March - Lake Union Conference

That saved a wretch like me...death of His Son Jesus for the pardon of my sins. It was thatseries of sermons that made something click in my head.I know now that while I had misunderstood salvation, ithad been clear to many Seventh-day Adventists since ourdenomination was founded. Ellen White was very clear onthe subject when she wrote: “Nothing but the righteousnessof Christ can entitle us to one of the blessings of the covenantof grace. There are many who have long desired andtried to obtain these blessings, but have not received them,because they have cherished the idea that they could dosomething to make themselves worthy of them. They havenot looked away from self, believing that Jesus is an all-sufficientSaviour. We must not think that our own merits willsave us; Christ is our only hope of salvation. ‘For there isIn some circles today, grace has become a scary word. That is primarilybecause of the abuse of the word. It has come to be seen by some as anexcuse for lawless living—living without boundaries. But true grace istransforming grace, it is the power to live a life of discipleship to Jesus.none other name under heaven given among men, wherebywe must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).“When we trust God fully, when we rely upon the meritsof Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour, we shall receive allthe help that we can desire. Let none look to self, as thoughthey had power to save themselves. Jesus died for us becausewe were helpless to do this. In Him is our hope, our justification,our righteousness. When we see our sinfulness weshould not despond and fear that we have no Saviour, or thatHe has no thoughts of mercy toward us. At this very timeHe is inviting us to come to Him in our helplessness and besaved” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 431).Feeling SavedWhile I now understood the theology of salvation andaccepted in my head that God loved me and had made provisionfor my salvation that did not depend on my merits,I often struggled with the whole idea of “feeling saved.” Itwasn’t until my last few months as a ministerial student inthe seminary that I was finally able to come to grips withthis issue.I was taking a course from Mark Finley, and we werediscussing in class how to lead someone to accept Christ.The discussion led to my asking the question, “If someonedoesn’t feel saved, does that mean that he isn’t saved?” Myburdens were lifted that day as Mark took me and the restof the class through passage after passage of Scripture thatunderscore that we are saved by grace. He suggested a practicethat I have followed ever since—the rehearsing of thosepassages again and again, so that they become the audio recordingthat plays in my head. One of those Bible verses,Ephesians 2:8–9, has become my mantra: “For by grace areyou saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is thegift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”Ellen White, in the same passage of Patriarchs and Prophetsquoted earlier, wrote: “When we trust God fully, when werely upon the merits of Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour, weshall receive all the help that we can desire. Let none look toself, as though they had power to save themselves. Jesus diedfor us because we were helpless to do this. In Him is ourhope, our justification, our righteousness. When we see oursinfulness we should not despond and fear that we have noSaviour, or that He has no thoughts of mercy toward us. Atthis very time He is inviting us to come to Him in our helplessnessand be saved. While the sinner cannot save himself,he still has something to do to secure salvation. ‘Him thatVi s i t w w w. L a k e Un i o n He r a l d . o r g L a k e U n i o n H e r a l d • Ma r c h 2 0 0 8 | 15