The Salvation Heresy, Pt. 1

"The greatest heresy in the American evangelical and protestant church is that if you ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart He definitely will come in. You will not find that anywhere in Scripture." Paul David Wash

So if praying a prayer and asking with a sincere heart for Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior is not a guarantee of eternal security in heaven, then what is one supposed to do? First of all, we need to understand that not everyone who professes Jesus as Lord will go to heaven. The doctrine of universalism (all will go to heaven) is false in and of itself.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21 (NASB)

Again, how can we be certain that someone is a genuine follower of Christ? More importantly, how can we know that our own salvation is sincere? Before we can begin to know of our own eternal security and that of others, we need to go before God in humility; asking for His guidance and understanding.

Heavenly Father, thank you first and foremost for the blood of your Son. It is only by His sacrifice that we would have a chance at eternity with You. Prepare the hearts that read this and prepare my heart as I write. Let the words be Yours and Yours alone. It's in your Son's name we pray, Amen.

In this first part of the series, we need to understand some terminology that is seen within the text of Scripture.

- Justification: "the act of God whereby humankind is made or accounted just, or free from guilt or penalty of sin" (Random House Dictionary)
Now justification is another word for for salvation. Paul's major theme of the epistles (letters) to the Romans and to the Galatians was justification. Those who are justified cannot be separated from the love of Christ hence the saying,"Once saved; always saved" (Romans 8:33-39).

Another term is Sanctification. It is imperative that we differentiate between the two.
- Sanctification: comes from the verb sanctify; "Sanctify originates from the Greek word hagiazo, which means to be 'separate' or to be 'set apart.' In the Bible, sanctification generally relates to a sovereign act of God whereby He 'sets apart' a person, place, or thing in order that His purposes may be accomplished."

The reason it is so important for us to understand the seemingly subtle differences between the two words is that God will sanctify those who will never enter the kingdom of heaven. One example is Pharaoh found in the book of Exodus (4:21, 7:3, 14:4, and 14:17) God repetitiously hardened Pharaoh's heart in order that His glory be shown through the plagues on Egypt. Was it fair that God hardened his heart? I'll be the first to say, "No" however if God were fair with us, we would all be in big trouble.

- Imputation: Imputation is "a transfer of benefit or harm from one individual to another. In theology imputation may be used negatively to refer to the transfer of the sin and guilt of Adam to the rest of humankind. Positively, imputation refers to the righteousness of Christ being transferred to those who believe on him for salvation." -Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms

The doctrine of imputation is one of the most debated terms within the realm of theological scholarship. It is difficult to accept that a loving God would punish all of humankind with the sin of one man - Adam. God is in fact a loving God, but at the same time is also a just God and will accept nothing shy of perfection. This perfection is the other side of the coin when it comes to imputation - Jesus Christ. It is through one man that all of mankind's sin is now paid for in full.

Next week we will examine God's Word for the answers we seek in regard to genuine salvation. In the meantime, take some time this week to read Romans and Galatians. More importantly, take some time each day this week to talk to God - He'll listen, I promise.

Father, again, thank you for laying this burden on my heart to communicate this message to the masses. I pray with all that is in me that I did your Word justice and that I was effective in communicating Your words and not my own. Please grant the readers a comprehension of the scriptures so that an application of it to their own lives will follow suit. It is by Your grace that I write these words, Amen.