B'lothe'l,
;4'le )Iou
S aved?
BY R. C. SPROUL W[he great day of the IJ)RD is near near and coming quickly~ Listen! ~rhe cry on the day of the LC)RD \vill be bitter, the shouting of the \varrior there. l-hat day vviI1 be a day of vvrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against. the fortified cities and against the corner tC'l\vers. 1'viI1 bring distress on the people and they vvilIvvaHz like blind tuen, because they have sinned against the LC)RD. I-heir blood 'vill be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold 'vill be able to save then1 on the day of the LORD's \vrath. In fire of his jealously the vv-hole vvorld 'viII be consumed, for he\villmake a sudden end of all\vho live in the earth" (Lephaniah t14-18).
everal years ago, I was walking across a
courtyard on the campus of Temple
University in Philadelphia. I was alone,
minding my own business, on'the way to the faculty lounge in the School of Theology, when suddenly out ofnowhere a gentleman stood in front ofme blocking my movement. «Are you saved?," he demanded. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this intrusion and the first words that came into my mouth were, «Saved from what?" What I was thinking, but was given the grace to refrain from saying, was that I'm certainly not saved from strangers coming up to me and asking me questions like this. When I said, «Saved from what," Ithinkmyfriend was as surprised by my question as I had been by his and he kind oflost it. He stammered and stuttered and wasn't quite sure how to respond to the question, «Saved from what?" «Well, you know what I mean," he replied. «Do you know Jesus?" That brief encounter left an impression on me. On the other hand, ofcourse, I was delighted in my soul that somebody cared enough about me. Even as I was a stranger, this person was concerned enough to stop me and ask about II\Y salvation. But what dis tressed me was that it was clear that though this man had a zeal for salvation, he had little understanding of what salvation is. How easy it is for us to speak in jargon, in words without any content. As Christians, we develop our own speech patterns. I remember one fellow I used to play golf with whose wife became a Christian and he remained an unbeliever. He said to me on one occa sion, (Tm happy for my wife's conversion, but you, know R. C., there's one thing that frustrates me to no end." «What's that?," I said. «My wife never tells me anything anymore. She shares it." I had an opportunity to get from him the pagan response to some of our language patterns. When we're talking about salvation, we are talking about the concept that is the central theme of all of the sacred Scripture, a concept that is simply imperative that we understand. When we examine the Scriptures and search the meaning of the term «salvation," the first thing that we notice is that th~ term «salvation" is used in a wide variety_of ways. .. All sorts of,ipings are discussed in terms of the noun «salvation"'br the verb «to save". Paul and Silas were freed from the jail in Philippi when God delivered them by the earthquake. In panic, the jailer came up to Paul and Silas and said, «Sir, what must I do to be saved?" And Paul responded immediately by saying, «Believe on the name ofthe Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved."
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MARCH/APRIL 1996
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