On the way to the hair stylist this afternoon, I heard a deejay on a local Christian station make this comment before the next gospel song started: "Stay saved." That's one of those pious-sounding lines heard around some Christian circles, but such sayings are bad PR for God.
He doesn't need human publicity agents, but He certainly has decided to let us play a part in sharing the good news about Him. Consequently, phrases like "stay saved" may be meant to encourage an obedient Christian life, but different wording should be used, if that's the case.
Why? Because the last thing an uncertain world needs is an uncertain salvation.
The term, "stay saved," makes salvation seem dependent on human ability, as if God the Father gave His Son to initiate a relationship with the world, but did not have the strength to gurantee His own gift. What a flaky deity that would be! God would resemble the wishy-washy, unreliable, petulant gods of myth.
Consider the current implications of that kind of theology. Enough problems have engulfed contemporary times, souring many on hope and steeping them in the vinegar of cynicism; far be it from the truth about God that He is iffy about His own promises!
Remember: Wall Street may not come through for us, the government may fail us, and Hollywood may disillusion us, but God will do just as He said. Salvation is His to provide and His to sustain forever. All we must do is turn from our wrong actions, listen to God and obey His instructions. This is what the Scripture means when it says "work out" the gift of salvation with fear and trembling.
We cooperate with God's salvation process, we don't uphold it with our own self-righteous hands. The fruit of our cooperation is the genuine character of God blossoming before the world... And that's the best PR campaign ever.
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