Simply A Night Owl

Recently, I went on a search for subjects to write about; leaning toward purpose and mission. A quick search of the word mission led me to 1 Chronicles 16:23-24 which says “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” Simple enough, right? Yeah, sometimes I wish my interactions with God were that simple. You see, this verse has nothing to do with what I felt led to write about, it was only a means to get me there. God seems to have different designs for me. Not really being too familiar with Chronicles, I had to read the introduction to find out what it was all about. Wouldn’t you know it, one sentence jumped right off of the page at me. The Chronicler was writing for the restored community and the question on his mind was “Is God still interested in us? Are his covenants still in force?” That’s a question that is on the minds of some of God’s people, even today. It’s just worded differently. The question; can salvation be lost?

I read an interesting sermon on the subject by Manfred Schreyer, the founder of Spiritrestoration.org. In his sermon he said:

Those who believe say that Christ only died once for us and cannot be crucified again and that one cannot lose his or her salvation. Their argument is also that if one is saved and dies immediately he will go into heaven and there is nothing humankind can do to save themselves…..I think that is a reasonable argument. Those who believe that one can lose their salvation say that one must constantly ask for forgiveness for the sins one has committed in order to go to heaven and that salvation is not a free pass to go into heaven…I think that is also a very reasonable argument.

Although it may appear that way, Schreyer is not walking the fence here. In the end, his interpretation is that salvation can be lost. I initially focused in on his use of the word argument in this context as well. Maybe it was just a Freudian slip. Whether it was on his part or mine; you have to be the judge. What is true to me though is this. Argument seems to be an accurate depiction of the discussion tempo in relation to differences in Christian theology. That in itself is another story entirely.

Salvation; what is it? The definition is that it is an act of saving somebody or something from harm or a means by which that somebody or something is saved. Salvation is the term used to describe the liberation of God’s people from slavery. Whether that liberation comes from under Pharaoh or from under sin, it can be said that before the salvation of the Lord, we were slaves just the same. I have to wonder if we ever really allow ourselves to be completely free from it though. How many times have I sat back and thought about some of the stuff I did in my past and remember (maybe even with a little grin) how much fun it really was. Is this a human trait? Even the Israelites remembered how good it was in Egypt after they had been trudging through the desert for so long. Most of us occasionally look back upon our past and remember it; maybe even with some sense of satisfaction. Unfortunately for some, the temptation to re-live that past is too great.

Philippians 2:12 says to me that salvation just might be a process. “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” If it is possible to lose salvation, I think that one of the keys lies in the willingness to give it up; to turn away from God after really knowing him. There is a huge difference between slipping up and willful defiance and I think that slipping up might be quite expected. Let me give an example.

When my son came along, I got a great object lesson in the love of God and what it would actually take for him to write me off. As a father, I look at my son and I know that there is nothing this child of mine could ever do that would make me love him any less. I also know that whatever he does in this life, there will always be a place for him at my table. That’s the unconditional love that God has for us.

On the other hand, I have seen where in the U.S., children can now divorce their parents. There are even web sites that explain how.  After living a life under the care of parents, a child can make the decision to go it alone and do it themselves. That choice can also be made by God’s children. That doesn’t by any means say that God is happy about it but he will abide by your decision and he will let you live with it. He gave you the freedom to make that choice.

You know what’s really funny? After all of this pondering, I still really can’t say that I know the answer to the question. For that matter, I may never know while I’m here. In the end, all I can do is have faith that I can’t lose it but conduct myself as if I can.

Maybe it really is that simple.