What Must I do to be Saved?
Point 1: God Wants to Save Everybody –
And Sometimes It's Hard to Separate Corporate and Individual Salvation
Ezekiel 18:1-20, There is personal responsibility for sin or righteousness. (05/13/19)
Here's a message from the LORD by way of the prophet Ezekiel: the righteous live and the sinful die. There is personal responsibility for sin or righteousness, and what your parents or your children do have nothing to do with your situation. This is good, solid, Western-thinking, every-man-for-himself stuff. Be sure to read tomorrow's message from the LORD by way of the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 3:16-21, 22:24-31, There seems to be individual responsibility for corporate salvation! (05/14/19)
Sometimes you just want God to give you a checklist, preferably a
consistent checklist. Yesterday we heard that my sins and good works are mine and your sins and good works are yours, and never the twain shall meet. Today, hmmm ... can this still be the same God and the same Ezekiel?
Ch. 3 isn't
too bad. I'm only responsible for you if I don't warn or instruct you; unfortunately, in this day and age it's possible to warn or instruct a lot of people, most of whom I don't even know. Am I responsible for them, too? [Notice: many of the warnings and much of the instruction you get on the Internet is just plain false. Read the Bible for yourself and don't take the word of some random idiot that you don't know, e.g., me.]
Ch. 22, on the other hand, is really scary. The prophets and leaders are in trouble for misleading and oppressing the people, and that's fair enough, because they are prophets and leaders. But look carefully at what God says in vss. 30-32: "I sought for
a man among them to build the wall and stand in the breach in my presence on behalf of the land so that it won't be destroyed, but I found
no one."
One person can stand between the people and the wrath of God? Well, yes, Abraham*, Moses**, or Jesus***, certainly, no problem there. But here in Ezekiel it looks as if God would settle for you or me. There seems to be some individual responsibility for corporate salvation!
*Genesis 18:16-33, **Exodus 32:7-14, ***e.g., Mark 10:42-45
John 6:45-51; John 12:23-32, "Anyone ... everyone" (05/15/19)
We've seen clear examples of God's desire to save groups, and clear examples of God's desire to save individuals. Some passages of scripture blend the two together.
1 Corinthians 7:10-17; Luke 19:1-10, "this house ... as son of Abraham" (05/16/19)
During this final week that we're spending on Point 1, we are seeing that the line between corporate and individual salvation is a blurry one. Paul, speaking to believers, says that a wife or husband married to an unbeliever should stay married because "unbelieving husband/wife is made holy" through the marriage. Then he says, "how do you know, wife/husband, whether you will save your husband/wife?" Really? My belief might save my unbelieving spouse? How does that work? I'm all for it, don't get me wrong, so maybe I don't have to understand how it works.
As if Paul isn't confusing enough, the word used in Luke 19:5 and 19:9,
oikos, can mean house; home; or household, i.e., everyone living there. Clearly in vs. 5 it means
house or
home, but I figure the chances are at least 50/50 that in vs. 19 it means
household – Zacchaeus's salvation means the salvation of his entire household – and several translations say exactly that.
Acts 10:1-6, 11:1-14, "you and your household" (05/17/15)
This is our last day on Point 1 of our general study of what we must do to be saved, namely, that God wants to save everybody, both in groups and individually. Cornelius was the first Gentile convert, and his situation is a good example of the blurry line between groups and individuals. We saw yesterday that the Greek word
oikos can mean
house or
household. Here in Acts 11:14, "you and all your
oikos," it clearly means
household. The angel tells Cornelius that his own, personal prayers and alms have been noticed by God (Acts. 10:4) and that Peter will tell him how he personally and his whole household may be saved. Since all Jews are part of the household of Abraham, I think we Gentiles are entitled to consider ourselves part of the household of Cornelius!
More of What Must I do to be Saved
Point 1: God Wants to Save Everybody
Point 2: You Can Reject God's Plan for Your Salvation (Not Recommended)
Point 3: God’s Plan for Your Salvation is Broader than You Think
Point 4: How the Bible Answers the Question
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