“Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those I find doing the will of my Father.” (Mat. 7:21)
While many Christians assume that confession, baptism and church attendance is the sine- qua-non of salvation, a closer reading of scripture would serve to indicate otherwise. While the atonement of Christ may cover the sins of the repentant, what hope remains for those who continue to indulge their fallen nature after having once repented? Has the Spirit been conferred upon the believer only to become a handmaiden of sin? I think not! As the Apostle Paul, said: “Having once been saved, how can the repentant return once again to the dominion of sin?” (Rom. 6:2) Clear enough, yet he unpacks more by saying: “…that through the Spirit by faith, we eagerly await the hope of righteousness” (Gal. 5:5) Interesting! What happened to the nearly universal understanding that righteousness has been imputed to us through grace, because of Jesus’ meritorious sacrifice on the cross?
While the obvious correlation between these two trajectories is in their potential outcomes, the apostle again makes it abundantly clear that those who willfully continue in sin “…will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19) In other words, the path toward “life everlasting” is that path which produces righteousness. Yet, even though Christ said that “the kingdom of Heaven commeth not through observation, it is within,” (Lk. 17:20-21), he was speaking metaphorically of how the kingdom first appears, as if from a tiny mustard seed planted in our hearts, to its eventual expression through works pleasing to God, and then collectively until it becomes a sheltering tree of life for others.
While many await the resurrection in rapt anticipation, it might be appropriate to address the resurrected life. If we recall the parable of the wedding feast (Mat. 25:1-6), there were ten consecrated virgins, five of which had oil for their lamps, and five who didn’t. Yet all ten eventually became weary and slept, awaiting the bridegroom’s return. Upon the master’s impromptu arrival, all those with oil were able to trim their lamps (making fine adjustments in order to produce even more light) and were granted entry into the wedding feast, while those who remained unprepared and without oil, were not.
When viewing the parable within the larger context, (Mat. 25: 14-30) it becomes apparent that the oil is of particular importance. Although each virgin has the requisite lamp, it is the oil that becomes central to the story, as without it there can be no light. While the lamp can be seen as emblematic for the potential of spiritual illumination, it requires a spark to ignite it. From that perspective, it would seem that the Holy Spirit would serve that purpose, as it is the Spirit which provides the anointing for our service. This in turn connotes to not only a spiritual intimacy, but a sense of shared responsibility in concert with the Holy Spirit. “Faith is not programmatic; it is not a matter of spiritual progress, but arises as a result of repentance, which in turn produces works.” Admittance to the wedding party therefore requires more than belief, it requires action. As the apostle James said: “…can faith alone save us?” (Jm. 12: 14-17)
Realistically, there never has been a doctrinal architecture sufficient to account for the faith which calls one to service. A faith which to this day remains a mystery, in spite of all the theological calisthenics that attempt to explain it. And, regardless of what can be said in the Church’s defense concerning canonical oversight, or its shepherding of the historical church, a salvific relationship with God remains entirely independent of hierarchical mechanics. And sadly, whatever contribution the Church has made is now being eroded. As in its current struggle to remain relevant in a post-modern society, it now finds itself pandering to the inactive and the unwilling, even as it preaches an insipid gospel so as not to offend anyone.
Simply put, the single-track of holiness has become a well-travelled road of ruts., with the open door of salvation now that of a revolving door opening onto a “street of dreams.” In the current religious environment, service has come to mean exactly that. — A “what’s in it for me” weekly entertainment venue and Sunday nurture narrative. Yet service is what the Lord requires, of us. As he said: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Mat. 12:30) And considering the fact that he alone was counted worthy to open ‘The Lambs Book of Life,” having sacrificed himself in hopes of securing “a kingdom of priests unto our God,” (Rev. 5:10) it leaves little doubt as to the path that lies ahead. While “cheap grace“, as Bonhoeffer put it, may buy us time, its primary attraction is to defer responsibility through unmerited favor until the final chapter.
But, if we think that because of the hour the church has become irrelevant, I would beg to differ. Considering the circumstances, a living church is what the doctor ordered; form then must follow function. Even though the denominational landscape is part of our faith DNA, its obvious that religious expression alone can never formulate the spiritual transformation needed to turn a rake into a plowshare. As for the reason, tell me where is the doorway wide enough, the hall large enough, or the altar sacred enough to annoint the harvest to come? While religion has served as an instrument of faith, it is only the servants themselves that will attend the wedding feast. Let us open wide the doors of our hearts then, even as we sanctify ourselves for service, and in doing so become the lamps that light the way.
CoupStick Chaplain 