It's Not A Salvation Issue..."

"It’s not a salvation issue!”

I don’t share the following to beat a dead horse – I’m just thinking through something “out loud”, if you will, and any input is welcome.  FOUR times in the last two weeks, I have been in conversations (either online or in person) where four different and completely unconnected individuals virtually raised the same type of objection against submitting themselves to specific things the Scriptures teach – because they didn’t think the things which they were objecting to are “salvation issues.”  Here’s the thing - each time, I actually agreed with them… but something doesn’t set right about their statements, and I think it is more than just me having a different preference on the issues they were objecting to. And I recognize that something may be shown from the Scriptures to no longer be a relevant command or teaching for the Church today, but none of these objectors bothered going that route - their dismissals were simply that the issues were not salvation issues and therefore they were justified in disregarding them.

First of all, the specific issues that came up were 1. Water baptism, 2. Headship veiling, and 3. Accountability to [a group of] fellow Christians.  Actually, two of the objections were against the practice of Christian women wearing headcoverings (more accurately referred to as headship veilings), so maybe it would be simplest to compare this particular teaching with the “it’s not a salvation issue” objection.  Restated more clearly, this objection says that someone doesn’t consider a particular teaching from the Scriptures to be a “salvation issue”, by which they usually mean we are saved (justified) by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ and neither veiling nor any other act of obedience can justify us in the eyes of God.  The logic of this objection further suggests that since the practice in question isn’t a “salvation” issue (even though this is rarely first established as anything more than personal opinion), therefore it’s strictly a personal preference and should not be taught as a command for all Christians, or at least certainly not promoted as a still-relevant Biblical command. 

At the risk of being misunderstood by anyone who only skims through this piece, I believe I can confidently say that I absolutely agree with them!  Neither a literal piece of cloth on a sister's head, nor a certain hair length, nor any other literal application of a Scriptural command are going to be able to justify someone before God and change them from a sinner to one of His children.  Again, our justification with God comes through a belief and trust in the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ, a belief and trust that will subsequently lead men and women into joyful obedience.  The atonement that comes through the blood of Jesus is a precious fact that we dare not lose sight of, nor add to, even with various acts of obedience that are found in the Scriptures!

Consider for a moment how the literal, physical water into which we are immersed at baptism does not actually cleanse our soul from sin and save us; in spite of this, there are very few Christians who will actually refuse to follow after Jesus’ example and the Scriptural command to have their body literally baptized in water, especially on the basis that the water itself cannot save them.  The point is not that we can somehow do something to make us better before God; rather, it is that we should be willing to follow Him and His Word in loving obedience because of what He has already done for us!

I wonder if the following analogy could clarify this thought even better.  Have you ever heard someone use the expression that somebody “put the cart before the horse?”  Our obedience to the commands of our Heavenly Father (ie. to be baptized, for sisters to wear a headship veiling and brothers to remain bareheaded, or to follow any other relevant Scriptural teaching) is simply the “cart.”  On the other hand, when you see a heart that recognizes the bondage of its old master Satan, a heart that has repented and come under the blood of Christ, and the exercise of faith by that heart which desires to please the Master – this is the “horse”, in a manner of speaking. 

When we submit and come under the blood of Jesus Christ in repentant faith, then it is that they are owned by The Master.  Coming under the blood of Jesus Christ in believing faith and submitting to Him as Savior and Lord of our lives is indeed the "salvation issue!”  Until we have done so, a discussion of obedience to any other teaching of Scripture, including this study on headship and the practice of veiling, will be of absolutely no merit to any of us!  Ergo, it is only when we are finally broken and owned by the Master that He asks us to “pull the cart", and to obey Him in a few simple areas.  Not for salvation, nor for merit, nor for any lifting up of self, but simply to glorify Him through our submission to His will and to share a few specific symbols/pictures with the world that He has designed! 

What does it mean to you to have been “bought with a price”, or that you are “no longer your own?”  Do we actually realize just how foul the pit was from which He bought us and pulled us?  How real is Calvary in our life?  It seems only right that love and gratitude should motivate us to bear any cross that our Lord may ask!  When our human nature finds itself tempted to pull back a little against His gentle requests, or even in those times when our love and gratitude may have cooled a bit, our sense of duty and thankfulness to our Master ought to move us to obedience as well! 

From the Scriptures, we understand that physical actions like dipping one’s body under water or wearing a piece of cloth on the head are not “salvation issues”, at least not in the sense that they can justify anyone before God by any power of their own.  We cannot stress and repeat often enough that we are called to put our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ that can save each one of us and cleanse us from our every sin!  On the other hand, we need to be honest about the fact that these Biblical teachings are not irrelevant, nor simple matters of preference, but that they are actually issues because of our salvation! 

Stop and think about that for a moment; this is so much more than just a play on words!  Obedience to God’s Word is not just a privilege for us, but it is also our obligation as His blood-bought children, as His redeemed people, if He is truly Lord of our lives.  When we realize how that He was under no obligation whatsoever to save us from our awful condition, nor to extend such grace and mercy to us as He did in sacrificing Himself in our place, we can see how that it is also our privilege to follow after the One who loves us and saved us, even in the small things revealed in His Word. 

It is important to realize that every individual may be at a different place in their Christian walk than others around them, but where do you find yourself with this particular Scriptural teaching?  Do you find that you have used the concept of a “salvation issue” as a reason to avoid submitting to certain teachings, like the practice of the headship veiling and God-ordained gender differences, (or water baptism, a public confession of faith, or even accountability to other believers) as irrelevant to our day?  Maybe it’s time to stop and reconsider those reasons, and to take another long, hard look at what the Bible actually says about these things and what the Lord truly desires from us in this area. 

I have to think of the parable of the Prodigal Son – the young man who had gone astray was willing to return to his father’s house as just a simple servant if his Father would just permit him to return home!  In a similar way, what benefit is there for us in trying to avoid those simple things to which God’s Word calls us, especially when our Heavenly Father has loved us so much that He went after us to bring us back to Himself and to freely bless us with everything that is His?  Do you consider the Word of God to be pre-imminent in your life?  Let me encourage you to engage in a serious reconsideration of anything that you have been disregarding as not being a salvation issue – in the end, is my justification about what I want, what others around me want, or what God wants?  It seems that it will rarely be all three; which one do you want to want?

2/22 Quote For The Day

There are two dangerous expressions of legalism which have run amuck through the vast majority of first world Christians: the first teaches that we must be obedient enough to the teachings in the Scriptures to be assured of our salvation, while the second is more subtle (and infinitely more dangerous), for it suggests that the teachings in the Scriptures need not be obeyed on the basis that they are not salvational.

Where is your emphasis?

“Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God.”  Romans 12:2. 

Are there any verses better known among Brethren and Anabaptist congregations than the above verses, with the possible exception of John 3:16?  Has there been any concept taught so clear to us as the need for practical and Biblical nonconformity against the ungodliness in the world around us?  We have been blessed with a godly heritage and the Biblical emphasis which we have inherited to recognize ourselves as being called out to walk a different path than the fallen world around us. 

Yet how easily we read through the 12th chapter of Romans and Paul’s exhortation that we “be not conformed…but be ye transformed…” and it is possible that our theological understanding on this subject has been (at the very least) imbalanced by our cultural development over time?  Likewise with Peter in 1 Peter 2:9, when he reminds us that we are called to be set apart unto the Lord as “…a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

It seems an important (and easily overlooked) grammatical point of note how Paul’s emphasis and focus in Romans 12:2 rests not on his initial negative warning to “be not conformed” to the world around us, but rather upon his primary positive command to “be…transformed.”  Imagine that I have told you, “Don’t paint the kitchen wall white, but paint it blue.”  By this, you would immediately know that my primary desire and instruction was specifically for the wall to be painted blue, not for you to focus on painting it any color other than white - that would come as a natural result; we see the apostle’s instructions following this same pattern. 

His intent seems not so much for us to create or pursue a path or artificial form of nonconformity; rather, he points us instead to something higher and entirely different, something more foundational – the active choice to be “transformed” through a renewed mind!  In essence, he commands us to seek a spiritual transformation; he does not command us to achieve said transformation by creating a practical nonconformity. An honest spiritual transformation will certainly manifest itself in an outworking of nonconformity in our daily lives as we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, seeking God’s will daily by our new nature.

So what exactly is it that Romans 12:2 is calling us to?  Nonconformity to the world, conformity to God, or perhaps both?  It might be said that the end results of nonconformity and transformation are not so very different from each other, but I suggest that that there actually IS a very real difference in the principle behind the concept.  Furthermore, this difference will have a radical effect on our direction and our focus as followers of Jesus Christ.  We may focus on the world and do our best to be different and nonconformed against it, or we may focus on the Lord and His Word, purposing to be conformed into His will and image. 

The first choice will result in a constant focus on the world, whereas the second results in a constant focus on the Lord; the first way is dependent upon our fallible human attempts to be different, no matter how sincere we may be, whereas the second way relies upon the Holy Spirit to direct and empower our human convictions to be holy.

Separation from the world creates many different cultures as each one emphasizes a different aspect; separation unto God will create one body as each emphasizes the same objective.  When our focus rests primarily upon creating artificial forms of nonconformity, the resulting separation will actually serve to separate us more from one other than it separates us from the world.  History has proven that a special focus on separation from the world, rather than upon transformation and renewal, has splintered the Church time after time, producing countless denominations through painful church divisions all through the spectrum of Kingdom Christianity.  We often wonder if, when we truly bring our focus back onto separation unto God, we may experience a loving unity and testimony such as we have never seen before, as God works through His people!

Our heavenly Father calls us, saying, “Be ye holy for I am holy.”  Holiness unto the Lord should be a desired objective of every professing believer.  Through transformed lives lived for Him and His Kingdom, we may learn what it means to become wholly holy to the Lord.  Just as this is His longing for us, is it ours as well?  When it is, we will find ourselves becoming separate from the world as our Savior was and is.

The following are a few observations about the difference between striving to be separate from the world and striving to be separate unto the Lord.  As Christians, we are called to be a separate people, but where is our focus?  When our emphasis rests primarily upon being separate from the world, we actually produce a focus on the world, whereas when our emphasis is first upon being separated unto God, we will produce a focus upon our God and His holiness, rather than on the world and its temptations.  But what does this look like?

A primary emphasis upon separation from the world requires constant adjustments and ever-growing forms and regulations to meet new developments in the world, coupled with growing amounts of enforcement; all too easily does the presence of this emphasis in our lives find its impetus in a selfish spirit which relies more on human effort and preference than Divine power. 

On the other hand, a primary emphasis upon separation unto God automatically directs constant attention to His Word and to His call on our lives, being both motivated and self-limiting in adjustments and regulations by a spirit which desires to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.  Separation from the world requires restrictions and fences and safeguards to cover all possibilities, whereas separation unto God calls us to follow simple Scriptural principles and behaviors that do not change.  A primary emphasis on separation from the world will eventually lead us to establish guidelines in hopes of making it more difficult to commit sin, while separation unto God will prompt us follow after the teachings and principles of truth in His Word, and make sin ever more undesirable to us. 

When our emphasis is especially upon separation from the world, how easily we slip into a faithful adherence to practical (and even useful) forms and yet let our relationship with God grow cold; when our focus is fixed upon being separated unto our Heavenly Father, our love for His ways will grow and draw us ever closer to His heart.  Through an emphasis upon separation from the world, we can be different without any real conviction, but when we first seek separation unto God, we will find ourselves walking differently from the world because we are His children and we love His ways.

Ask yourself, is your mindset one of opposition to the culture that surrounds you, or is it one of conformity to our Heavenly Father and His Word?  Do you find that you have an aggressive “not part of the culture” attitude, or do you possess a submissive “not of this world” heart mentality?  How often are we guilty of simply reacting to modern developments, rather than seeking a constant sense of the Holy Spirit’s leading?  How often do we focus on the world and God’s judgment, rather than purposing to focus on His work in us and His promised salvation?  When our focus rests upon being separate from the world, our desires are by nature defensive and for self-protection, whereas the concept of being separated unto God should give us the confidence that we can rest in the protection and defense of our Creator Himself!

In conclusion, separation from the world must be an organic outworking of our separation unto God through holy transformation.  Consider some of the results of this focus.  We will grow in the Scriptures as we constantly turn to them, and we will find that we grow more in the image of Christ, truly becoming His disciples in a richer, deeper way.  As we get to know the heart of God, we will live the fruits of the Spirit and express the gifts of the Spirit as well.  We will grow in the holiness and power that God desires for us as we come to know Truth in a fuller way, and learn to not only hear, but to answer, God’s call for our lives. 

Where does my separation as a child of God begin – in trying to create separation from the world, or in a constant pursuit of the holy transformation that comes by being separated unto Him?  “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God.”  -Romans 12:2.