What Christians Believe about Salvation Psalm 96: 1-6

Up to this point in our sermon series on what Christians believe, it could be said that Christians across the board believe the same statements of faith about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. However, today’s topic, the final in this particular sermon series is a bit trickier. Salvation is a hot topic in the church - how do you get saved. When were you saved. Do you need say certain things. Can you only be saved once. Has God chosen some people to be saved and others to perished. The list goes on and on.

Salvation is also confusing because we cannot address it apart from sin. God created humans to be in relationship with Him and with each other, but we screwed that up. Royally. We have strayed from the love of God in so many ways - and every possible way that we can sin is equally in the eyes of God; there are not some sins that are “worse” then others. Sin also always has consequences, both in the present and the eternal. And yet, we are also hesitant to admit or confess our sins, because we don’t want to acknowledge that we have screwed up. 

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. Enter Jesus. Who seeks to reconcile the lost world to God through his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection. Salvation is accepting this gift, this sacrifice, for one’s self. However, believing is not enough, for salvation should transform us into new people serving God in new way in community. 

We need to be communities of faith that remind us that our human story involves creation, sin, grace, and the law. To be reminded that we cannot save ourselves, no matter how hard we try.  In “Our Doctrinal Heritage” for United Methodist it states, “as sinful creatures we have broken covenant, become estranged from God, wounded ourselves and one another, and wreaked havoc throughout the natural order. We stand in need of redemption.” We need community to remind us that genuine salvation comes from God and that we have a responsibility to respond to that salvation. For John Wesley believed that humanity had a responsibility in being made in the image of God and a responsibility in responding to God’s grace. 

At its core that is what salvation is, responding to God’s grace. We cannot earn salvation. In fact, salvation belongs to God. Today’s psalm reminds us that we are to bless God for the majesty of salvation, telling that story each and every day. Telling of the marvelous work God has done among his people. It is by God’s power and grace alone that we can be redeemed. Christians believe that before we knew God that God has gone before us to prepare a path to the Divine. This grace stirs in us the desire to repent, which in traditional evangelical doctrines means turning around or going a new direction. It should be noted that “because prevenient grace from God moves us to repent, this repentance is not our good works, but God’s gracious activity in us.” Repentance involves the realization that we cannot save ourselves as we experience sorrow for our sin. As a result of this realization repentance leads us to seek God’s help and restoration

Wesley preached a two-fold legal and evangelical repentance. Legal repentance was a conviction for sin, but evangelical repentance was a change of heart that led to a life of holiness. He believed that change in mind and behavior were inextricably linked, thus a change of heart and mind would be most noticeable by changed behaviors and actions. This change of heart and mind came from an “awakening of the sinner to one’s need for God, one’s own guilt, and one’s inability to solve it on one’s own.” 

United Methodists do not believe that repentance is a one-time event. Rather, repentance is ongoing as we become more self-aware and seek to grow in holiness of heart and life. One of my favorite quotes from John Wesley comes after his life transforming experience with God when someone asks him if he is saved. His response: “I am being saved”. Salvation, like repentance, is not a one time event, but rather a process where we grow more in love with God. The journey to salvation starts with repentance, and as God convicts us of our sins, we turn in the other direction, moving closer to the heart of God. 

When I think about Wesley’s statement two friends come to mind. Both attended a Bible study I was a part of. Both claimed to come to know Christ at the same time - however, one only changed his behaviors for a few weeks, before giving up. The other still attends to his faith. What was the difference between the two? The first thought salvation was a one time event that cleared him to act however he desired in the future, While the other lived into Wesley’s statement - seeing his faith as a process.

In recent months the conversation has emerged in different studies in the parish about whether you need an event that you can point to in order to be truly saved. While some people have such life changing events, others grow up in the church and transition from infancy in faith to maturity without a large landmark to point to. Both are equally valid paths of salvation - one is not better that the other.

However, Wesley believed that the fruit of our salvation, whether a gradual process or a life defining moment, should be seen in how we treat others, especially the poor, the sick, and the hungry. For the early Methodists it was not enough to save souls, for they believed we needed to seek to redeem society, which God deeply cares about, as well. We cannot earn salvation through good works, but good works should flow from our repentance, in order to reveal to others the One who has changed our lives.

As Christians we believe that individuals and the world is in need of salvation - delivered from the death we are due for our sins. Christ gave the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, which we will celebrate today around the communion table, in order to reunite humanity with God. However, there is no one right way to accept Christ’s sacrificial death for one’s self. Instead, as Christians we are in the process that continues throughout our lives and will be complete when we stand before Christ in judgment. 

The question really is are we going to accept God’s gracious gift of love in our lives and how are we going to live in a way that reflects this love? Will we be freed from the bondage of sin or will we dismiss salvation and be held captive? Will we live into our salvation in a way that draws others to God or will we make it all about us? What fruit have we bore through accepting the sacrifice of Christ? Hard questions that reflect an even harder topic - but questions we must ponder for our sake and the sake of our world. Amen.