Done Enough?

I read this excerpt from an article out of The Provider, a church bulletin from Fairfield Church of Christ in Centerville, TN.

"A dear preacher friend said to me, "It really disturbed me when my saintly grandmother was approaching death and said to me, "I'm afraid that I haven't done enough to be saved." This made me wonder if in our preaching we have left people with the idea that they have to be "good enough" or "do enough" in order to be saved."

The article went on to talk about how we cannot do enough to earn salvation. What a good point and one I think we often forget. I do not believe we have unconditional salvation (there are things we MUST DO in order to be saved) and yet, we can NEVER do enough to earn our salvation. Were it not for the grace of our Great God none of us would be saved. Were it not for His endless mercy we would all be destined to Hell fire. Were it not for His boundless love demonstrated through the sending of His Son, we would all be without hope.

God EXPECTS us to obey Him and strive to live our very best for Him. But the key words here are "our very best". None of us will reach perfection! If it were a possibility then there would have been no reason for our Savior to have died on our behalf. God knew we were weak and He made provision for our weakness. We can live with hope and peace knowing He knows our weaknesses and has provided an advocate for us. I do not have to live frustrated and ridden with guilt if I have obeyed His commands for salvation.

Once I have been baptized into Christ, I WILL fall. But I don't have to fall into deep despair. In 1 John one Christians are told that they will sin and they must confess those sins then He is faithful and just to forgive us of those sins. Why would I EVER worry that I had not done enough to get into Heaven when God has provided all the grace and mercy I will ever need.

Christians should be the happiest and most confident of all peoples. If we have confessed our sins to Him, we ARE SAVED!!! NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS. He who said so is faithful and cannot lie. Praise God for the confidence we can have in Him.

Dana Burk