Easy Salvation?
4 min read
1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the LORD’s anger burned against them.
Numbers 25:1-3
It’s incredible that this incident occurred on the heels of Balaam’s blessings toward Israel. Israel was called the Elect of God, and they received the blessings of God. But that did not give them the freedom to succumb to their sinful nature. And especially, their covenant relationship with God strictly forbid them to worship other gods—which were not gods at all, but idols at best and demons at worst.
And the same is true with followers of Jesus Christ today. In recent church history, the Jesus Movement led to a church growth movement, but that church growth movement was characterized by “easy believism.” The idea of “easy believism” is that all a person needs to do to be saved is to genuinely confess their faith in Jesus Christ; but then they could do whatever their flesh desires because the blood of Christ covers over all of our sins.
Even today, the message of “easy believism” attracts so many people, because, well, the practice of “easy believism” is easy. And many teachers of “easy believism” wrongly think of it as the grace of God.
But the grace of God cost the Father a lot. And it certainly cost the Son a lot. And so the covenant of the cross demands that we follow Jesus as Lord—to say what He says, to do what He does, to go where He goes. That is called “Lordship salvation.” Lordship salvation is the opposite of “easy believism,” and it is the true salvation we receive through our covenant in Christ.
Thankfully, because of God’s grace, those who are truly saved will always be led away from “easy believism,” which is not biblical, toward Lordship salvation, which is biblical.
The yoke of Jesus Christ is only easy when we accept His Lordship for our lives.
Father, You have paid the great cost in sending Your Son to the cross to suffer Your wrath. It cost You so much, but it cost me so little. Even now, may I not think of the Lordship of Christ as a sacrifice and a burden, but may it be my joy and blessing. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
