A Pastor's Commentary
Most of us have financial concerns for the future, and maybe even for tomorrow. Our lives may feel tenuous. What about afterwards?
Buying Salvation
The economy is in the news still. Wall St is up…down…up…down…. Factory orders are flat. Home sales are up down. Jobs are hard to find. Bankruptcies abound. Pension funds have shrunk. Prices still creep higher. The stimulus package has stimulated as much debate as economic activity. But buying and selling go on….
We are accustomed to going into our mall of choice, or major retailer of choice, and choosing among multiple options for each large and small purchase we care to make. The first result of this plethora is that we think anything can be bought in one or another of our favorite stores, if only we have the cash (or a credit card). The second is that we think it is just a straightforward, here and now transaction (unless we try to read the fine print when we purchase an occasional big ticket item with financing).
So why not buy salvation (admission into heaven)? After all, isn't it just another form of insurance, something we also buy? Come to think of it, that's another of those fine print places. Just in case there is a god, and there are entrance requirements for Heaven (or Nirvana or whatever it turns out to be called), shouldn't I do something? I mean, if I have a pass to get in I'll be better off if there is really a nasty alternative. So I can do good stuff, or join a church (they don't bother taking attendance, I bet), or say the prayer that's bound to be on one of those little papers handed to me on the street last month. Can't be any worse than shelling out for insurance on the car. After all, that's money I'd rather not have to spend, but it sure is valuable after an accident.
The idea of buying salvation was hotly debated some five hundred years ago when a theologian-monk named Martin Luther challenged the church hierarchy on the practice of selling indulgences—credit toward salvation for people who had died. He wanted the church to reform its official teachings to bring them in line with the teaching of the Bible as he understood it. The discussion has not yet stopped.
Believe it or not, the New Testament portrays salvation in economic language. And Christians routinely use financial terms both in talking and in singing about it. Terms like debt, paid, credit, and redeem get thrown around as if everyone sees the connection.
Those are at least words I can understand. I don't see how not to have debt. Mortgage, car payments, at least the school loan is paid off. Payday never seems to come quite soon enough. Which is why my credit card gets so much use. Do these things have a swipe limit? Redeem is what my mother did with green stamps, but I don't think I've seen any since her first grandchild was born.
But the Christians aren't thinking about my finances when they use these terms. It took me a while to understand the finance terms in the religious picture, but I think I'm getting it. See if it makes sense. If you want to read the exact Bible statement, they are printed below.
Just as a wage is a debt owed by an employer for work already performed, (Romans 4:4) death is owed to us for our acts of disobedience, which the Bible calls sin. (Romans 6:23) I would not consider it right if my boss withheld my salary, for it is his obligation to pay me. Why should I think it different with God? He also is obligated, by His absolute justice, to give what is due.
Debt must be cleared first, before savings account deposits amount to anything. So financial advisors say, and they are right—interest payments are a killer. If I did get in real trouble, there is always bankruptcy. However, God is different than our bankruptcy courts. On his books the debt must be paid; (Romans 2:6) there is no chapter 11. Where do I pay? I'll sleep better having done something about the God thing. That way I can get on with life.
There are two methods of payment: your everlasting death after physical life is ended, or Jesus' infinite death. And here's how they compare. We live (and die) only once, and it is after this that the judgment comes. (Hebrews 9:27) So you (and I) can't pay now- we can only pay later. On the other hand, Jesus already did his dying, and his death can be credited to your account. (2 Corinthians 5:21) In this case he picks up the tab for me, so I don't have to. Now I've had this happen at the restaurant, but not the bank. I look every month at the statement from the credit card company, and it never has a payment credited unless I made it. And the way I understand it, Jesus meant to cover the whole thing, my total debt, not just help out a little. When he was being executed he even said- yelled it out just before he died- "Paid in full." (John 19:30)
So if he paid the debt, I don't owe it, so I go to heaven, right? Not unreasonable logic, but no. The ticket for getting into heaven is perfection, so anyone who has ever sinned is ineligible. I could ask, "Even one sin?", but I know that's not where I am, so I won't bother. Even if my debt is gone, I still do not have what I need to get in. The Bible word is righteousness—always and completely right, using God as the standard (not my neighbor). Nothing else is accepted. The Bible further says all my righteous deeds are like filthy rags-worthless. (Isaiah 64:6)
Even so, salvation not only can be bought, it must be bought. Just not by me, because I'm broke. My total assets are insufficient. I can hope and wish to be good enough—but I already know I am not. In contrast, Jesus is called the Righteous One. (Acts 3:14) He is the only one able to buy salvation. And his credit is unlimited.
So, I'll admit it, I took Jesus up on his offer. He said, "Hey, I know you're not perfect, but I am. With your consent, we'll put my name in the account ledger, for I paid the debt you owe God. On the credit side, instead of your inconsistent and incomplete attempts at righteousness, claim Jesus. Or, in other words, when you are asked to show your ticket (righteousness), just say 'Jesus has it.'" Jesus is my ticket to heaven.
If you want salvation, a choice must be made: do you accept Jesus' offer? (John 3:16) The only alternative is that you pay your debt yourself (as I would pay mine), but this is no salvation. We all look for security for our future. But in this discussion stocks or 401k plans have no value. It is Jesus or me. Choose Jesus, and the payment is complete. Or, choose me now, and pay later. It's your choice.
Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death …
Romans 2:6 [God] will render to each person according to his deeds.
Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to besin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. ("It is finished" was written by the ancient Greeks as we write "paid" on a bill.)
Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Acts 3:14 But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.