You Can't Buy Your Way to Heaven
This past
week I got into a theological discussion with a buddy of mine from seminary. In short, our conversation discussed where
our understanding of sin comes from and how our sin is dealt with in the light
of God’s grace and mercy. Sounds
riveting, right?! I bet you wish you
were there!
Well, you are in luck! You can see what we said first hand by
visiting my Facebook page. I know it is
really tempting not to whip out your smart phones right now and log onto Facebook
but it can wait until after church…
In all honesty, I am not sure what was accomplished in our conversation. If exchange did anything for the poor soul
who actually read the thread, maybe it showed that Christian discourse can be
civil and thoughtful. The conversation
certainly didn’t change our stance on the issue, but I do think the
conversation lead us to a better understanding of each other and of God.
Ultimately, the conversation reminded me that the gospel of Christ is
not spoken in a vacuum like a one line quote on somebody’s Facebook page. Even more, the conversation served as a
reminder that the gospel can be twisted by picking and choosing which Bible
verse we like the best.
While some gospel truths are more universal in nature than others like
John 3:16, most gospel truths must be understood in a particular context. In other words, the gospel must speak to us
where we are in our particular time, place, and circumstance.
Perhaps the most universal truth about the gospel is that God finds us
where we are and loves us there. God
finds us in our tears, in our illness, in our weariness, in our dying, in our
suffering, in our sinfulness, in our affliction, and even in our pride and
joy. And every time, God greets us with
his love.
The universality of this gospel truth rings loud and clear in today’s
lesson. After Jesus informs the lawyer
that he can’t earn his way into heaven through good deeds, Jesus looks at the man in love and says,
"You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
The temptation in Jesus’ response is to say that we, too, must sell all
that we own and give it to the poor if we are interested in earning
salvation. If this is our response, then
I am afraid we have missed the point just like the lawyer missed the
point. The lawyer went away grieving
because he knew that he couldn’t do what Jesus asked him to do. He couldn’t sell his possessions and give it
to the poor.
And the lawyer’s response is exactly the point Jesus is
communicating. No one can earn their way
into heaven. Even if the lawyer did
choose to sell all that he had and give it to the poor, he would still be lost
because salvation would still be about his actions and not the action of God in
Christ.
If salvation is given to the hands of mortals, then we are basically
saying that we are in charge of our own salvation. This way of thinking about salvation leads to
a faith that believes we can squeeze our way into heaven if we do it just right. The fundamental problem with this way of
thinking puts our salvation at the center of our lives instead of God who is
the author of our salvation.
Jesus further emphasizes his point with the famous saying, “it is
easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needed than it is for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God.” In case
you were wondering, it is in fact impossible for a camel to fit through the eye
of a needle.
Even Peter, the one who often
speaks before he thinks, recognizes Jesus’ point when he says, “Then, who then
can be saved?” And to that Jesus says,
“For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are
possible.”
But then Peter falls into the same trap as the lawyer in understanding
that salvation can be earned by saying, “But Jesus look at me and all that I’ve
done. I have followed you! I am worthy of salvation because I gave up
everything to follow you.” Jesus doesn’t
directly affirm or deny Peter.
Instead, Jesus says that those who follow him for the sake of the good
news will receive 100 fold in this age and in the age to come receive life
everlasting. Do you notice anything
peculiar on this list of things one will receive by following Jesus? On his list of what his followers will
receive in this life, Jesus includes persecution. And when persecution enters the picture,
Peter is rendered speechless.
Peter, like the lawyer, believes that salvation can be achieved by
mortals. Peter believes that Jesus is a
great human king sent by God to destroy the rulers of this world with a sword
just like his ancestor King David. And
because Peter doesn’t understand the nature of salvation in Christ, he can’t
believe persecution is a part of the equation.
Peter doesn’t understand that the nature of God’s salvation of Christ is
not from this world. God’s salvation
doesn’t come through human hands, not even through the human hands of
Jesus.
Peter will soon discover that
he, too, cannot achieve salvation on his own.
During Jesus’ trial, Peter is questioned and asked if he is a follower
of Jesus. Like Jesus predicts, Peter
denies Christ three times before the cock crows three times. Peter is afraid of death because in Peter’s
mind death is the end of the story.
Peter has not come to believe that Jesus’ death is the way to eternal
life. And because he doesn’t understand
the nature of God’s salvation in Christ, there is no way he is going to suffer
persecution for Jesus’ sake. And because
he does not understand, Peter submits to the same temptation of Adam and Eve in
the garden and trusts in his own righteousness for life.
Even our best intentions and our best work can lead us to follow a
false narrative of salvation, a narrative that says salvation depends on what
we do. Sooner or later, this false
narrative will catch up with us and leave us empty. Sooner or later, we will get in the way of
our own salvation. Sooner or later, this
false narrative will have us worshiping ourselves and our actions instead of the
God who gives us salvation.
Sooner or later, we will be confronted with the reality that it is
impossible to be saved by human hands.
Nothing in this world, no organization, no political agenda, no
lifestyle routine, no perfect observance of the law, none of that—no matter how
good and wholesome—will lead us to salvation—even our best efforts will fail
us.
I don’t mean to say that God can’t use non-profits and government and
lifestyle trends to shed his light on the true narrative of salvation. Rather, we must recognize that these
temporary earthly solutions will eventually fail us and leave us wanting
more.
Churches die. Churches
change. People die. People change. Communities die. Communities change. Political agendas fail. The best football teams lose. The way we acted in our 20s and 30s may not
work in our 40s and 50s. I hope you are
starting to get the picture. We live in
a world that is passing away. We live in
a world where even good things pass away.
But the good news says that God’s Word never passes away, God’s truth
never dies. Even if something or someone
we love or depend on for life passes away, even if our best efforts fail us,
even if that thing that used to work no longer works, there is good news
because God’s eternal Word is always breathing life into something new; God’s
Word is always giving us hope for a new beginning.
Ultimately, the good news says that there is death and
resurrection. Salvation isn’t a
self-improvement project. Salvation
isn’t earned through our good deeds or lost because of our bad deeds. Rather, salvation is a death and resurrection
project.
Salvation is a process that involves repeatedly dying to the illusion
that we can save ourselves and growing in the knowledge and love of God’s grace. It is about recognizing failure and death not
as a measure of our self-worth rather as a chance for the new life that God has
already accomplished for us in Christ.
Peter eventually came to understand the nature of God’s salvation but
not before he witnessed death and resurrection.
The knowledge of salvation came after Peter saw Jesus go all the way to
the cross and beyond to say, “I love you.”
Peter’s knowledge of salvation came after Jesus sought him ought to give
him another chance at life. On the beach
Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?”
Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
And from that moment forward, Peter’s life changed forever. Peter certainly wasn’t perfect but he was
free because life no longer depended on Peter.
Instead, his life was completely left to the mercy of God. Peter’s quest for salvation was no longer the
object of his living because God took care of that in Christ. Instead, Peter’s life became a generous response
to the free gift of salvation.
Peter was free to give up all that he had and follow the way of
Christ. Peter was free to be a “fool”
for Christ because he knew in his very being that God’s Word was eternal
truth. Peter was free to accept
persecution as a gift of following Jesus because he knew that love is stronger
than death. Peter received 100-fold in
his new life in Christ.
During Stewardship Season, this is the point in the sermon when I am
supposed to talk about how the giving of your money is a part of your spiritual
health. I am supposed to talk about how
stewardship is a generous response to the free gift of salvation. I am supposed to talk about when you give
everything you have, you will receive 100-fold in your new life with Christ.
Instead of giving you a prescription on how much money you should give
to the Church or to the work of God, I want to ask you a couple of questions
that might help you answer that question on your own. Perhaps these questions are the best way I
can help you see how Jesus is meeting you where you are in your particular
context.
In your daily life, what or who do you depend on to get through the day? What or who helps you endure the changes and
chances of this life? Where is God in
all that? Where does God want to be? What do you need to know from God so that you
can trust more and more that God’s ways are better than your ways?
What kind of impact does the free gift
of salvation have on your daily life? What
might God be calling you to give up so you may know more and more the gift of
salvation?
How does your living, your work, your leisure, your giving reflect how
thankful you are for the gift of salvation?
What do you need from God to help you grow in generosity?
Friends, as you prayerfully consider
these questions remember that Jesus is looking at you in love. Remember that Jesus doesn’t expect you to
have the correct answer in your pocket.
The only thing that Jesus really cares about is that you know how much
you are loved.
May you have the grace to really know God’s love for you through the
life, death, and resurrection of his Son our Lord. May you have the grace to grow in the
knowledge of this love and live freely with Christ. Amen.
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