The Abandonment of the Gospel
Posted: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
by Jean Purcell
OpineBooks.com
Abandonment invokes images of total aloneness, of being left and deserted. Without the saints of light, the world would be abandoned by good, turned into a place of complete spiritual darkness. Without the flavor of the gospel through the saints, the world would have no preservation spiritually. Staleness would rule, even as now it seeks to steal and destroy everyone and everything that is good, worthy, and meaningful.
Some leaders in churches and church organizations are not saved, and others do not realize that church-type institutions contain a mix of believers and unbelievers. Some described as "pillars of the church" are unbelievers.
I heard a woman speak, years ago, of how she had been highly respected and relied upon in her church. She began to be troubled about her salvation, and met with her pastor. She looked straight at him and said, anxiously, "I'm not sure I am saved."
He had a wonderful opportunity to help her, yet he did not see it, Instead, he responded: "Of course you are saved!" He reminded her that she was "a good woman." He urged her to think about all she did, her influence and the high regard she had in the church, the many people she helped, including the poor and homeless in their community.
He assured her that she was one of the best workers for good that he had known. She left, not comforted. She went home and began to pray to God. She wanted urgently to resolve the discomfort that dogged her.
Through prayer and reading the Bible, through days of seeking God, praying, and searching the Scriptures, the scales fell from her eyes. She saw into the things of God. She knew that she needed to grasp peace with God through relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. She had not been saved, but deluded by assuming that admiring Christ was enough.
From that time on, she began to speak in public, to tell others of the difference between "Christian works" and intellectual acceptance (assumed salvation) on one hand and possessing a living faith in Christ, for salvation, on the other hand. Some of her talks were recorded in Florida and other states, and a friend passed one along to me many years ago.
One distinction between assumed salvation and true salvation resides in the main emphasis of each. Those assuming salvation think they are saved due to their respect for Christ as a good teacher and their emphasis on doing good works; they emphasize morals and ethics or helping the poor and forgotten. They identify with Jesus, but do not personally know Him; repentance for sin has never been part of their relationship with God through Christ.
True salvation has the main emphasis on Jesus Christ, the adored, worshipped, and honored Redeemer of the world, and on man's total state of lostness, due to man's sinful nature. Once a person longs for God and accepts His salvation, with repentance, he or she naturally desires to share the gospel and to help those who are forgotten, neglected, or abandoned. This Scripture has deep meaning for them, personally: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10-NIV).
The Church invisible that lives through the saints will never abandon the preaching and teaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, truly good works follow salvation as night follows the day, as sunrise follows the night. Where the Church clings to the Vine, it inevitably produces the good that pleases God.
Jesus said to those who believed Him: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned" (John 15: 5-7). Christ produces in believers the fruit that lasts. It grows in the light of Christ and is kept fresh by His power.
God will never abandon His own! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3: 16). "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:20).
We have this ambition: to be received into glory by God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, led, taught, and comforted now by the Holy Spirit of God. Enduring to the end, we serve others in the name of Christ and in the Spirit. Though many assumed believers may fall away, God preserves His Church.
The abandonment of the gospel will never happen. There will always be the Church visible on earth as it is in heaven, as well as the Church unseen that works quietly and without fanfare to help others and to seek the lost. The good works that follow will help many in this life and will continue to offer them even greater help through the gospel of life eternal in Jesus Christ. The gospel endures as long as this world shall last, and its fruits will be evident to all the saints of heaven.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Thank you for a very thought provoking article. It always amazes me how many people think that they can get to heaven by good works.Linda DDear Linda,
I appreciate your comment. Let's keep spreading this difference. Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Thanks, Jane, for writing a very necessary article.God bless you,JoelDear Joel, thank you for taking the time to read and comment. And congratulations on your recent accomplishment -MA! God bless and keep you.
Dear Jane,
A defender of the Gospel with the gospel Truth! As Joel said, a very necessary message, Jane. You wrote to the core of what happens all too often in our lives. I was once guilty of being a 'mechanical Christian' and now, I thank God for our relationship with each other! This article needs to be found in every church's bulletin. May God continue to shine through you as you bring forth the true meaning of salvation.
Your sister in Christ,
AvisAh, Avis, how you encourage me! I'm late responding to you and Joel and others. I apologize, but it has been unavoidable. Thank you so much, and blessings to you now and in these days, dear sister in Christ! Blessings on your writing!
It always amazes me that so many people do as you describe in this article, and that by doing the chruches work, help the needy, and to volunteer in the kitchen, is the way to heaven, and lots of folks really believe that. This is why to me, having that relationship with God, or our Lord Jesus Christ, it needs to start with our children at a very young age. My parents forced me to go, yes, forced me to go, and do you know that even though at the time I found it very boring, yet entertaining for the old guy sitting next to me snoring, I did have those humorous time, but my point is the "Exposure" that I had to learn about God, and his only begotten son, did eventually inbed itself into my brain, I learned who they both were, and why we need to be close to them. It starts from the home, this relationship with God, and it also starts with exposure to him, without that exposure, we would never KNOW him or of him. I have always thought that I will never be saved, why, because I killed people over in Vietnam, I figure that I would be like Moses, to live to be 400 years old, and never would get into the promise land, because I committed a sin by killing my fellow man. I still feel that way. I have sinned by doing that, and have prayed for forgiveness, and I'm sure that my Lord will forgive me for that, but where will I go? Not to the land of Milk and Honey Where do the Moses's go? How are we delt with? Will I ever see my loved ones again? I'm not so sure. But this is something that I am not comfortable speaking to a mere pastor about, he may know the word of the good book, but has he been there? Does he really know the answer? I'm not so sure. I did love this thought provoking article, and what you do express in here is true. But what about us Moses's? It keeps me on my toes when it comes to religion....Great article and great read, Your fan, and friend.......GaryDear Gary, Thank you for kind words. May the Lord be glorified. Regarding Moses and your comments on that and personal concerns, I could go to the scriptures (e.g. Matt. 5:21, 22; Heb. 11, where Moses is included; etc.) and I could also mention my brother. He has been there, and I know that when he returned from war he went through many hard memories and such. He still lives, and it is not my place to go into detail, for it was all his life, challenge, and experience. He is a man of strong faith in God, a man of deep and faithful prayer, who visited the sick, performed marriage and funeral services, and rarely took or finished a vacation in decades as a pastor. He would say none of us deserves salvation. We owe everything to Christ, for we are not worthy. It is Christ who saves us by His blood, His death on that cruel Cross of shame. He once quoted this to me, "The ground is level at the Cross," for no one can claim they are "good enough" for heaven, even those who, like the apostle Paul, seem to have kept all the moral law. And he, before salvation, was responsible for the killing of many Christians.I know through my mother that my brother and others in war have grappled with unspeakaable memories. Christ came for that, too, and one day each of us who trusts Him will be set eternally free of any painful memories of this earthly life, things we have done, left undone. We cannot bear our own judgments. God will one day judge us and at that Day, we know we have a faithful Advocate, the One who died for all our sins, things done and things we should have done and did not do. How much each ones of us needs the Savior, equally! Gary, I know my brother knows what you carry due to war, and I know he would tell you that you do have eternal life if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, believing that He came in the flesh, died on the Cross for the sins of the world, having taken Sin itself on Himself, and was raised by God on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of God, interceding for all believers. Knowing Him by faith and walking with Him, sharing present good daydreams and nightmares of the past with Him, that pleases Him. He wants us to bring Everything to Him and Cast upon Him every burden! By faith in Him, through His atonement for you and all the world, you will surely be in heaven with Him one day. You will see Christ face to face and also your loved ones there. I know with complete confidence this is what my dear beloved brother would say to you. He has been in war. He took lives in battle, and suffered mightily for it. That is all I can say, for reasons mentioned earlier, but I assure you that God brought him through, called him, and made him a blessing to many. Not because he is wonderful, but because His Lord is. (Of course, I believe that he, too, is a wonderful person and I love and respect him very much!)You can serve the Lord with freedom, knowing He has covered every sin. Every sin. Of thought and deed. Serve Him by faith, prayer, and in the strength of service that He gives you. I believe you do this already, and I hope you continue, but with the full assurance of your Salvation through Christ, the great Gift that He purchased for you and for everyone. Accept and thank Him daily for that gift of Salvation! There are those you have yet to meet, witness to, and help. I believe that, too.God bless you, Gary! We are all debtors to the One who paid the full price of our sins.
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