Standby Salvation

 

Standby Salvation 

Standby Salvation - Audio/Visual 

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13)

Have you ever traveled on standby? It’s the equivalent to baseball tryouts – you’re on the field but you’re really not on the team; it’s a possibility but no guarantee. Standby passengers punctuate every thought with a question mark. “Am I condemned to a life of airport food?” “Will the Sky Club accept my credit card?” “Is this why they call an airport a ‘terminal’?” Ticketed passengers, by contrast, relax like a third-grade teacher on the first day of summer. They read magazines, thumb through newspapers and every so often they lift their eyes to pity us, the standby peasantry. Oh, to be numbered among the confirmed; to have our very own seat number and departure time. How can you rest if you aren't assured passage on the final flight home? Many people don't. Sadly, many Christians don't, either.

They live with a deep-seated anxiety about eternity. They think they’re saved, or hope they’re saved. But still they doubt, wondering “Am I really saved?” This isn’t an academic question. Parents of prodigals ask it. So do friends of the wayward. It surfaces in the heart of the struggler. It seeps into the thoughts of the dying. When we forget our vow to God, does God forget his vow to us? Does God place us on a standby list? But our behaviors give us reason to wonder sometimes. We’re strong one day, weak the next. Devoted one hour, flagging the next. Believing then unbelieving. Our lives are like a roller coaster.

Conventional wisdom draws a line through the middle of these fluctuations. Perform above this line and enjoy God's acceptance; dip below it and expect a pink slip from heaven. In this paradigm a person is lost and saved multiple times a day, in and out of the kingdom on a regular basis. Salvation becomes a matter of timing where you just hope you die on the upswing. No security, stability or confidence. But that’s not God's plan. He draws the line, for sure. But he draws it beneath our ups and downs. Addressing this condition, Jesus' language couldn't be clearer: "I give them eternal life. They will never be lost, and no one will tear them away from me.” (John 10:28) Jesus promised a new life that could not be forfeited or terminated. "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24) Bridges are burned and the transfer is accomplished. Ebbs and flows continue, but they never disqualify. Ups and downs may mark our days, but they will never ban us from his kingdom.

On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Salvation is not a repeated phenomenon. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then resaved, then lost again. Where there’s no assurance of salvation, there is no peace. No peace means no joy. And no joy results in fear-based lives. Is that the life God created? No. Grace creates a confident soul who declares, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." (2 Tim. 1:12) Of all the things we don't know in life, we know this: we hold a boarding pass. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13) Trust God's hold on you more than your hold on God. His faithfulness does not depend on yours. His performance is not predicated on your own. His love is not contingent on how you feel. Your candle may flicker, but it won’t flame out.

Hard to believe? The disciples thought so, too. On the night before his death, Jesus made this announcement: "All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." (Matt. 26:31-32) Now, by this point the disciples had known Jesus for three years. They'd spent a thousand nights with him. They knew his stride, accent and sense of humor. They'd smelled his breath, heard him snore and watched him pick his teeth after dinner. They'd witnessed miracles we know about, and countless others we don't. Bread was multiplied. Lepers were cleansed. They saw him turn water into Merlot and a lunch box into a buffet. They unwrapped burial clothing from a was-dead Lazarus, and watched mud fall from the eyes of a was-blind man. For three years these handpicked recruits enjoyed center-court, front-row seats to heaven's greatest display, kind of like Jack Nicholson at a Laker’s game. And how would they respond? "All of you will stumble," Jesus told them.

Fall away. Turn away. Run away. Their promises would melt like wax on a summer sidewalk. Jesus' promise, however, would stay firm. "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." (v. 32) Translation? Your fall will be great, but my grace will be greater. Stumble, I will catch you. Scatter, I will gather you. Turn from me, I will turn toward you. You'll find me waiting for you in Galilee. Apparently, that promise was lost on Peter. "Even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble." (v. 33) Not exactly one of Peter's finer moments.

"Even if all . . . ." That’s pretty arrogant. "I will never be made to stumble." A self-sufficient absolutist that borders on braggadocio. Peter's trust was in Peter's strength. Yet Peter's strength would peter out and Jesus knew it: "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren." (Luke 22:31-32) Satan would attack and test Peter, but Satan would never claim Peter. Why? Because Peter was strong? No, because Jesus was. "I have prayed for you." Jesus' prayer hamstrung Satan, and Jesus’ prayer for you will do the same: "Holy Father, keep them and care for them – all those you have given me – so that they will be united just as we are. I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of their testimony." (John 17:11, 20)

Will God hear the intercessory pleas of his Son? Of course he will. Like Peter, we may be sifted like wheat. Our faith will wane, our resolve may waver, but we will not fall away. We are "kept by Jesus," (Jude v. 1) and "shielded by God's power." (1 Peter 1:5) And that’s no small power. It’s the power of a living and ever-persistent Savior. But might some take advantage of this assurance? Knowing that God will catch them if they fall, might they fall on purpose? Yes, they might for a time. But as grace goes deep, as God's love and kindness sinks in, they will change. Grace fosters obedience. Consider the story of Joseph.

His brothers sold him to gypsies, who, in turn, sold him to Potiphar, a high-ranking official in Egypt. During his tenure as a servant in Potiphar's house, Joseph enjoyed the favor of God. "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man . . . the Lord made all he did to prosper . . . the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had." (Gen. 39:2, 3, 5) The narrator makes sure we get the point: God was good to Joseph. So good, in fact, that Potiphar left everything under Joseph's supervision. He turned the house over to him, which could have been a mistake because while Potiphar was away his wife grew interested in Joseph. She "cast longing eyes" (v. 7) on him.           

 Her eyelashes fluttered; lips puckered. She "became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, 'Sleep with me.'" (Gen. 39:7) The temptation was likely pretty strong. Joseph was, after all, a young man, all alone in a distant land surrounded by people he didn’t know. Surely God would understand a brief dalliance, right? Wrong. Look at Joseph’s response: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (v. 9) God's kindness stirred Joseph's holiness. God's grace does the same in us.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." (Titus 2:11-12) What a robust grace. It both convicts and comforts. So, let it convict you. If you ever catch yourself thinking, “I can do whatever I want because God will forgive me,” then grace is not happening to you. Selfishness, perhaps. Arrogance, for sure. But grace? No. Grace creates a resolve to do good, not permission to do bad.

Let grace comfort you. Look to Christ for your beginning and ending. He is the Alpha and the Omega. (Rev. 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, 22:13) The beginning and the end. The verses’ placement in the last book of the Bible is strategic, almost as if to punctuate the fact that Jesus will see the beginning to its end. And if so, he will hold on to the ones he loves, and to the ones you love, too. Do you have a prodigal? Do you long for your spouse to return to God? Do you have a friend whose faith has grown cold? God wants them back more than you do. So, keep praying and don't give up. We all have a ticket to our final destination; none of us are standby passengers. Just be sure you’ve booked your flight with the One who’ll get you home.

Grace,

Randy