“So I want to remind you, though you already know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt, but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful. And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment. And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.”
Jude 1:5-7 NLT
Salvation is a single aspect of a relationship with God. It is the doorway. It is a free gift that is given by grace and it is always being offered, but it is also never forced. When people want to return to their old ways, to violate or alter God’s standards, or abuse his blessings, they are allowed to do that. But when they do, it is a choice to participate in the path of destruction that lies before those who never entered into salvation at all. Saying this is ironically referred to as “shaming,” or “judgmental,” but notice that Jude views it as a truth worth speaking clearly upon. It is so important to give this message that it trumps his inclination to write about the, arguably more palatable, topic of salvation. Yet in American churches, it is preferred for admonishment to take a back seat to worship, pandering, and panhandling. As disciples who are discipling, the more important message is this one. God is not fooled by false faith. Neither should we be. There is no salvation in this. Those who think they can have God on their own terms will have their own terms without him, and their choice will leave them outside and the confines of the salvation they took foregranted.
This post first appeared at JoshMcGary.com
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