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Sermons

"BEEN SAVED -- LATELY?"
NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE TEXT:
ACTS 18:24-19:7

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 20, 2008

SCRIPTURE TEXT: Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. 25He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. 27And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, 28for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2He said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' They replied, 'No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' 3Then he said, 'Into what then were you baptized?' They answered, 'Into John's baptism.' 4Paul said, 'John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.' 5On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied- 7altogether there were about twelve of them. (Acts 18:24-19:7, NRSV)

PRAYER: "Lord Jesus, it is by Your loving grace that we are saved from sin and death. Help us to receive more of that wondrous grace--today, tomorrow, and every day. Amen."

MESSAGE: The story is told of a dear old brother who faithfully attended the Sunday night prayer and praise service at his church. Week after week, month after month, year after year, he stood up to offer virtually the same testimony. It went like this: "Twenty-five years ago the Lord filled my cup to the brim, and it has been full ever since."

Every time this man stood up, the people knew exactly what he was going to say. Except for the periodic addition of a year, his witness never varied. Now it happened that a certain woman and her little girl were also regular attendees at Sunday evening prayer and praise--and they heard this brother offer the same testimony over and over and over again. One Sunday night, as he launched into the familiar words--"Twenty-six years ago the Lord filled my cup to the brim, and it's been full ever since," the little girl leaned over and whispered in her mother's ear, "Mom, I'll bet that man's cup is full of wiggle-tails."

Living here in the semi-desert of northern New Mexico, some of you might not know what "wiggle tails" are: They're mosquito larvae, and they hatch in stagnant water.

Week after week, as we worship God at Los Alamos First United Methodist Church, no matter what kind of special emphasis or different sort of service may be offered, I try to make sure that one thing remains constant. Our worship services, over the two-plus years I've been your pastor thus far, have utilized a rainbow of different styles and approaches. I've preached, we've had choir cantatas, children's productions and laity Sundays. We've invited guest speakers and guest groups, sometimes we've utilized drama, sometimes we've just sung. But whatever else may change, I've tried, as your pastor, to make sure one element is never omitted. Always, I want there to be opportunity for you, after hearing the gospel in whatever form it may be offered, to receive the gift of salvation from Jesus Christ. I believe something basic and fundamental is missing from Christian worship if there is no invitation given to accept Christ as Savior.

Lately though, I've been feeling a bit uneasy about what that constancy of emphasis may be saying to some of you. I'm afraid you may be getting the false impression that salvation is the end of the Christian faith. If I've misled any of you into that belief, I want to apologize--and to begin to correct my error with this message.

Certainly, whenever we worship God, I want to offer any person present who has never before accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior the opportunity to do so. And I don't feel badly if those of you who have already accepted Christ as Savior have to hear the same invitation over again for the 500th or 1,000th time. I'd much rather risk boring 100 saints than fail to offer one sinner the chance to enter into the Kingdom of God. There's an old hymn that's a favorite of mine--"Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life." Even though I've heard the invitation to salvation myself, thousands of times, I'm still excited at the possibilities it holds out, every time I hear it.

But the error I want to correct is this: Salvation is not the goal of the Christian faith. Salvation is not the goal. If every person on this earth suddenly and miraculously accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior, the Church of Jesus Christ would still have a mission--and I'd still have a job to do. For salvation is only a beginning--it's not the end.

The goal of Christianity is not to convert the world--but to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Discipleship, not salvation, is the goal. When Jesus Christ walked this earth, he did not invite the persons he met to be his converts. Rather, he invited them to be his disciples. And when he left the task of continuing his work in the hands of his early followers, he commissioned them thus: "Go, and make disciples." The mission of Christianity is not to get people saved. That's only the first part of the mission of Christianity. The mission of Christianity is discipleship. Any church that preaches only salvation is only presenting chapter one of the Christian life. And any Christian whose experience with Jesus stops with salvation alone is one who has missed much of the richness--of the grace of God.

Our scripture text today gives us two examples of how, during the early spread of Christianity, people experienced more of God's grace than just the starting point of salvation. In the latter part of Acts 18 we are introduced to Apollos, a man who had himself been saved--and was now employing his considerable intellectual strengths in bringing others to the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 18:25 says, "...he spoke with burning enthusiasm, and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus..." That's good. But the Scripture goes on to say that initially he knew, and offered to others, only the "baptism of John."

What does that mean? Since Apollos was preaching Jesus, he obviously wasn't asking people to follow the ways of the deceased John the Baptist. But Apollos' offering only the "baptism of John" is an early Christian way of saying that Apollos' gospel only went as far as John the Baptist's preaching went: "Turn away from your sins, be baptized with water, and accept the gift of salvation." Apollos, at that time, was preaching and teaching only step one of the Christian life--salvation. So two more knowledgeable Christians, Priscilla and Aquila, "explained the way of God to him more accurately." Although his knowledge of salvation was adequate--it was incomplete knowledge of the fullness of God's grace. Apollos needed to learn more of the totality of God's plan of redemption--what it really meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ. After Apollos was so instructed, he went beyond preaching and teaching only about salvation--and his labors for the Kingdom produced even more significant results, as the rest of chapter 18 of Acts states.

At the beginning of Chapter 19, we have a similar instance, but with a different outcome. In this case Paul meets a band of believers, who, like Apollos, knew only the baptism of John. But unlike Apollos, whose intellect was a major strength--and who was therefore given the grace of further knowledge in order to be a more effective disciple for Christ, these disciples need something different. They are given, through the laying on of Paul's hands, that grace which is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As part of this experience, they are given specialized evidences of their Holy Spirit baptism--the gift of tongues for further personal spiritual growth, and the gift of prophecy as a tool of witness to others.

Apollos needed further knowledge of God's ways in order to be a more effective disciple--that was God's second gift of grace, beyond salvation, to him. The band of believers whom Paul enountered in Acts 19 also needed additional grace in order to be more effective disciples. Their second blessing was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with tongues and prophecy. Apparently, that was the second step --an experiential blessing--which these particular converts needed to move them beyond salvation alone.

As I study the scriptures, and as I move along in my personal pilgrimage of faith with Jesus Christ, I've discovered at least two important truths about the Christian life. The first is this: God lines the pathway with grace upon grace upon grace. As you move forward with Him--as you seek Him more deeply through His Word, His worship, His praise, and His service--God always has something new in store for you. It may lie in the category of understanding; it may be a deeply spiritual experience; it may be an opportunity of service; it may be a chance to test your maturity; it may be an occasion of witness. There's always a second blessing, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth--and a ten thousandth--in store for the disciples of Jesus Christ.

None of us are the same, and the particular gifts of grace which God holds out to us are as individual as the persons He's created. There's no one pattern that must be followed--everyone doesn't receive first salvation, then the gift of prophecy, then a call into ministry, then election to be a bishop. Salvation is always the starting point, but even that comes differently to different people. Jesus has countless ways of discipling His followers--but every one of them is filled with grace--upon grace, upon grace.

The second discovery I've made is that the Christian must never stop in the journey of discipleship--not if he or she is to remain a disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm aware that there's a continuing great debate in Christian circles over whether or not one can lose one's eternal salvation--but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'll leave God to decide issues that have to do with Heaven and hell--they're way beyond me. But here on earth, I'm convinced that people can--and do--lose their effectiveness as Christian disciples. It happens whenever you or I say, literally or by our actions, "This is as far as I go with God." "I've been saved, and that's it. I've served my time as a Sunday School teacher, and that's it. I've talked till I'm blue in the face to my neighbor about Jesus, and I give up. I speak in tongues, and that's the only gift I need. I joined the church back in 1975, and I don't need to hear any more sermons. I know all about Jesus I need to know--enough to take me to Heaven."

If any Christian--if you--ever stop seeking more of the limitless grace of God, you may get to Heaven, but you'll be of no earthly good to the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means constantly growing in grace. And you needn't be afraid--it's a wonderful process--because God is with you every step of the journey.

I've entitled this sermon "Been Saved -- Lately?" For those here present this morning who've never before accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, being saved lately could mean being saved this very morning, and for all eternity, by the love of Jesus Christ. And for those present who have been saved for eternity, who've already accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior, the question is more like, "Have you sought and received something new from God in your Christian life this month? Have you moved forward in love and service? Have you shared your faith with someone else this week? Have you received fresh grace from God--today? Have you been saved from Christian complacency--lately? Amen.

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