I must say that I am happy that I get to be the last one to write on the topic of salvation because I get to ask, and attempt to answer so then what….
There is such beauty in the awareness that our salvation is sealed because of God’s grace, that there isn’t a thing we can do or need to do to gain salvation. This was all done for us by Christ on the cross and it is through God’s grace, love and forgiveness that we are saved. The previous posts have all given incredible takes on salvation. When we talk about salvation we cannot leave it at just that, it is important to take the next step in our walk of discipleship which is sanctification. Sanctification for me is the so then what…
Simply (as if anything in theology is simple), sanctification is how we live our lives as followers of Christ. It is how we journey through our lives here on earth as disciples of Jesus, it is how we enact the promises made in baptism. If you remember in your baptism (ok, maybe not yours if you were baptized as an infant) promises were made by you or on your behalf of how you are going to live your life. There were five of them in there, you would live among God’s faithful people, hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Our salvation is secured, there is no doubt about it but we are called to live out our baptismal promises each and every day of our lives.
Martin Luther is known to have said, “God doesn’t need our good word, but our neighbor does.” This good works thing can be a stumbling block for many, are we doing good in the world for our sake or the world’s sake. Our lives of faith, our discipleship is not for ourselves, it is not for us to prove that we are worthy or good enough but rather our journey as followers of Jesus is to live out who God calls us to be, saved, redeemed, equipped and sent. Our salvation is not in question, nothing can ever change that but we are constantly working to deepen our faith, to question our faith, to work because of our faith and to live out those life giving and sustaining words from our baptism.
A reminder that I tell myself daily, “God doesn’t call the equipped but equips the called.” That is you!
Hope to see you Wednesday at Shut Up and Eat!
And tune in next week for scripture part one, and let’s see where the Holy Spirit is guiding us.
Submitted by Pastor Andrew Rickel, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
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