(I should point out that, personally, my beliefs are Buddhist and Hindu, so no one will feel that I have a vested interest or some ideological ax to grind. I was raised with no religion, but became Greek Orthodox Christian in my early twenties, and remained that for 20 years before changing my views.)
This morning, I read this entire thread aloud to my wife, who has read every volume of the “Left Behind” and we discussed it. I was incorrect yesterday in stating that those who are left behind have no hope for salvation. Apparently, they are still free to accept Christ and be saved, but they must suffer all the trials and tribulations and temptations of the Great Tribulation of the last days. I am correct in pointing out that those who are “taken up” in the rapture are presumed to be “saved”, and there is a real problem scripturally with such a teaching as it conflicts with other parts of the Bible. Many Protestant denominations stress the notion that, if you do certain things, then your salvation is guaranteed to you in this lifetime. The big problem with guaranteed salvation is that it is in conflict with Jesus words in the Gospels. Jesus describes a scene from the final Judgment where some approach and say “Lord, Lord, we did miracles in your name…” and he replies to them, “Go away, I never knew you.” Others approach and he says to them, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed me, etc.” This other group is quite perplexed and exclaims “when did we do all these things?” Jesus answers, “When you did these things to the lest of your brethren (the poorest of the poor in Mother Theresa’s terms) then you did them to me. It is quite obvious from Jesus’ words that those who presumed themselves saved were sadly mistaken, while those who were truly saved were not even conscious of what it was they had done to deserve salvation.
I had previously quoted from this link and one phrase stands out for me with unique significance:
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020701/books.html
(quote)
LaHaye has devoted much of his career—and 13 of his nonfiction works—to puzzling out what the Bible's prophecies mean. He has explained it all in dense tomes for fellow theologians as well as in the accessible 140-page Charting the End Times: A Visual Guide to Understanding Bible Prophecy (written with Thomas Ice, 2001).
"The future is settled, and not open to change," LaHaye says. There is comfort in that message.
(end of quote)
What catches my attention is the word
COMFORT.
When we are assured of things like the eternal security of our salvation by people like Charles Stanley, then we are comforted that we have nothing to worry about. When we are assured that "The future is settled, and not open to change" we are comforted. But with such comfort comes a dangerous complacency.
Yet a crucial verse from the Old Testament: “Wisdom begins in
fear of the Lord”.
Gandhi, in his autobiography, describes how, as a college student in Great Britain, he voluntarily made a careful study of Christianity together with a certain pastor there. Gandhi said he rejected Christianity because he noticed that Christians would sin in the most casual fashion. When Gandhi questioned them, they explained that they were forgiven and saved and continually cleansed by their baptism and the substitutional atonement of Christ on the cross. Gandhi stated that he did not desire simply to escape the consequences of sin, but, if possible, to extinguish sin itself, at its very source.
A depressed youth came to his pastor, who subscribed to Charles Stanley’s doctrine of the eternal security of salvation, which states that, once you accept Christ as your personal savior, then there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. The depressed youth asked the pastor if he would go to hell for committing suicide. The pastor comforted him by reminding him of Eternal Security, that nothing he could do would affect his guaranteed salvation. So, being thus comforted and reassured, the youth went and committed suicide.
Consider the following verses which fly in the face of doctrines of eternal security of salvation and in the
comfort which Tim LaHaye endeavors to bestow:
Phil. 2: 12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Why would Paul tell the people of Corinth to work out their salvation if it were already guaranteed and eternally secure?
I Corinthians 9:27 “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection [through fastings and vigils], lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Even Paul states that his own salvation is not a sure thing, but he must work at it.
II Corin. 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he had done, whether it be good or bad.”
Sounds like works count to me here, and one does not learn the verdict until the judgment. If one could know they are saved before the judgment, then what is the purpose of a judgment?
Romans ch 5-6: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: Who will render to every man
according to his deeds (works).”
"We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence
stedfast unto the end" (Hebrews 3:14).
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and
have not works? can faith save him?" (James 2:14).
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will
and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
"And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake: but he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mark 13:13).
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under Heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister" (Colossians 1:12-14, 23).
In closing this post, I would like to quote from the sixth century theologian, Maximus the Confessor, in the Philokalia:
"You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble." James 2:19
The demons believe but they do not love God and His Creation. St. Maximus the Confessor c. A.D. 580-662 quotes Jeremiah :" " Do not say you are the Temple of the Lord,"(Jer.7:4); nor should you say that faith alone in Our Lord Jesus Christ can save you, for this is impossible unless you acquire love for Him through your works."(The Philokalia Vol. II p.5)
And John Climacus, also of the Philokalia, states that “At the Judgment you shall recognize the righteous, for their heads shall be hung low, and they shall say, “We have done nothing worthy.”
Another word to describe this attitude is
humility which seems to be absent from the vocabularies of people like Tim LaHaye.
I listed on the radio to Dr. James Dobson reviewing Mel Gibson’s movie. Dr. Dobson exclaimed (paraphrasing), “I did not think it was possible for me to love Jesus any more than I do, but seeing this movie about the Crucifixion made me love Jesus even more.” For the ancient orthodox Christians of the early centuries, these words of Dr. Dobson would be considered quite proud. He believes himself to be perfect in his love for Jesus, flawless. The ancient Greeks called such an attitude, “planemenos” which comes from the same word as planet, meaning “wanderer”. A planamenos person is someone who has strayed away from the genuine teachings of the Gospels and is sick with the disease of pride. The Russians translate the Greek term, planamenos, into Slavonic as “prelest”.
