Here's the Reader's Digest version of a conversation I had in my patrol car today with a former crack cocaine addict I'll call Billy.
To bring you up to speed, the first portion of our conversation was Billy telling me his story of his childhood (started using crack cocaine at the ripe old age of 16!), his addictions, his arrest last summer, his time in a detox program, and his on-going counseling to stay clean.
"Do you believe in God, heaven, or hell, Billy?"
"Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell based on everything I've done in my life. I mean, I've been saved, God has forgiven me, but I'm still pretty sure I'm going to hell anyway."
"Why? Isn't God's grace sufficient enough to forgive all kinds of sin?"
"Yeah, but this is a pretty bad one."
"There's worse", I replied.
"Yeah, but I've been hurting people for over 15 years and I feel guilty about it. I mean, I know people don't go to heaven because they do good things, but there has to be some consequence."
"Tell me, then, Billy. How is a person saved?"
"Well, God forgives us of our sin and we have to do the right things, like reading the bible, going to church, being nice to people."
"But didn't you just say we don't go to heaven because of the good things we do? Which one is it?"
"I don't know."
"Do you know how God forgives us, Billy? Do you know what's going on behind the scenes, theologically speaking?"
"I'm not exactly sure."
I'll spare you the dialogue, but I explained to Billy the holy, righteous requirements God set for us in His Law. I then asked if any person has ever been able to obey and satisfy all of these laws. His answer, of course, was no, so I asked Billy who Jesus Christ was. He stumbled through the idea of Jesus being the Son of God, but was not sure if Jesus was sinless and how He came into the picture regarding our sins. I took some time to explain the sinlessness of Christ, and that He fulfilled ALL of the righteous requirements of God's Law on the behalf of those who would entrust their lives to Him!
"Billy, when you asked God for forgiveness, do you think God knew who you were at the time He chose to forgive you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because it's quite significant. If He knew your yesterdays, then He also knows your tomorrows. Do you think He forgave only certain sins you've committed, or a certain time period of sins?
"I don't know for sure."
"No! If you have truly entrusted your life to Him, then He has forgiven your past sins and even the sins you haven't yet committed! God forgives us sinners in spite of who we are, and all that while knowing we will continue to sin. You have a written guarantee in His Word that you ARE forgiven, Billy. There are no caveats or exceptions. Your guilt for sins committed does not abolish the truth of God's great grace. If you have put your life in Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled all those requirements that you cannot fulfill, then when God judges you He sees Jesus Christ! He sees the sinless one standing in on your behalf. You are forgiven if you have truly turned to God through Jesus Christ and you have an assurance, a guarantee that you will be in heaven."
It was a fun conversation, because I was not trying to convince a person he needed salvation. I was simply convincing a sinner of his assurance of salvation, a message that has so regularly been ignored. Our churches have been implicitly leading people to live in fear, causing them to wonder if they can ever know if they are really saved. Billy still held the understanding that God judges us by using the scales of justice, where good or bad deeds outweigh the other. People are hearing a message of "good works" FOR salvation, but I think we need to be stressing the assurance of true salvation, where good works are an outworking based on what God has done for us.
Jesus said, "...I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
What an amazing grace! God bless you brother. See you there!
ReplyDeleteWE shall certainly pray for this individual. I am not sure from just what was written that he was ever a believer, or truly saved.
ReplyDeletewe have to be careful pronouncing salvation on somebody who has no resemblance to the Father whatsover.
No doubt, we still sin, and we can fall in gross and grevious sin, but we can't remain in sin as a lifestyle and claim to be a believer.
Hopefully you shared with him the sinfulness of sin and the need for repentance. We shall plead with the Holy Spirit that He might grant repentance and open this man's heart.
What a wonderful opportunity you have.
Thesarous, thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteGregg, as I said at the beginning, this is the Readers Digest version. Billy cleaned up almost a year ago, but just like anyone else he still has struggles. As you well know, the "old man" still lives and struggles with the "new".
I'm convinced by our conversation that Billy is a believer (which is why I stressed "true salvation" in my conversation with him).
I wonder if the fault lies in the message being preached or just in Billy's listening skills. The point is, just because someone doesn't understand a thing does not negate the efficacy of the thing.
Love this post Mike.
ReplyDeleteLove it because it's about God's all sufficiency. It's about that fact that God is so great, so good, so merciful;He saves people like me, like you, and like Billy.
The Word is so very clear that ANY sin, makes us a sinner. So we would all, no matter how good we are, stand in guilt before our holy God. It's only because of the blood of Jesus, the acceptance of the price He paid in our place, that any of us get to be in the presence of God eternally - because Jesus' blood makes us clean. My heart rejoices within me as I even just think about this - God is so good and He made ME clean!!!
Because of God's grace and goodness I've been blessed to be His follower for 39 years now. I can tell you that as each year passes, I become more and more convinced that as I grow in my understanding and experience of His grace - that's when my life changes. When my heart is overflowing with gratitude for His love, it's then that sin's pull recedes and that I just want to do ANYTHING for the love of my life, my God. When the focus is on having a good, Christian, lifestyle...I flounder and fail. When it's about connection to the one who loves me so much, He produces His fruit in my life.
Mike, that is SO awesome and beautiful that you took the time to talk to him about his life and reached out to him regarding Christ.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with Gregg "we have to be careful pronouncing salvation on somebody who has no resemblance to the Father whatsover"...
I also know that when I wondered off the straight and narrow that I too believed that I had strayed to far for God to even consider taking the likes of me back... I really was very deceived in thinking that I couldn't get back into the fold...just gone to far. If it wasn't for someone telling me otherwise I'd still be under that false assumption.... being young, not knowing all the ins and outs about salvation.... having low self esteem etc... a recipe for deception.
Thank you for telling him and hopefully he will grasp it and find away to get out of the wide road.
God is doing an awesome work through you. And I'm enjoying reading about it.
ReplyDeleteI believe sometimes the message is going out the wrong way. In the area I live in some Free Will Baptist teach the loss of salvation by sin. Something I have never grasped. However, I believe that throughout our walk we will be conformed to the image of Christ just as the Bible teaches. Many people can say "the prayer" but not have a true conversion by the Spirit. I believe it's awesome that God has allowed you to see the different places Christians can be in their walk with Him. Sanctification is a process but it will happen with His children.
ReplyDeleteI used to be one of those judgmental Christians who expected others to be where I was, but expected others to have grace when I wasn't where they were. Ugh
ReplyDeleteAnd I used to be one of those Christians who feared every step of every day wondering if and when I'd lose my salvation. What a miserable time it was.