Which is more scandalous? The multitudes of Christians who think they need to earn their salvation by being good? Or the throng of Christians who think that holy living doesn't matter so long as they have prayed the sinner's prayer?
This intriguing question is asked at the beginning of the article "Not an Academic Question" in Christianity Today.
I'm not sure the article really answers the question.
I have sympathy for those who have the horrors when folk say to themselves "Once Saved Always Saved," so now I can live as I please.
I agree with them that this is not taught in the Bible.
But I also think that it is important to believe God's promises concerning assurance, and to believe that it is not our works which will save us, or keep us saved, but the work of Christ alone.
In church this morning we read Jesus' words in Matthew 10 "He who endures to the end will be saved" and I believe it is also important to stress this, but to complement it with teaching that enduring is also a gift of God.
This is why I have always puzzled over Martyn Lloyd Jones' words on Romans 6:1, which I cited last week.
Surely if we preach the whole Bible, people will realise that they can't presume on God's grace, and that they must persevere, by God's grace.
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