Jesus is Exalted. We are Exhausted

"Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" Luke 18:26

Jesus Christ gave His famous example of a camel going through the eye of a needle to illustrate the difficulty of getting into Heaven on the merits of one's own works, when the disciples asked, "Who then can be saved?" It is the moment that all of us need to experience. The Kingdom of God is accessible only to those who accept the grace and mercy of God found through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus told the people that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. He went on to say that a person must be as perfect in their behavior as God, the Father. Therefore, the reaction of the disciples is perfect. It has been nearly two thousand years since Jesus said these words, and many Christians have yet to reach that point of asking that question about who can be saved? There are hundreds of denominations and religions underneath the banner of Christianity. It has been said that you can separate the denominations by the laws they put themselves under. The Bible is clear about how to obtain salvation. "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)." Salvation is putting your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Plain and simple. However, accepting gifts is difficult for people to take because they have a problem with taking "charity." Instead, they want to "earn" everything or "payback" the giver for their expense. The end result is all these denominations and sects permeating Christianity.

Jehovah's Witnesses

The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is earned by being baptized as a Jehovah's Witness, and then most followers must earn everlasting life on earth by "door-to-door" work." Furthermore, they believe that salvation is limited to 144,000 "anointed ones." Unfortunately, as of the time of this writing, there are almost 9 million adherents to the religion. There is going to be a lot of unhappy people when it is all said and done. However, they have a bigger problem than that. They believe that Jesus is not God. Until they address this error, there won't be any of them in Heaven, much less 144,000.

Latter-day Saints (Mormons)

What do Mormon's believe about salvation? They teach that a person is resurrected by grace, but saved by works. This is called being "exalted to godhood." This includes being faithful to church leaders, Mormon baptism, tithing, ordination, marriage, and secret temple rituals. And there is no eternal life without Mormon membership. Similar to the Jehovah's Witnesses, they also have the wrong Jesus. They believe that Jesus is a separate god from the Father. They teach Jesus was created as a spirit by the Father and Mother in Heaven and is the "elder brother" of all men and spirit beings (including Lucifer). Continuing, they believe Jesus' body was created through a sexual union between the Father and Mary and that Jesus was married. It goes on, but you get the picture. These are untrue statements about nearly everything the Bible teaches. It will not save them no matter how hard they work at it.

Seventh-day Adventism

Seventh-day Adventists teach that salvation is by grace, but that it is maintained by keeping commands and repentance. Sabbath (Saturday) observance is believed to be the sign of the seal of God and that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast. Interestingly enough, Saturday worship is a violation of the Sabbath. One of their founders, Ellen White, taught that Jesus Christ was exalted by God the Father to be his Son. This act provoked the jealousy of Lucifer and started a war in Heaven. Jesus is believed to be our example to prove that we can live sinlessly. They also think that the death of Jesus Christ did not finish the work of forgiveness, and many adherents do not believe in his deity. Why call yourself a Christian if you do not believe what the Bible teaches?

Catholicism

It is difficult to determine what Catholics believe about salvation. The answer could vary depending on who you talk to. Even when reading what some Catholics say about salvation, it can be hard to figure out. For example, one apologetics source writes, "The Catholic Church does not now, nor has it ever, taught a doctrine of salvation by works…that we can “work” our way into Heaven." Yet, in the very next sentence, it says, "Additionally, nowhere in the Bible does it teach that we are saved by “faith alone.” Although untrue, which is it? Faith alone or not? To further complicate their belief, we read, "The Bible says very clearly that we are not saved by faith alone. Works do have something to do with our salvation." So, it is faith alone one time, and then works have something to do with our salvation. The same paragraph then says, "As Catholics, we believe that we are saved by God’s grace alone. We can do nothing, apart from God’s grace, to receive the free gift of salvation." That is great until "Catholics believe a response of faith and works is necessary…" The seesaw is non-stop. Perhaps, this is an example of the "lukewarm" church God talks about spewing out of His mouth in Revelation. 

Protestants

There are too many denominations to address what Protestants teach about salvation. However, much like it is with Catholicism, they teach what has been sarcastically called "Levitical Light." That means they teach various forms of legalism cloaked in grace language. From my experience, they teach that salvation is grace through faith, but when it comes to your life as a Christian, it is a life of obeying and repenting to the laws, rituals, sacraments, rules, and so on each denomination teaches. These include, but are not limited to, baptism, tithing, church attendance, accountability groups, ministry work, repeatedly asking God's forgiveness, and more. All of it designed to keep you busy and barren. The hope is that through all of this, a person will become more like Jesus Christ. In reality, all that happens is that you realize just how unlike Jesus you are and, in many cases, you feel further away from Him than when you began. 

Those who "can be saved" are the ones who realize that all of these religious and denominational regulations are just man-made obstacles that prevent people from getting to know their God. Too often, a person gauges their relationship with God based on their ability or lack thereof to navigate all of these religious and denominational demands put on them. It is why people believe that a person can lose their salvation. People are led into a life of comparison with other Christians as they judge each other according to whatever laws they've agreed to live by. Others will "walk-away" from the faith. Religious pride is fueled as some falsely believe they have found a way to be obedient to God. Witnessing devolves into recruiting people to church instead of giving a reason for the hope you have in Jesus Christ. God did not come to this earth to teach us how to live. He came to this earth to teach us about the One who gives us life! 

A Different Gospel

"For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." 2 Corinthians 11:4

When the subject of a different Jesus Christ comes up, it is usually focused on cults and false religions. You have the Jehovah's Witnesses who claim that Jesus is not God. There are the Mormons who believe Jesus is a separate god from God the Father. Denominations like the Seventh Day Adventists believe that God the Father exalted Jesus to be His Son, provoking Lucifer's jealousy and a war in heaven! Even Judaism, although of God, only sees Jesus as either a false messiah or a good, but martyred rabbi. This doesn't even begin to touch on what religions like Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism believe about Jesus. But, what about those who seemingly believe in the true Jesus of the Bible and of history, God in the flesh who lived a sinless life, died for our sins and rose from the dead to offer salvation, teach about the Gospel? What does it mean to say that people receive a different Gospel? This can be more difficult to discern. Often times, as Christians, it is assumed that because someone mentions the Gospel that it is all the same, regardless of denominations, etc. Most everybody will agree with what I mentioned earlier, that Jesus is God, lived a sinless life, died for our sins and rose from the dead. But, after that things can get strange. What are some of the "different gospels" that have gained acceptance within Christianity? There are those that believe that mankind does not have free will, therefore, God chooses which individuals will be saved and which ones go to Hell. However, Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)." There are some who teach, albeit indirectly, that the death of Jesus was not sufficient to take away our sins, leaving us to constantly have to ask God to forgive us through various sacrifices and offerings. The book of Hebrews says, "Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary (Hebrews 10:17-18)." Many teach that things like water baptism, church attendance and tithing are necessary after you are saved in order to prove you are a Christian and receive blessings from God. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17).""These teachings, and others like them, don't necessarily mean a person isn't saved for believing them, but they do not reflect the true Gospel message and how we live as Christians. To teach that they are part of the gospel or necessary to live as Christians, leads to confusion, disunity, quarrels, a focus on the individual and not Christ, an uneven message and hindered evangelism.

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3)." The gospel is simple. It is sin, death, forgiveness and the restoration of life. Adam sinned in the Garden and died spiritually; the life of God that indwelt him was lost. Therefore, all mankind is born into this world spiritually dead to God, but physically alive to the world. Before God could restore His life to man, He had to deal with the issue of sin that caused Him to remove His life from Adam. Sin is so terrible that God was the only one who could take the penalty for that sin. Therefore, in Christ, God became a man in order to die for us. Then, raised from dead, Jesus could now offer the life of God to anyone who is willing to receive Him by faith. So, when the Bible says, "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will ... (Ephesians 1:11)," it is not that God chooses which individuals to save, but that He has established the criteria by which individuals are saved; in him, or in other words, in Christ. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, you have been chosen. As for the sin issue, it is finished, as Jesus said. Going back to Hebrews, it says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)." Only the shedding of blood will obtain forgiveness of sins. Only the shed blood of Jesus is acceptable to God for that forgiveness. Therefore, the sin issue is over. Our confession booths, short accounts, repetitive prayers, altar calls, or any other sacrifice, is not acceptable or required by God. Ephesians 4:5 says there is only, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism ..." The baptism that saves is the only baptism that is required; the baptism of the Holy Spirit received at the moment of salvation. Jesus said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20)." Wherever two or more Christians are gathered is church; even if it just one Christian because Jesus is with them. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul writes, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Tithing is not only Old Testament law, which Christians are not subject to, but God wants us to decide what to give. Besides, giving is not a matter of mandatory percentages, but will be a direct reflection of ones heart to give and the ability to do so. And finally, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)." Jesus Christ is our blessing. Because He indwells every born again Christian, we have every spiritual blessing. Jesus Christ is the Gospel. There is nothing to add to it, nothing we have to maintain, nothing more we receive. Anything else is a different gospel from a different Jesus.