A friend just read my book, God Makes Us Holy. Something clicked, so he asked, “What is your version of God’s plan of salvation?”
He was sincere, a true seeker of truth. Yet, for decades, he struggled with this concept because of his highly conservative upbringing. Rules restricted and condemned. Love and forgiveness were absent. The doctrine that stuck in his head said that only the best people found salvation. Everyone else went to hell.
He knew that view conflicted with many biblical teachings. It rejected God’s compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. Instead of God redemption saving us, our actions did.
Through the years, he realized that doctrine of condemnation condemned himself. He learned the rules were blown out of proportion because they did not show God’s love, and forgiving others freed his soul. Forgiving himself was still a goal, but one much closer than it once was.
However, his preachers still taught dogmatic rules that condemned. They segregated those who follow their denomination’s ways from everyone else.
I will give you what I told him.
God loves you. God loves you so much that He wants you to live with Him forever. Period.
Reread that statement. It is God’s plan of salvation. His blood paid the price to save the worst sinner. If you are not worse than the worst sinner that ever lived, then you qualify for His love and heaven. God only asks that we choose to live His way. It is not difficult, but culturally it is not easy.
God wants us to live a life filled with his goodness because it is good for us and those around us. He wants us to discard anger, hatred, lust, and all those thoughts that lead to self-centered evil because they are bad for us and those around us.
When evil thoughts enter our mind, he wants us to talk to him about them, so that we can recover. He desires that we acknowledge our sin so that we can confess and repent: to God, to “self,” and to those around us. He will forgive instantly. He wants us to forgive ourselves and realize that we cannot control the response of others. Forgiveness is the key to freedom.
For us to hold on to hateful thoughts and actions, we must justify their continuation. When they become “normal,” we deem confession and repentance unnecessary. Self-centered evil slowly kills our God-breathed spirit. With a dead spirit, we no longer look like God. Our choices let us become children of Satan.
When others hurt us, physically or mentally, we must work through the emotions and learn to forgive. Forgiveness is God’s way, but it is not easy for humans. Yet, holding negative emotions hurts us more than “what happened.” It hardens our heart (thoughts and emotions) and distorts our relationships with everyone else. It is bad for us. Learn to forgive as God forgives.
All the other requirements called for in “Plans of Salvation” are ritualistic additions.
Do not complicate God’s love and salvation with cultural dictates. There is no “one way,” except by God’s love. Our commitment and faith to act are important to God. But, what God wants from us is our love, which reflects his love. All other “things” pale in comparison.
The rituals are for our benefit. Confession and baptism are important, but their appearance changes with culture. They are points in time that redefine “self.” They are part of our testimony where God cleansed us for a personal covenant with Him. However, neither forces compliance nor guarantees salvation. Likewise, their absence does not require God to send good people to hell.
Trust God to save mercifully and justly. In the parable of the sheep and goats, Jesus said compassion trumped personal beliefs and even knowledge of him. No religious restrictions qualified or disqualified salvation. In the story of Cornelius, God filled the gentiles with his Spirit before baptism. He accepted them even before Peter arrived. God has always loved and was always willing to save. The story of Jonah tells us that bluntly. God also saves the enemies of his people. God knows the human heart. His salvation is for everyone willing to live his way.
Still, only his love saves us.
First and foremost, remember what he did. God loved us first. Learn to love him back. Our soft heart, filled with his Spirit, secures salvation.
