| “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” |
| —John 10:28-30 |
Make no mistake about it, I am extremely grateful for my upbringing. I grew up in a church with frequent “altar calls.” For those readers unfamiliar with Fundamentalist churches, an altar call comes at the end of the sermon. The pastor invites those who want to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior and Lord, to come to the front of the church, thus making a public declaration of their desire and intent. In my church, the altar call was accompanied by the congregation singing hymns: either “Just As I Am Without One Plea” or “Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling.”
There is nothing at all wrong with an altar call. Some pastors avoid them altogether because they do not want to emotionally manipulate those listening to their sermons. Other pastors have an altar call at the end of every service. This latter was the case in the church of my youth.
It wasn’t until I began to more intensively study the Bible at Houghton College (now Houghton University) that I came to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in revealing to a lost sinner the need of a savior and gift that God had already set aside for him or her in salvation through the shed blood of Jesus. I learned that Scripture clearly teaches we are chosen by God to belong to Him before the foundation of the world. (It is more than a little bit ironic that this “Reformed Theology” of John Calvin was not—and is not—a part of the “Arminian Theology” of the denomination that sponsored the college I attended.)
Whereas growing up in Arminianism, where I lived in the fear that I might lose my salvation, I now learned and became convinced, through my study of Scripture, that God’s gift to me is never taken away. I may fail to follow the pathway He sets before me, but He will never withdraw His mercy, grace, and abiding love. Notice these very words of Jesus, as recorded in John 10:28-30:
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Salvation is once and for all given to those whom God has chosen to belong to Himself. Yes, we can fail to experience the fullness of peace and joy that comes from devoting ourselves as obedient disciples of the One Who Loves Us. But, He does not withdraw His love. Instead of giving us license to go on sinning deliberately, this fact should drive us to greater commitment of obedience to God and to His one and only Son, Jesus.
So, today, let us rejoice at the permanence of our salvation. Let us celebrate that permanence by renewing our devotion to the God who loves us. And, let us pay attention to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when He might nudge us to say a word to someone who needs to hear of God’s great love for them. If we do that, we will surely please God and validate His decision to make us His very own dearly loved children.
Based on a blog originally posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2018
