One Way to Be Saved

I go into details of this in this week's video, but let me explain what I was trying to say last Sunday when I said there was more than one way to be saved.

The question I should have been asking is “How many ways are there to achieve eternal life?” Only Jesus can save us from God's wrath. And that is the only way any of us achieve eternal life. Yet, there is another way to enter heaven, and that's to never incur God's wrath. To be perfect; without sin; always loving God and neighbor.

While I didn't say it exactly right (and I'm grateful to those who caught it), I still stand by the point I was trying to make. Let me share my "source material" from R.C. Sproul's commentary on Romans 2:

Another question that I often stumped the seminary students with is, How many ways are there to get into heaven? They will respond, There is only one way to get into heaven and that is by faith in Jesus Christ. I reply, That’s true, realistically speaking. But theoretically, there is another way to get into heaven—by leading a good life. If a person lives a life that is in perfect obedience to the law of God, they don’t need Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to save people who do not live perfect lives. The tragedy is that there are actually people who believe that their lives are good enough to get them into heaven.
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (verse 8). The apostle is saying that in the judgment God is going to distribute two possibilities: eternal life on the one hand, and wrath and anger on the other. Who will receive eternal life? Those who persist and endure in doing good. Who will receive the wrath and anger of God? Those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth but follow evil.

In this passage, Sproul is making the point that there are two ways to enter heaven: by faith in Jesus Christ or by living a perfect life. However, he also points out that the only realistic way to enter heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ, because no one can live a perfect life.

What a few people in the church caught is that by mistakenly saying “be saved” instead of “enter heaven” I introduced the concept of what we would have to be saved from. Remember, Jesus' death doesn't save us from our mistakes or from ourselves. Jesus saves us from God's wrath. A person who lives a perfect life never incurs God's wrath, hence they don't need to be saved.

While my video goes into the theological details, in this section I wanted to commend people to always keep their minds active and Bibles open as they listen to any Biblical teaching. Acts 17 mentions a group called “The Bereans.”

…the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. - Acts 17:11-12

The Bereans were noble because they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Let us follow the Bereans' example and always think through my sermons and any other Bible teaching with our brains active and Bibles open.

By doing so, we can ensure that we are not being misled by false teachers or false teachings. We can also grow in our knowledge of God's Word and in our relationship with Him.

So let us be like the Bereans and always be eager to learn more about God and His Word. And let us always be willing to test everything we hear against the Scriptures.

Only then can we be sure that we are following the truth.

I hope this blog post has encouraged you to be like the Bereans and to always think through my sermons and any other Bible teaching with your brains active and Bibles open. By doing so, you can grow in your knowledge of God's Word and in your relationship with Him.

With You;
Pastor Tim