John 3:3 "You must be born again."
I am a product of The Great Inoculation of the the 60's and 70's. This was when the "come forward and sign the card" stage of Christianity was at its peak, and conversions were counted in the millions each year. All we had to do was raise our hand (while no one else was looking, mind you - we would never want anyone to see us get saved!) and we could be counted by the pastor as having made "The Decision." Whew. That's a great load off of everyone's mind - now can we get on with the business of church?
I don't blame my parents, who are true Christians and deeply love the Lord. Having kids of my own, I know of no greater desire than to see them get under the umbrella. As a matter of fact, the other day my 5-year old daughter came running out to the back yard and yelled, "Daddy, I have Jesus in my heart!" Awesome. I just wish she knew what she was talking about.
Salvation is much deeper than raising a hand or signing a card. It's a radical intersection with the cross, the blood and the Person of Christ in a way that destroys your entire old way of life and thought and fills you with His divine presence. I guess a good way of putting it would be to say that you are born again. (Hmmm.. somebody write that down!) I know that we shrink back from that phrase because the world mocks it so much, but there really isn't a better explanation. It's not a heightening of who you are, an elevation of the old you, a missing puzzle piece to the rest of your life. It's a complete overhaul from the ground up. It's a divine eradication of the old life, not Tom 2.1 - a better version of the old Tom. It's a completely different entity altogether. It's a new conception!
But that's a hard message and even harder to follow up on because it requires working with the newly reborn who are still carrying the ugly residue of their old life. However - it's the only message we have and we must stop diluting or our churches will be littered with "misconceptions" - people who think that they have been saved when in reality they have never truly been born again. There has been no new conception or birth of the Spirit in their life and they are now just going through the motions.
I don't know all the ramifications of salvation, of what Christ has done for me and in me. But I do know it isn't accomplished by raising your hand when no one is looking and then getting on with your life. That's an inoculation, and now you're harder to reach than before, because you think you're okay.
Don't get me wrong - salvation is simple and free. It's just not simple and free! There is a complexity and a cost to it that is far beyond what many are preaching. My advice? Get into the Word, study it hard and long and deep, and what salvation really is will be revealed to you and it will blow your mind. Really - it will blow your mind and you will now have the mind of Christ. That's true salvation. Everything must go! To those who know our natural mind and where it can go when left to its own devices, this truly is good news.
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