Category: What do you think?

Salvation is not complicated

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

I think it’s human nature to think that if something is profound, it has to be complicated. But our relationship to God is not. If salvation depended on our ability to understand, would that mean that a mentally challenged person could never be saved? Salvation has nothing to do with our ability.

No one can hide their past from God. Every action and thought is known to Him, yet His love still reaches out with an offer of rescue.

The first truth is that every human being has sinned. Scripture says all people fall short of God’s glory and none are naturally righteous. Admitting this is a good starting point.

The next truth is that Jesus Christ declared that He alone is the path to the Father. God showed love to the world by sending His Son so that believers would not perish but receive everlasting life. The purpose of His coming was salvation, not condemnation, yet those who refuse to believe remain under judgment. Jesus also said a person must be born again to enter God’s kingdom. Without accepting what He did, each person would bear the penalty of sin, which leads to spiritual death and separation from God.

God does not desire anyone to end in Hell. Christ died to give eternal life as a gift. Sin earns death, but God offers life through Jesus Christ. This life cannot be purchased or earned because the price was already paid by His sacrifice.

Here’s the part that goes against what our human nature tells us. We are not saved by something we do. It’s about not rejecting. A person has to stop trusting their own goodness and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The promise in the bible is that if someone confesses Him openly and believes God raised Him from the dead, that person will be saved. Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest anyone should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9


Understanding salvation through faith and God’s grace

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

I did my best to boil this down to “just the facts,” and this is not intended to be anything more than getting quickly to the point: Faith is a gift. When a person dies, their time on earth ends and they face what comes next. The apostle Paul taught that death happens once to each person, and after that comes judgment. This means every human being will eventually stand before God who created them.

At this judgment, theologians explain that people will be in one of two positions. The first position is being found in Adam, which means standing in your own sin and facing the full weight of that sin yourself. The second position is being found in Christ, the second Adam, where a person is covered by Jesus who has already borne the full weight of sin on their behalf.

Humans exist in a state of spiritual death because of their wrongdoing. People are naturally inclined toward anger and follow the impulses of their sinful nature. This is the condition everyone is born into. God requires complete holiness, and no amount of human effort can reach that standard. People cannot earn their way to salvation because their best attempts will always fall short of what God demands.

God offers salvation as a gift. This gift comes through faith and grace rather than through anything a person does on their own. Nobody can claim credit for their salvation or take pride in earning it themselves. While salvation does come through works, these are not human works. Instead, salvation comes through the perfect works of Jesus Christ. His actions, not ours, make salvation possible.

This does not mean that what believers do has no importance. People are not saved by their good deeds, but they are saved for good deeds. Those who believe are God’s creation, made new in Christ Jesus for the specific purpose of doing good works. God prepared these works in advance for believers to do. What people do in their lives matters as a demonstration and expression of their faith. Faith is not just a pass to enter heaven but something that shows itself through actions.

God gave the law to serve a particular function. The law works like a mirror that reflects God’s holiness and shows people their sinfulness. When someone looks into this mirror, they see how unclean they are. A common mistake is trying to clean yourself with the mirror itself. The law reveals the problem but cannot fix it. Just as a mirror shows dirt on your face but cannot wash it away, the law shows sin but cannot remove it. To become clean, a person needs something external to the law, something that can actually cleanse them, much like a shower washes away dirt that a mirror only reveals.

The foundation of salvation rests on three essential truths. Salvation happens through faith alone, not through any human achievement. It comes through Christ alone, not through any other means. And it exists for the glory of God alone, not for human pride or accomplishment. These pillars support the entire understanding of how God saves people.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

Yes, sinners appear in Jesus’ family line

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JEFF TURNER

The Gospel of Matthew contains a genealogy that lists the ancestors of Jesus. Within this family record appear some surprising names. Tamar had an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law Judah. Rahab worked as a prostitute in the city of Jericho. Bathsheba committed adultery with King David. These three women all engaged in conduct that brought scandal and shame. Their presence in this ancestry raises an important question about why God would include such troubled history in the lineage of Christ.

The answer reveals something essential about our relationship with God. Every person has different failures and wrongdoings in their past, but ultimately God must choose from among sinners because that describes all of humanity. Nobody comes to God with a clean record.

These women appear in the genealogy. Their inclusion demonstrates grace. The family line also contains Abraham, who displayed his sinfulness through his failure to trust God. David appears as well, and his actions as both an adulterer and a murderer mark him as someone who committed serious wrongs. Yet these women carry particular significance because they illustrate how God’s plan to redeem humanity moves forward through people who have received grace rather than earned their place.

If God’s purposes depended on people who deserved to participate in them, nothing would ever happen. Everyone who receives anything from God receives it through grace, not merit. The apostle Paul described himself as a murderer and someone who spoke against God, yet he received grace and God placed him in ministry. This pattern shows how God works.

God accomplishes his remarkable plan to rescue and restore people by working through individuals who are what they are solely because of grace. Their presence in scripture shows us that God’s redemptive work does not require perfect people. It requires people who acknowledge their need for mercy and receive what God offers freely.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV).

Understanding the unforgivable sin

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JEFF TURNER

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks about forgiveness and warns about a sin that will not be forgiven. This has raised concern and questions for many readers. The warning focuses on what is called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and what it meant in its original setting. What is it? I can only tell you what I understand the Bible to say. Let’s start with some background.

This sin took place during the time when Jesus lived and taught in Israel. The people involved were not hearing stories passed down over time. They were seeing events with their own eyes. They listened to Jesus speak, watched how he lived, and saw the power shown through him. During his ministry, sickness was driven away across the land. This happened in an age without medical cures or clear diagnoses. The events pointed to a power that could not be explained by human means.

Jesus explained that everything he did was carried out by the power of the Holy Spirit. He chose to obey the will of the Father and relied on the Spirit while living among people. This was part of his mission and how God’s work was shown through him.

Some people who witnessed these acts refused to accept what they saw. Instead of recognizing God’s work, they claimed that Jesus was acting by the power of the devil. By doing this, they did not simply doubt or misunderstand. They took the work of the Holy Spirit and said it came from Satan. Jesus said this was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and that it could not be forgiven.

The heart of this sin was a full rejection of the truth about who Jesus is. The people involved decided that he was not sent by God but was working for evil. This was not said in ignorance. It was a settled judgment made while clear evidence stood in front of them.

Consider, forgiveness is found through accepting Jesus Christ. To reject him is to turn away from the only path God has provided for forgiveness. Salvation does not come through other means. If someone refuses Christ, forgiveness is not possible, because the offer of grace has been rejected.

This teaching is not meant to trap people in fear. It explains the seriousness of rejecting what God has made known.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” — John 3:36


Living in the world without confusing the kingdom

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JEFF TURNER

Christians have often argued about how much they should take part in public life. Some ask whether believers should seek government positions. Others wonder if voting matters or if public protests and boycotts are worth the effort. These questions often come up when faith meets politics and culture.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks to Pilate, who was a Roman authority. Jesus says that his kingdom does not belong to this world. Those words give important guidance, but I think they are sometimes misunderstood. Do they mean that Christians must avoid all public activity? Or do they help believers understand where their main loyalty should be?

Christians are free to run for office if they choose. They can take part in elections and cast their votes. They may also speak out in public when they believe a law or policy is wrong. Standing against actions that go against what is right can be a proper response. These choices are allowed, and for some people they may even be necessary.

However, these actions should not be mistaken for building the kingdom of God. Political systems and governments belong to the present world, not to the heavenly kingdom that Jesus spoke about. Because of this, believers are called to think carefully about how much time, money, and effort they put into worldly causes. The question is not only what can be done, but what should be done.

There is also a limit to what human effort can change. Scripture teaches that the world, as it is now, is not under human control. It is broken and marked by sin. Christians are not given the task of fixing every part of society or making the world pure through laws and power. Trying to repair everything through political struggle can lead to frustration, because the problem runs deeper than policies.

Jesus was not leading a political movement. He explained that if his rule were based on earthly power, his followers would have fought to defend him. They did not, because his reign comes from another place. His kingdom does not rise or fall with elections, governments, or public opinion. It is not protected by force, and it does not advance through conflict.

Because of this, believers are encouraged to think about where they invest their lives. Energy spent only on worldly battles can be misplaced, especially when those battles cannot bring lasting change. Christians are reminded that they are not the ones in charge of the present world order. That role belongs to forces that oppose God, and no amount of human effort can fully undo that reality.

Christians live in the world, but their hope is not rooted in it. They can take part in society, but they are warned not to confuse temporary systems with God’s eternal reign. Shouldn’t we be more concerned that our actions lead people to Christ rather than winning a political battle?

“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’” John 18:36