Salvation and End Times

By Terry George

For many Christians today, I suspect, salvation is a matter of their past decision to believe in Christ as their Lord and Saviour. From then on probably many are having the idea that their salvation needs to be “maintained” or to be lived by. In other words, the matter of salvation for many is in past tense. However, for more matured believers, they would come to understand that they need to “work out their salvation with trembling and fear….” For this group, salvation is not only in past tense but also very much in present tense.
Nevertheless, it is very interesting to realize that the NT also speaks of salvation in future tense. 1 Pet 1:4-5 tells us, “… into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God‘s power are protected through faith for A SALVATION READY TO BE REVEALED IN THE LAST TIME. In its context, Apostle Peter is telling the suffering 1st century Christians that their salvation will be “completed” as such at the 2nd coming of Christ. For the most part, the early Christians were looking forward to the last days/end times for their great salvation. In what seems quite contrary to contemporary Christian expectations that focus so much in the here and now, the NT actually teaches that our spiritual life and relationship with God is threefold: it is simultaneously in PAST TENSE, PRESENT TENSE and FUTURE TENSE. In fact, much of what the Apostles wrote (Paul, Peter and John) is regarding the future eschatological expectation. Paul can speak of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in believers’ life as “…a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance UNTIL the redemption of those who are God’s possession…” (Eph 1:14). Obviously for him, our redemption is also still in future tense. We were saved (by the sacrificial work of Christ), we are being saved (transformed into Christ-likeness by the Spirit/having the foretaste of the new creation) and we will be saved (resurrected into new bodies/perfectly restored into the image of God). Using a more theological term, this is called justification, sanctification and glorification.

c. 1437-1446 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Therefore, salvation/spiritual life/faith in Christ is a process (if I may use such term). It relies on the past work of Christ to set us free from the penalty of sin and reconciled us to God. It is also a life-long relationship with God and faith-fulness to follow Christ, to fight off the desires of our sinful nature since though we are freed from the power of sin, yet we are not free from the presence of sin. That’s why believers still need to look forward for perfection, in the new heavens and the new earth – the home of righteousness, when Christ returns. It is this future expectation that motivates Christians to live in holiness and conformity to Christ (cf. 1 Pet 1:14-16). In light of this, it means that holiness is as important as the forgiveness of sin. Hence, it is simply absurd that a person can live carelessly if him/her has experienced God’s forgiveness. In biblical Christianity, there is no such category as “carnal Christians” because “All who have this hope in him [of Christ’s return] purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 Jn 3:3). Not that we can be perfect in this life but rather we must seriously increase in conformity to Christ – and even to do that we are totally relying in God’s grace empower by the Holy Spirit.

This inevitably brings us into the question is once saved always saved? Well, the phrase will only be true on that day, at the judgment seat of Christ. Once we have entered into his glory in the new heavens and the new earth then we can shout at the top of our voice that “once saved is forever saved.” But until then, let’s “make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:10-11).
Genuine faith in Christ not only perseveres but keeps looking forward to his return.

What the Hell!

By Kathrine Koo

Doesn’t this phrase sound familiar to you? Usually we will hear it from people who give the expression of surprise, shock or maybe frustration over some stuff.

As I was listening to my classmate talk about hell, this question just rang in my head, “What the hell?” It has never come across my mind why some people would use this phrase whenever something shocking occurs? Therefore, I went and googled it and according ‘Urban Dictionary’ some of the definitions stated there said that, “What the hell” was just an expression.

Really? Is that all it is, just an expression? This compelled me to blog this, for whoever that uses this phrase “What the hell?”, yes, you’ve really got to ask the question “What the ‘Hell’?” And my take on it is that, if you knew, it will shock your socks off. 

In Hebrews 9:27, it says that “²⁷And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment”. For those who have been found guilty of their sin will be thrown into hell. Hell is a place of terror and eternal torment.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10 “⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.  ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power.¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people-- praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.”

Wow!

And in response to this, some people ask "How could a loving God send people to hell?" Well I don’t think He “sends” people to hell but hell is a place for those who turn away from Jesus or reject Him. We are mostly bombarded with messages of a God that loves but we mostly forget that He is also a God that is holy and just. Since He is a God of justice, there must be due punishment for those who are wicked and turn away from Him.

A lot of Christians talk about heaven and try to avoid the word “hell” because, it is scary or judgmental, or you just don’t want to appear intolerant, etc. But, more than just a shocking expression to most pious people, hell IS a real place. It is a place not only for those who do not know Jesus but also a place for those who reject Him.

And don’t think that just because we’ve said the salvation prayer, we’re pretty much set for heaven. Christians, or “so-called” Christians could go to hell as well. If we don’t live our lives now right and properly, be constantly aware that we’ve got to work out our salvation, we could end up there too. Because our God is a God of holiness and justice, and holiness and justice not only applies to non-believers, but also to us as Christians.

How should we be living our lives in this present day with this thought in mind? How wise are we in living our lives now because it will be accounted for and will determine our destiny in the future after this earthly life has ended.

Do people really want to go to heaven?

By Tabitha Ong

I have to honestly say that I haven’t looked forward to going to heaven for a long time until a couple of years back.. If u were to ask me back then, I would tell u that the only reason why I would choose heaven is because it sounds better than hell.. And I’ve realized that many others felt the same way I did..



From teachings over the pulpit and beliefs that have been ingrained in from young, heaven has been made to sound like a really gaudy place, with gates of pearl, and streets of gold, strange precious stones around.. If u did well in ur life on earth, u will have more jewels in ur crown, and I remember asking myself, why would I want a crown? The whole picture that most of us get isn’t something that would’ve caught my fancy..



And what doesn’t help would also be what is said we would be doing in heaven.. When pastors say that “What u’re doing now in worship is only a rehearsal for what u will do in heaven!!” And, my reaction is one of slight horror.. Boring would be the word I would’ve used for heavenly activities..



Maybe it’s the way, or the general teachings that have been taught over the years.. Where maybe gold and crowns and such were considered items of great value, and though they are still symbols of wealth and power, it no longer has that sort of attractive power on people anymore.. Though, the alternative to heaven which is hell is quite a bit more unwelcoming..



But if u ask people these days, the answer we get is, “I don’t really care”, “It doesn’t really matter”, “Why would I want to go to heaven? Sounds like a boring place.”.. We used to use the Evangelism Explosion method for evangelism at one point of time, where the questions asked were “Let’s say if u were to die, and God asks u why u should be let in, what would u say?”.. And the answers that I got, mirrored the way I felt when I was younger.. “It really doesn’t matter”..



The “now” has become the focus of people’s attention, the “now” that u can see and plan for or work towards.. Afterlife is such an abstract thing, and since we don’t see it, we don’t really care too much about it..



What changed for me was my perception of life after death.. Instead of all the “things” that we’ve been told about it, the different descriptions from people or books.. A sudden revelation that hit me was during a worship session, one of those times that u “feel” God, His love and His presence.. And for that moment, everything felt like it was gonna be okay.. And that, that was the best place to be.. U felt safe, secure, at home.. And the thought came to my mind about spending eternity with God then, that whatever I felt for those moments would be multiplied by a million times, and that, that would be a permanent “state of being”.. And, imagine feeling at ease and at home ALL the time, safe, comforted, 24/7.. And I thought to myself, nothing could be better than that..



But to those who have yet to come into an encounter with God, how would they know then, that there is more than just golden streets and pearly gates.. And I think maybe we also do need to look into how we talk about heaven, so that it doesn’t become just a better alternative to hell..

When Reality bites the Unity

By Terry George

Concerning unity of the Church Millard Erickson writes, “It is important that Christians make sure that divisions and separation are due to genuine convictions and principles, and not to personality conflicts or individual ambition. It is a discredit to the cause of Christ when Christians who hold the same beliefs and goal separate.”

Even without looking too broad outside of our local church, this statement (which is considerably sound & commendable) is easier said than done. If we are to acknowledge the reality of human relationships, it is practically unavoidable that personality conflicts will happen. As hard it is for us, being in the 21^st century – relativistic society to be firm on doctrinal conviction without being deemed intolerance, it is equally difficult to avoid individualism that is so ingrained in our bones. Surely personality traits will affect any kind of Christian ministry whether we like it or not, not to mention our backgrounds, past experiences and spiritual maturity.

With these in mind, especially as followers, how can we preserve (or persevere in :-)) Church unity if, for instance, we face such conflict with spiritual leader albeit not because of doctrinal principle. Let’s be honest to admit that even in a denomination, many congregational splits or divisions happened due to factors other than doctrinal differences. Doctrine aside, can we really work with people that were “dictatorial” or gracious-less in their character? What if someone or some groups of like-minded people choose to move on because they really can’t solve their personality’s differences with others that seem to impede church ministries?

I know this sounded a bit trivial and of course some would point out that what matter the most is God’s work and about working relationships. But really how far can we go before reaching the breaking point? How can we wisely address this sensitive contemporary issue to preserve believers’ unity? Given the propensity of today’s culture toward personal rights and democratic system, how far could we appeal to our common biblical convictions to address personality or cultural differences that could threaten church unity?

Undercover Christians and Wolf-Sheep-men

In an attempt to focus more on the Nature of the Church, I quote our trustworthy friend Prof Erickson. 

“The distinction between the visible and invisible church, a distinction that some would disallow, is not the same as the distinction between the local and the universal church. Rather, what we are dealing with here is the question of the extent to which the true church is to be identified with the present earthly institution. Is it possible, on the one hand, that persons within the visible church are not true believers, not actually part of the body of Christ? And conversely, can there be membership in Christ’s body apart from affiliation with some segment of the visible church, some local collection of believers?”

This is quite a profound statement. Are we to believe that there are some people in our churches, the congregation of ‘saints’ that are actually doing the works of what would be seen as Christian but not being true Christians or true believers? I know this would probably open a can of worms on the dynamics of Salvation and the theories around it, but just for argument sake, what if it was possible? That some could be going through the rigmaroles of Church life and yet not be true believes. 

And what about the converse? What if there are some who are part of the Ecclesia but not part of the Church? We have studied about Christian Contextualization. The so called Hindu-Christians. Or the Buddhist-Christians. But what about people who are from a majority faith country who secretly worship Jesus but have to outwardly portray their practice of the dominant faith? Would they be part of the Ecclesia on the day of reckoning?

THE CHURCH HAS EVOLVED AND IS STILL EVOLVING

By Kathrine Koo

As days, weeks, months and year passes; people and things around us keep changing. Our worldview, culture and lifestyles changes rapidly. Is it good to embrace such changes? Go figure! - People change, and we do need to change. Well, not all changes are bad, and most times, though we do not like it much, change does bring about good things as well.

But as we look at the Church, has the Church change throughout the centuries? To me I would say YES! All through the history of Christianity, from whence the church first began with the apostles to our current times, we have seen the church changed and evolved so much, and I find that with these changes, did we lose out the real meaning of what church is?

Just a simple illustration with the picture below:

3 cross counting from far right. Initially the design of a cross is usually simple and plain but it evolved to a more modern design with diamonds (middle cross) then it evolved again to a postmodern design where it is simple but yet sophisticated. What do you think? Does it still look like a cross?

Coming back to the CHURCH… it started off being the traditional church during the times of the apostles, and then as culture moved into a more scientific age, the church had to evolve into a modern church or state that would fit the culture of the times. And these days, we have and influx of the postmodern church or emerging church which stresses on being relevant to the current generation. What do you think? Does it still look like a Church?

Something to think about:

We have been talking a lot about what is the church in the blog posts and in class, but before we ask the question about what the Church is, I think we need to define what Christianity is? Sometimes we talk so much about church, but, did we miss the mark, about what we’re supposed to do as a Christian, someone who bears the mark of Christ?

To me, we are the hallmark of Jesus Christ and we need to put great effort in walking with God. Being an authentic Christian as a disciple of Christ and thus making disciple of Christ. This I call Church!