Reverend says: Have you made your peace with God?
Dying Believer says: No, I have not.
Reverend: What! You haven’t made peace with God ? Even when you’re so near to death ?!
Dying Believer: I have not made my peace with God. And I do NOT intend to do so.
Reverend: Wow! I am astonished! For someone that has been moral and upright I would have expected better!
Dying Believer: Well — It is true I have not made peace with God and I do not intend to do so. And there is a reason why.
Reverend: Why, why?!
Dying Believer: I cannot add to Christ’s finished work. “And through Him making PEACE BY THE BLOOD of His cross to reconcile all things to Himself … And you then being alienated and hostile in your mind by evil works, but now He reconciled” (Col 1:20).
God does NOT call upon me to make peace with Him. Instead, he has SHOWN me by the Gospel that He is at peace with me.
If I must do anything at all to “get right” with God, then Christ failed on the cross. He didn’t do enough, if I must do something.
And if I use my sincerity/humility for assurance of salvation, then Christ’s righteousness would not be my peace. My own works would be.
Comments (4)
Are you meaning to exclude repentance, the need to claim and confess Christ as Lord and Savior?
Why do you assume that activity on the said of man in view of his salvation is antithetical to the “gospel”?
How do you define “the gospel”? How does it “show” that you, Andrew, personally is saved and not lost?
Again, I am still waiting for your response to my objections to your claims.
I mean “side” of man
on the more realist side, I don’t get what is going on with you. What I mean is that, I think I have pointed out the errors of your claims, and you have not/no response,.. just to be a honest person, I don’t understand why you persist in the error rather than to give an response where you think I have been wrong, or to learn more and grow. It has been 2 years now, and I am guessing that there must be something personal that is keeping you to the, what i think i have shown to be, false views.
I do wish the best for you. Take care.
The cross is our assurance indeed…but you might want to at the same time emphasize that belief is the necessary means to salvation. But God still does the work.
–Andrew
well it is CERTAINLY a comforting thought !