue him from sin and eternal loss. Men measure the worth of the kidnapped by the price paid for his ransom. How great must man be who must be rescued at such a price!

Jesus Christ is the center of human history, the Rock, the unmovable Foundation upon which man can depend. All the lines of history converge toward this one Man. The universal tragedy of sin and the divine redemption in Christ belong together. Man in himself has no way back to God. He cannot be lured by clever arguments and social improvements into reconciliation with the God of heaven. Man is blind to his lost condition unless he is enlightened by God and by His Word.

The more we face the truth about man in this world, the more salvation by Jesus Christ is seen as necessary. The right view of sin and death demands the right view of the divine remedy.

In Romans 1:16, 17, Paul affirms that the gospel saves sinners because in it is revealed the "righteousness of God," which is now made available for unrighteous men. God's answer to the sin problem is tied to the word "righteousness," the one thing that man does not have.

The Bible uses the word righteousness in several different ways.

First, righteousness is spoken of as an attribute of God, a specific quality of God's own character. God is righteousness in the same sense that He is truth, light, love. Perfect righteousness be longs to God as an intrinsic part of His own being. Speaking of God, Isaiah says: "And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins" (Isa. 11:5).

But righteousness as a divine attribute does not save men. On the contrary, were God to manifest Himself openly to sinners in His untrammeled righteousness and perfection, this would result in man's destruction. No sinner could endure it for a moment.

Second, the word righteousness is also used to describe the uprightness of men, the morality of those who seek to live righteously in this present world. Daniel, when addressing King Nebuchadnezzar as he faced the judgment of God, urged upon him: "O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness" (Dan. 4:27).

The word righteousness is here conceived in terms of right-doing. It can refer to moral men either Christian or non-Christian, describing a way of life in obedience to moral principles and personal integrity. A certain moral righteousness does belong to man insofar as he obeys the law of God and the moral laws underlying society. This relative righteousness is of great importance in terms of man's responsibility to his fellow men. This human uprightness and morality does play a significant part in maintaining the social and civil order of the nation.

But again, this does not save man, since man cannot obey the law of God perfectly in himself. The righteousness that saves men is not attainable by human effort whatsoever. Man is not saved by works of righteousness, although righteous living will follow as a consequence of a right relationship with God. God is not saying that the morality of law-abiding citizens is not a good thing for the present world order. It certainly is desirable. But it does not save a man.

God's law bears witness to righteousness. It condemns unrighteousness. This law was perfectly fulfilled by Christ when on earth. Christ's life of righteousness alone provides the only perfect righteousness for sinful man. This spotless righteousness is avail able to every believing soul. He receives it as a gift. But if man would obtain salvation by works, then he must obey the law perfectly in act and spirit. This is impossible without Christ's help.

Third, the righteousness that saves is the "righteousness of God" revealed to man through Jesus Christ alone (see Rom. 3:20-24).

The beginning of man's return to God converges in the life and death of the Son of God. He is the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), and, "when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Rom. 5:10). Alone, God in Christ reconciled the world unto Himself (see 2 Cor. 5:19). He requires no help from man in this supreme revelation of saving righteousness.

Thus saving righteousness is not an attribute of God or an ethical requirement and demand by God. It is a divine act that reveals in historical events God's plan and power to save man. It is an objective act that changes the hopeless situation of mankind whether men believe and accept salvation or not.

Salvation by the righteousness of Christ means that man acknowledges and believes that God has revealed and effected in Christ alone a righteousness that is eternally all-sufficient for all men.

Clearly salvation is unlimited available to all but on God's terms, not man's.

The whole purpose of this marvelous provision by God for our salvation is that we might look unto Jesus "the author and finisher of our faith." This is known in Scripture as salvation by grace. Faith is trust in and commitment to the life and righteousness of another, Jesus Christ. We are shut up to the righteousness that comes from Christ alone. Faith means that we have shifted our center of reference from self to Jesus Christ. This places us in a right relationship of total dependence on Him. Christ's righteousness is God's gift to us apart from the works of law and apart from trying hard to get it. Therefore we need Christ. We want Christ. We love Christ. We walk with Christ. We cannot live without Him.