Scarcely Saved

I Pet.4:17-19 - For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

What a startling collection of verses. Very rarely today do ministers refer to the coming judgment of God upon His own people. But I would like to concentrate on verse 18 which is so arresting and yet so ignored in today’s easy evangelicalism. I wonder at the significance of such a verse, especially when it proclaims that we ourselves are “scarcely” saved. Take a moment and think on that.

Let’s face it, if God would remove one ounce of His grace heaven would be an echo chamber. All of are saved by grace and kept by grace. Too often the doctrinal magisterium pronounce certain edicts which they say define the sheep or the goats. If a person does not believe in eternal security he is not saved; if a person is a Calvinist he is not saved; if a person is an Arminian he is not saved; if a person defines the Trinity differently he is not saved; only the King James Bible can save; and on and on it goes. But let it be known: any sinner who believes in his heart on the Lord Jesus Christ, in his sacrificial death and his powerful resurrection, that sinner is saved by the grace of Almighty God. And only God knows for sure who are His children.

But even those who are saved are “scarcely” saved. In my view that is intended to illuminate the grace of God and utterly diminish the works of man. Our sin and our fallen condition was so profound and so monumental, that it took God Himself to die in our place. That is simple in its metaphor but infinite in its reality. All this talk about judgment and salvation seems so archaic and esoteric, and in the midst of human sophistication that language itself would never be spoken in a political debate. But what is more confounding is that it is almost never spoken in our churches.

Let some scientist find an asteroid hurtling toward the Earth and watch the world unite to attempt to detour its course. But God’s judgment is coming, probably sooner than later, and the only safe haven is in Christ. And the church is practically silent on the issue, as silent as it is concerning the gospel. God has warned us and provided an eternal shelter, but the church is consumed with money and success and politics and all sorts of moral issues. Devotion to Christ is measured in church membership, local church tithing, and even patriotism.

Heb.2:1-4 - Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

Can anyone dispute the fact that we have neglected “so great salvation”? Does our arrogance run so deep that we would stand before a Holy God and claim that we have surrendered all? In fact, what indeed have we surrendered? What have we sacrificed for this great salvation and its Author? We have treated the reality of eternal life as if it were a kind of fairy tale, or a comforting story that is more superstition than it is a life changing reality.

Who ever is afraid or concerned anymore about their spiritual condition? Who trembles at the very thought of hell? Who considers the vision of an angry God returning to this world? Everything is peaches and cream, and God is portrayed as existing for man’s happiness and requiring absolutely nothing. Each church service comes and goes with the redundancy of a third period English class. People come in with a smile and leave with the same. Who is changed? Who repents with a residual effect that cannot be denied?

More than half the congregation hasn’t cracked a Bible during the week, and if they prayed at all it is an embarrassment in its length or depth. But they stand and sing and sit and listen and leave just as they came, only to return in a week exactly the same. And that is what passes as the assembly of the believers? The mortgage note is paid and the staff salaries are met and everyone was blessed and we suggest that we have met with Almighty God and the Risen Christ?

But the Scripture declares that the righteous are scarcely saved and yet the preacher seems intent upon softening the blow and providing assurance for one and all. I am not suggesting we focus on scaring people, but I am suggesting we give credence to the entirety of God’s Word! There is coming a Sunday morning which will be the last one here on Earth. Only God knows when that is, but we would do well to consider the possible implications of each and every Sunday, as well as each and every other day.

D. L. Moody was preaching one Sunday night and instead of giving an invitation to the large crowd he instructed them to go home and meditate upon their relationship with Christ. He asked them to return next week to make some decisions. But that very night Chicago burned to the ground and the church with it. It changed Moody’s life since he felt he could have pressed the urgency of the situation that night and not let sinners wait. Every church service, although not an evangelistic per se, should be treated as sacred and with eternal implications.

Are we diligent in praying for our lost family members, and do we look for opportunities to share Christ with them regardless of their attitudes toward us? Watch the politicians as they say “My faith is important to me,” and what does that mean? Who would stand up and say “Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life!” No one would risk his political capital with such a divisive statement! In fact, the truth has become a stumbling block and something that must be compromised so as not to offend and avoid being embarrassed.

But it is He who endured shame on our part. And we who are “scarcely saved” should be bold and committed to love and honor Him. Our lives should be remarkable in the midst of such darkness. And our love for Him should be unquestioned and observable. The preacher whose words impact me most is Spurgeon. I realize that he is a Calvinist, but I cannot help it. God gave him an incredible gift! (There are Calvinist brothers and sisters who read this blog. God bless them!)

Spurgeon said, “If I get to the meanest place in heaven, and am allowed to lie down on heaven’s very doormat, I will consider myself to have gained an eternal place of glory that I never deserved.” Amen…amen.