I am fully aware every single time I write and then post/share a lesson here, that I have absolutely no control over how anyone hears, reads, or interprets these daily postings.

Which is why I commit them totally to the Holy Spirit and leave the results up to Him. This I Know: His word does not return void but accomplishes what He sends it out to do. (Isa. 55:11)

But I do feel a compelling to state that if what you are personally ‘hearing’ in these posts - is me suggesting that one’s ‘salvation’ is ‘performance based’ as opposed to being ‘saved by the grace of God alone’- then you are not hearing the message that is being conveyed. 

Or just maybe you are equating ‘obedience’ with ‘performance’. And the idea of having to ‘obey God’ and His word somehow translate to ‘legalism’, which is not that uncommon of a path to quickly land upon.

I mean, we are told that Jesus became the author or source of ‘eternal salvation to those who obey Him’. (Heb. 5:9)

Jesus asked one group: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46)

Do you think it is possible that somewhere along the way, someone ‘slipped a mickey’ in our Kool-Aid and convinced us that we could all sign on to ‘accept Christ as our personal Savior’ but the whole ‘Lordship’ deal was too costly of an option, too demanding of us; so it was made available only for those who chose that path but it certainly had nothing to do with our eternal destiny.

Really? Do you truly believe that is even an option where one can receive Christ as Savior but reject or opt out of His Lordship over our lives?

Here’s another word-picture for you to consider as I know of no better illustration to use that depicts what Jesus came to do for ‘whosoever believes’....

We just recently observed another anniversary of that horrific day in NYC that we all know as ‘9.11’.

After the planes crashed into both towers and the intense heat of the flames began to spread,...rescue workers and firemen began making their way up the tower stairwells to the floors where hundreds of people were trapped in offices and such. We can only imagine the horror and dread that those victims had to be experiencing. There are recordings of voice messages we have heard played back of some of them calling loved ones, uncertain if they would make it out alive...leaving tearful, heartfelt words of loving goodbye’s on machines back home.

Imagine if you will now being hunkered beneath some desk in fear, unsure where to go or how to escape the flames and billowing smoke. Then, without warning a door burst opens and in come one of NY’s finest ...hollering out asking if anyone is in that room you are in. You stick your head out in disbelief to see a fireman standing there with ax in hand and oxygen mask donned. When he sees you, he urges you to get up from under your desk and to follow him as he promises to lead you out to safety.

In that moment, your heart is overwhelmed with hope and gratitude. Perhaps a few other people still alive rise up from underneath their desk as well, and you all look at one another in disbelief and awe. Why, one of you might even exclaim loudly: “We are saved!”

No doubt, your prospects of being ‘saved’ are much better now than what they were just a few minutes earlier. Your ‘knight in shining armor’ quickly admonishes you to gather close to him, maybe even offering a few quick breaths of his oxygen before he leads you back out into the hallway and to a dark stairwell where you join others who are making their descent down as well.

I don’t know if there is any way of us actually knowing how many people escaped the buildings that morning in that manner, being led down dozens upon dozens of flights of stairs. But we know there were, and we have pictures and testimonies proving that this did indeed happen.

Allow me to ask this one question: At what point...were these trapped people, hunkered beneath their desks in fear...’saved’?

Was it when the fireman entered the room? Was it after they took a deep breath of oxygen and wiped a few tears mingled with soot from their faces? Maybe it was when a cheer erupted and someone cried out: “We are saved!”?

Does it not seem silly to want to stop there and begin debating as to when their ‘salvation’ occurred? Before the fireman appeared on the scene, things looked bleak. When he entered that office room and made it known he was there not to condemn them, but to rescue them, no doubt this was a wonderful moment. (John 3:17). But I would suspect that if any of those people remained under their desk and broke out in song claiming they were now ‘saved’, and remained there under those desk assured they were indeed saved simply because they professed they 'believed' ..the fireman would have good reason to question their mental and emotional state.

Yes, he was there to save them from eminent destruction. But something was ‘required’ of them if they wanted to get out alive. They needed to follow him. It would require a bit more than just ‘walking the aisle’ and coming to that door to embrace the fireman in gratitude. He was there to lead them to safety and if they wanted to live to see another day, they would have to follow his commands.

Stopping on every flight of stairs and asking one another the same question over and over of “Are we saved?...we are saved, yes?”, would have been an odd question. The obvious answer would be...keep following him and yes...he will lead you to safety.

I’m guessing on the way down those stairs that perhaps the smoke began to clear in those stairwells. What if some of those people in your group stopped and opened a door on the lower floor and saw empty rooms seemingly unaffected by all the fire and smoke and danger. Maybe needing a rest or seeing food in a buffet line or a big TV playing or any other number of distractions could have tempted them to come in and take a break perhaps. What if piles of cash were sitting on a desk in one of those rooms and temptation overcame them to go gather some up? Everything might seem ‘just fine’ on that floor and the seriousness of the moment could easily be dulled if someone was not in their right mind.

If they step away from following their rescuer, and go in and help themselves to whatever it was that caught their eye...do we really want to take up the argument as to whether they are ‘still saved’ or not?

Friends...this is what many in the church world have done. We have gotten sidetracked from the importance of what it means to ‘follow Jesus’ who came not to condemn us, but to save us.

Picture if you will, a group of those making their way down the stairwell and slipping in to one of those rooms where everything seemed ‘safe’ and there was food and money and entertainment. Then, to drive the point home, they go over to the windows and look at the ‘other tower’ in flames and shake their heads in dismay talking about how bad and evil things have become. Yet...they remain numb to their own peril. Why...they were ‘saved’ only minutes ago and have quickly forgotten what it was they were ‘saved from’.

You can stand in that room and quote scripture promises all day long and sing hymns of thanks that you are no longer where you used to be just moments earlier. But are you in a ‘good place’? I think not.

Who are the ones that will be ‘saved’ in that scenario? I have to conclude it’s the ones who continue...to ‘abide’ and follow...and yes...’obey’ the instructions of the rescue worker.

Jesus made this statement: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

Jesus also make this statement as well: “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt. 24:13)

Join me tomorrow?