"How hard is it to be saved?"

As noted by the author of the linked article, Dan Edelen, and in the comments to his article, there has been a lot of chatter on the “Godblogosphere” about salvation.

The author of the site posed one question, and then a reformulation of that question: “How hard is it to be saved?” and “Are we adding too many qualifiers to a person's coming to Christ?” The context concerned a movement among various evangelicals, if I am getting this right, to make it a “decision for Christ” less of a “snap” decision. The ultimate goal, again if I am getting this right, is to have fewer people claim to be born again, and more of them actually born again.

I am going to deal with the second one first. The question answers itself. We cannot add a qualifier to salvation. It is not ours to do, not even theoretically. All we can do is to stand back and let the Holy Spirit do His work of bringing conviction and salvation.

I realize that the author was trying a reformulation of the original question to draw out thought. God knows that I have phrased any number of things badly myself. I have seen enough of his gentle pastor’s heart reflected in his writings to know that he was not trying to add to the qualifications for salvation.

On the first one: Given all that I have read in the original post and the comment thread, my guess is that we are not supposed to know.

God could have easily made the answer to the question clear, simple, and straight-forward. He could have inspired the human authors of the New Testament to make a single, often repeated formulation.

He chose not to.

Rather, He gave us a dozen (a score?) of different examples of salvation experiences in Acts and elsewhere. Attempts to make a doctrine of 2 or 3 are contradicted by others.

And I am certain that we are not going to find out why He did it this way until we see Him face to face.

But being an arrogant, fallen human being who likes to think and insists on having an opinion (I am mocking myself), I have two speculations about as to why:

One. On the one hand, the lack of a clear answer keeps those who might become complacent under a “once-saved-always-saved” doctrine from becoming complacent. On the other hand, it gives encouragement to those who are fearful, that they may trust in a loving God who did not save them because they were good, but because they were sinners and needed it. (I fall into the latter category).

Two. “You shall know them by their fruit.” Thorn bushes tend to be interested in pointing fingers, judging others, laying blame, finding heretics, sitting in the seat of Moses and adding to the law, etc. Fruit trees bear fruit: “love, joy, peace, patience, etc.” There is a time to look for fruit of salvation, but that is in the context of the local body of believers. (And may I add “Period“?)

Oh, and don’t we all tend to be thorn bushes? Lord, save me from my “thorn-bush-iness.”

As a related aside, we had a missionary from the Netherlands in church today. She told a story about three young men in the church that she attends there. One of them is a former Muslim. He became a Christian when he "accidently" (his accident, God was deliberate) stayed at a Christian youth hostel (a kind of hotel). While there, the Holy Spirit came upon him, with obvious manifestation. He is still walking with the Lord two years later.

One of the pastors then shared a quick story that he heard from Derek Prince. The story seems to confirm this as a pattern of how God brings salvation to Muslims.