Not everyone who says to me "Lord, lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. These are not comforting words from Jesus in Matthew's gospel. They raise all sorts of issues for us as we try to hold onto the assurance of our salvation. Am I one who says "Lord, lord" and will not enter? What can I do to make sure I have my card punched?
The short answer is nothing. There is nothing we in and of ourselves can do to ensure our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. It is by Christ alone that we are given access. We can, however work to bring that kingdom to life here on earth, and in seeing it manifest on earth we can get a sense of what Christ has promised for those who hear his words and act on them.
The longer answer, and perhaps more theologically correct, is that while we can of ourselves do nothing to ensure our salvation, we can live fully for Christ and take assurance in his faithfulness. It is in living our lives for the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ that we can come to know that salvation is available to all, and that might just be our own assurance of the kingdom.
It is all related to the nuance of the Greek language. My New Testament professor in seminary was quick to point out that in Greek the same word can be translated "in" and "of". So are we saved by faith in Christ or are we saved by the faith of Christ? The answer is Yes. Jesus' faithfulness to the will of God meant that he came to earth, lived as one of us yet without sin, died at the hands of Rome, AND rose from the dead. It is through the faith of Christ that the avenue for salvation is opened. Our faith him, in the Truth of his teaching, in the power of the cross, in the glory of the resurrection that allows our entry onto the path of the faith of Christ.
What Jesus seems to be saying here is that while his faith opened the pathway our faith must be consistent like his was. It isn't about saying the right prayers. It isn't about writing a check to Ecumenical Ministries. It isn't about helping with Family Promise. It is about the foundation of our lives. One-time random acts of kindness are fine and good, but even the faithless do good for goodness sake. Instead, it is about putting the whole of our lives into the faith of Christ. It is giving over to God our money, our time, our talents, our families, our homes, EVERYTHING. It is about meeting God face to face in every person we meet. It is about a holistic way of living that brings Jesus Christ back to earth on a daily basis by the living out of his teaching; loving God first and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
This, I think, is the truth in these very scary words. Not that we should be nervous about our salvation - for that is not up to us. Instead we should focus on the whole of our life and how we might model it after the faith of Jesus Christ. It is living into that model of perfect humanity that we get glimpses of the Kingdom of heaven here on earth until that day when the Kingdom of heaven resides here permanently. So will you build your house upon the rock that is the faith of Jesus or will you build it upon the sand that is good deeds done for goodness' sake? As I prayed on Sunday, I pray again today, may God give us the strength to choose the rock. Amen.
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