I’ve got to give it up to my church when it comes to VALUE for their Easter Service. Apparently they had over 1000 in attendance with 30 salvations. Clearly, regardless of my personal like/dislike attitude, what the church is putting out there clearly has value when it comes to bringing a clear and concise gospel message to people.
30 salvations…although I am struggling with what this means. I think any Christian would, although I also think Christians should have the least trouble accepting it. My struggle has been with a basic question: How do we know there were 30 salvations? Are we just talking about checking a box on a card? What about the public confession, what about the baptism, what about, what about, what about…..?
Then the following thought occurred to me: What about all the “what abouts”? If a person says they have accepted Christ in their heart, who am I to contend with them? The Biblical truth is, a this stage in their journey, I have no choice but to take them at their word, and perhaps I even have an obligation to believe them. The same is true for everyone who knows me to be a Christian; they have taken me at my word. Even when I got up in front of strangers and made a “confession of belief in Christ” or when I was baptized, everyone was simply taking me at my word that I truly believed. They had no choice.
So who am I to doubt someone’s “not so public” confession of marking a communication card in church saying they had accepted Christ? Soon enough, their life either will or it won’t bear the fruits that go along with being a Christian. Sooner or later, they either will or they won’t be filled with a desire to obey Christ and be baptized. Sooner or later, they either will or they won’t willingly subject themselves to the command to fulfill the Great Commission.
The better thing for me to do, rather than further explore my doubt, would be to simply pray for the seed that obviously sprouted on Easter in these 30+ peoples’ hearts, praying that it will find root in good soil, and grow huge for the glory of Christ’s kingdom. AMEN!
30 salvations…although I am struggling with what this means. I think any Christian would, although I also think Christians should have the least trouble accepting it. My struggle has been with a basic question: How do we know there were 30 salvations? Are we just talking about checking a box on a card? What about the public confession, what about the baptism, what about, what about, what about…..?
Then the following thought occurred to me: What about all the “what abouts”? If a person says they have accepted Christ in their heart, who am I to contend with them? The Biblical truth is, a this stage in their journey, I have no choice but to take them at their word, and perhaps I even have an obligation to believe them. The same is true for everyone who knows me to be a Christian; they have taken me at my word. Even when I got up in front of strangers and made a “confession of belief in Christ” or when I was baptized, everyone was simply taking me at my word that I truly believed. They had no choice.
So who am I to doubt someone’s “not so public” confession of marking a communication card in church saying they had accepted Christ? Soon enough, their life either will or it won’t bear the fruits that go along with being a Christian. Sooner or later, they either will or they won’t be filled with a desire to obey Christ and be baptized. Sooner or later, they either will or they won’t willingly subject themselves to the command to fulfill the Great Commission.
The better thing for me to do, rather than further explore my doubt, would be to simply pray for the seed that obviously sprouted on Easter in these 30+ peoples’ hearts, praying that it will find root in good soil, and grow huge for the glory of Christ’s kingdom. AMEN!
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