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One Parachute For Us All


 12/20      Jessica and Ankrit    (See Here)

It was a fun conversation, up there on the hilltop overlooking the Chicago skyline.  Jessica, a non-practicing Catholic, her friend Ankit, a Hindu from India, and myself, a protestant Christian.

It was fun because we felt free to ask questions and learn about one another’s background and perspectives on matters of faith.  Jessica, in particular, stated right up front that she had never felt that freedom to question in her Catholic upbringing, that to ask questions was equivalent to questioning the faith itself.

It was fun because we discovered we had a lot in common, and the areas in which we differed were not threatening to explore.  As people of faith, we weren’t there to argue or question God’s existence, but rather to share how our respective beliefs deal with the fact that we all have a God-given moral conscience, we all rebel against it in some form from time to time. and we all have different beliefs as to how we can be at peace with God despite that fact.

For both Jessica and Ankit, the answer lies in some sort of “balance scale” justice, in which ones good deeds must outweigh the bad, and a continuing series of tests by which one can improve oneself to prove worthy of heaven – for Jessica in this life (and perhaps purgatory though I don’t think she mentioned it) and for Ankit as a Hindu through multiple reincarnations designed to prepare one’s soul for heaven.

This is where biblical Christianity is unique, and I think our conversation remained positive and fun because I tried to approach it from an educational, rather than persuasive, perspective.  It can be a little complicated so I asked for time to explain it (for example, nodding doesn’t necessarily mean one agrees with the various points I was making, but simply that it makes reasonable sense and they understand it.)

The main question I was trying to explain was when Ankit asked “How is it, then, if a Christian already believes they are forgiven and going to heaven, that they don’t just go out and sin at will without any consequences?  What’s to keep Christians from continuing to sin after they’ve been forgiven and saved?

The simple answer, I think, is that we no longer WANT to.  What complicates it is the fact that many who claim to be Christians show by their actions that they do, however, want to continue that sinful lifestyle.  So this means I needed to explain why some people identify as Christians without any understanding of what that really means, and that they usually default to the same sort of “balance scale” belief system that most religions of the world believe in. 

But the Bible tells us that we aren’t doing God any favors by our good deeds; rather, we are only doing what He rightfully expects of us.  James 4:17 tells us “If anyone, then, knows the good they OUGHT to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.” 

Ephesians 2:10 tells us these good works are what we were made for: “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  So, to do the good we ought to do doesn’t make us a “good person”, it just brings us closer to be fully human the way God intended. 

So contrary to what most religions believe, on a balance scale, we can’t balance outweigh the bad we ought not to do with the good we ought to do anyway.  We are, in effect, morally bankrupt because of our sins, and the bad news is that no amount of good works can save us.  I told Jessica and Ankit that its like falling from an airplane and relying on flapping our arms to keep us from hitting the ground.  No amount of effort can replace the parachute that we really need to save us.

The good news of the Bible is that we do have that parachute in Christ.  Jesus is the Savior sent by God to rescue us, not from the law of gravity but from the law of sin and death. And because He saves us rather than requiring us to save ourselves, when we are born again of the Holy Spirit we are filled with a gratitude that takes away our desire to continue in sin.

There are many religions and the way might seem narrow in that there is but one Savior, but it is wide in that He is able to save all who will trust him.  No matter who it is, no matter what religious background, we all have a common sin problem that has cut us off from a right relationship with God, and we all have a common solution – Jesus, the savior of all mankind.

Galatians 3:28 tells us “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  It could go on to say there is neither Catholic nor Hindu, atheist, nor Baptist, Buddhist nor humanist – there is room at the foot of the cross for us all.

 

Thanks Jessica and Ankrit, for allowing me to record our conversation.  It can be seen on my YouTube channel.     https://youtu.be/h33BrPLcJTM

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