“What must I do to be saved?”
A dear friend of mine asked me:
If someone were to come to you and ask, “What must I do to be saved?”, what would you tell them today [since you believe in Ultimate Redemption]?
For the simple conversations with people who [just] want to know Christ, and want to consciously “come to Christ,” is there anything you’d say to them that echoes what you used to say as an Evangelical, minus the condemning “turn or burn” side? Or is it entirely, utterly different now?
I have these conversations once in a while with people, but I’ve never known what those conversations would be like [from an Ultimate Redemption perspective].
I thanked my friend and said I’d have to get back to him. Since I’d never thought about this before with my current worldview, I wasn’t really certain how to answer. But, as the Spirit so often does for me with most things like this, a passage came to my mind.
In Luke 10, the same question was brought to Jesus —
Luke 10:25-28 (NTE; adapted):[1]
A lawyer got up and put Jesus on the spot.
‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what should I do to inherit the life of the coming age?’
26‘Well,’ replied Jesus, ‘what’s written in the law? What’s your interpretation of it?’
27‘You shall love the [Most High] God’, he replied, ‘with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your understanding; and [love] your neighbour as yourself.’
28‘Well said!’ replied Jesus. ‘Do that and you’ll live.’
What I love about this passage is there is nothing like what I would have said “back in the day.” There’s none of that “turn or burn” nonsense; just love — Love God and love your neighbor.[2]
The lawyer asked Jesus a follow-up question, “But who’s my neighbor?” (verse 29). Jesus replied with the story known as the “Good Samaritan.” As we know, the story’s about a person on pilgrimage to Jerusalem who gets mugged, beaten, stripped, and left for dead. Three different people happen upon the scene after the thugs ran off — a priest (i.e., a priest from the Old Covenant System and Age), a Levite (i.e., someone who served in the Temple — singing, standing guard, etc.), and a Samaritan. In the first two cases, the priest and the Levite walked past the naked, dying person on the opposite side of the street. The idea I get from this is that both reacted to the situation because of the purity codes in the Mosaic Law (eg., Leviticus 21.11; cf. Numbers 5.2). The Samaritan, however, was not bound to the Mosaic Law.
For those of us who don’t know, Samaritans saw themselves as the “true Israelites.” However, they were viewed as “less than” from Jews of the first century (and, no doubt, the feeling was mutual). Think of it as akin to the view of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians; all of them believe they’re the “true” holders of the Christian faith. The same applies to first century Jews and the Samaritans.[3] In some accounts, Samaritans were “bitter enemies” and “anathema” to the Jewish people.[4]
The Samaritan, Jesus said, saw the wounded traveler and was “moved with compassion” (verse 33; CEB).[5] The Samaritan went over to the pilgrim, dressed the wounds, and applied some oil and wine. The Samaritan then placed the traveler on a donkey and went to an inn. The next morning, the Samaritan paid the inn-keeper to look after the traveler — “Take care of this injured pilgrim for me and I’ll repay you when I get back.”
Jesus then asked, “Which of the three was the neighbor to the injured pilgrim?” The lawyer answered, “The one who showed mercy.” “Well,” Jesus replied, “go and do the same” (verse 37).
What’s the point, then?
Jesus stated that a “bitter enemy” of the Jewish people acted in ways that showed they were God’s people and would “inherit the life of the [then] coming age.” He then told the lawyer (and us) to “go and do the same” as the “bitter enemy.”
But how can that be?
Paul tells us how in Romans —
When people patiently do what is good, and so pursue the quest for glory and honour and immortality, God will give them the life of the age to come … and there will be glory, honour and peace for everyone who does what is good, the Jew first and also, equally, the Greek. … This is how it works out. Gentiles don’t possess the law as their birthright; but whenever they do what the law says, they are a law for themselves, despite not possessing the law. 15They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts.
That ties directly into the letter of Hebrews —
Hebrews 8.10-12 (GNT; adapted):[6]
“Now, this is the covenant that I’ll make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the [Holy One]: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I’ll be their God, and they will be my people. 11None of them will have to teach their friends or tell their neighbors, ‘Know the Lord.’ For they will all know me, from the least to the greatest. 12I will forgive their sins and will no longer remember their wrongs.”
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews has been making the point that the new covenant referred to above has been established through Jesus. Therefore, all people now have God’s laws “in their minds and [written] on their hearts.” All people are now God’s people because of the work of Jesus. And their actions, like the actions of the “Good Samaritan,” are the proof of that.
But we’ve been taught that it’s “faith alone” that saves us!
James, the brother of Jesus, addressed that, too —
What use is it, my dear family, if someone says they have faith when they don’t have works? Can faith [alone] save such a person? 15Supposing a [family member] is without clothing, and is short even of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; be warm, be full!” — but doesn’t give them what their bodies need – what use is that? 17In the same way, faith, all by itself and without works, is dead.
Later on, James wrote, “ … a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. … Just as the body without the spirit is dead, you see, so faith without works is dead” (James 2.24, 26; NTE). In other words, it doesn’t matter if you just believe in God — even demons believe in God (James 2.19) — because “faith without the right actions is dead and useless” (James 2.20; PHILLIPS).[7]
So, to inherit the Life of the Ages, one has to have “faithful actions” — actions growing out of one’s love for God, neighbors, and even toward one’s supposed enemies. “Do this,” Jesus said, “and [we] will live.”
~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
_________
[1] Scripture quotations marked (NTE) are taken from The New Testament for Everyone, copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011. SPCK Publishing.
[2] There’s another conversation in Luke 18 along the same lines — the story of the “Rich Young Ruler.” There Jesus tells the ruler to keep the commandments, which the ruler answers that he’s kept them since his youth. Jesus tells him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and then follow him. The ruler turns away saddened because of his great wealth. This shows us that the ruler loved his wealth more than God or neighbor.
[3] Some great information can be found here and here.
[4] “The Samaritans (Cutheans).” Chabad.org, Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2836152/jewish/The-Samaritans-Cutheans.htm.
[5] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
[6] Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are taken from The Good News Translation (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. All rights preserved.
[7] Scripture quotations marked [PHILLIPS] are taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.
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