Running To Win

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Many try to gain heaven through their own effort. They think that if their good deeds outweigh their bad, they'll make it. Others hope keeping the sacraments will ensure their eternal future. So, what's the truth? To find out, stay with us.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. We're in a series on how you can be sure that you will spend eternity with God. Pastor Lutzer, many people feel that the sacraments are means of grace. Is this biblical?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well Dave, there are those who look at the sacraments symbolically. They may simply see these as something that is done to remind us of what Jesus Christ did for us. But of course, if they look to the sacraments for salvation, what they'll discover is great discouragement because you come for salvation today, you come for salvation perhaps next week, and you are never sure. It is only those who understand very clearly that when Jesus died on the cross, His death was such a sacrifice that took care of all sin forever for those who repent and believe, and it is a free gift.

And now I want you to know that even as we go into this series of messages, it is so critical to be clear on the path of salvation. And at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info because we value people just like you who pray for us and who are committed to this ministry. But for now, let's listen.

There is value in the sacraments regardless of how you live and regardless of whether you experience the new birth in your heart or not. And so people participated. But the problem was very evident to those who were thinking. Here was the difficulty: even if you participated in the sacraments, even if you availed yourself of all the means of grace that were available in those days, you still could not be absolutely sure that you had enough grace for God to accept you.

There was always that sense of uncertainty. In fact, that sense of uncertainty was so strong that it became canonized. It became part of church doctrine, and that's why in 1546, the Council of Trent said explicitly, "He who believes he has assurance of salvation, let him be anathema, let him be accursed." Those who believe that they have assurance of salvation are only adding to their sins because now they are also committing the sin of presumption. Who can be sure that he has enough grace for a holy God? If we knew exactly how high God's standards were, then we could measure the amount of grace that we have received. But how do we know how much God expects?

Not only did this view lead to uncertainty, and it allowed people to be worshipers without a changed heart, but it really transferred the work of God from within the human heart to those who claim to represent God. Human nature being what it is, people no longer cared whether or not they had a personal relationship with God. In fact, many of them didn't even know that that was possible. What they were concerned about is their relationship to the church, and they said, "If I am rightly related to the church, the church will take care of my relationship with God for me." And so they sought the requirements of the church rather than a personal relationship with God.

Now you can understand that I have very quickly delineated three false paths on that broad way that leads to destruction. And I have by no means listed them all. I've talked about the achievers who believe that it is through good works. I've talked about those mystics who believe that it was through their efforts to purify their souls, and I've spoken about those who believe that grace comes through the sacraments. But there are so many other false ways of salvation that appear to be right.

What about all those who go forward in evangelistic services? What about those who may go forward in a Billy Graham service as the choir sings "Just As I Am Without One Plea," and years later they look back and say, "I must be a Christian because I went forward in a service and I prayed this prayer"? Well, perhaps they have genuinely believed, but then again, perhaps they have not because there is no magic in going forward in a meeting. And yet there are those who somehow think because they made a decision way back when, that that is proof of eternal life. It may be, and then again, it may simply be cyanide in a Tylenol capsule.

What about those who are brought up in Christian homes who pray to accept Christ at the age of four led by mother and father, and then as they grow up, the children have doubts? They say to themselves, "You know, I don't know whether I'm really saved or not," and their parents say to them, "Hey, you know, you don't remember this, but at the age of four, you accepted Christ as your Savior." I would say to you parents, parenthetically, if your child doubts his or her salvation, take that very seriously and assume that they may have a good reason to doubt it. But there are those, you see, who grow up in this environment, and they go through life assuming that they are on the narrow way, which has, by the way, only one lane. And they don't understand that they are on the broad way, which has many different lanes, all of which leading to the same place, namely destruction.

Now if people were really honest, if they were absolutely dead honest in their souls, they would look within and wonder whether they have a right to be so sure that they belong to God. For example, those folks whom I call the achievers, in the depths of their soul, they should know that they are unable to climb a ladder to God. As a matter of fact, they should know that everything they do is tainted and God is holy. And rather than climbing the ladder rung by rung, they should admit, as one politician did, he said, "I tried to climb the ladder of success rung by rung, and eventually he discovered that his ladder was leaning against the wrong wall." In moments of honesty, they should have recognized that.

In moments of honesty, those mystics, bless them, they should have known that no matter how much they try to purify their souls, there is still always a part of them that seems to love sin. And some of them said that you need proper sorrow for sin, but nobody really knew how much sorrow was needed to do the trick. And very few actually believed that they had performed a perfect act of contrition.

And those sacramentalists, in the depths of their soul as they thought about it, they should have known that there's got to be more to the Gospel than this. There's got to be something more. How can we simply assume that receiving a ritual, that God can be satisfied with that? They should have known that if you commit a sin after you have received the ritual, that then what happens, or if you commit a mortal sin, what is your hope then? The problem with the three ways that I have outlined is none of them really can hold out hope to a Ted Bundy who died many years ago on the electric chair because of murdering something like 17 or 20 young women. If you were in a cell with him, these three ways would not work before his execution. You need something more than that.

Now let's go back to the text with which we began. Let's take another look at these folks who are so shocked that they can't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?'" These are the mystics. They have found God in the soul. They are those special folks who really walk with God and know what God's will is and they will even tell you about it because they claim the gift of prophecy. And I have met people like that, and in some instances have confronted them and said, "I don't believe that your gift is from God at all. It comes from somewhere else."

"Did we not prophesy in your name? In your name, we have cast out demons." You say, "Well, how did these people do that?" Only three explanations, and we have to choose one of them. Number one is to say that they didn't at all. They only thought they were or they were deceivers and knew it. But I don't think they'd stand in front of Christ and try to fool Him. I think they sincerely believed that they cast out demons, and maybe they did. That's possibility number one. Possibility number two is that they did it in the strength of God, the true God. But that's unlikely because Jesus said these are works of lawlessness. The other possibility is that they did all these miracles in demonic power, using the name of Jesus when the miracles were happening.

And if you say, "Well, how did they cast out demons since Satan doesn't cast out Satan?" it could well be that the devil cooperated with their miracles and pretended to leave so that more people would be deceived, more people would come to their meetings, more people would hear what they had to say. And all the while, though they use the name of Christ and called Him Lord, when they stand before the judge who knows all things, who peers into their eyes and knows the depths of their souls, He says, "You are workers of lawlessness. Lawlessness." Can you imagine that?

I'm startled at this passage because I have met people, I have asked many people, "If you were to die today and God were to say to you, 'Why should I let you into heaven?'" I've received all kinds of replies of good works, all the way from giving up potato chips during Lent to people telling me that they have given money to the church. One woman says, "I earned $1,200 in a bake sale and I gave it all to the church." That was her answer. I've never heard anybody say spectacular things like these. I've never been on a plane and someone says, "Well, I've cast out demons in the name of Christ, and in the name of Christ I've done many wonderful works." What they tell me is much less than what these people performed. And yet these miracles, for all of their awe and their wonder, Jesus said are works of iniquity. "I never knew you." What a shock. What a shock.

Now you know George Barna, who does a lot of surveys, tells us that 99% of Americans—isn't this just typical American? Just typical American. 99% of Americans believe they're good enough to go into heaven. That's what Barna says. He just can't find somebody who thinks he's not good enough to enter. Maybe Jesus was wrong. Maybe He should have said that the gate is wide that leads to life and everybody's on it. Only the gate is small and you have to work to find the gate that leads to destruction. Maybe Jesus was wrong, or the other possibility is that all of the people who were surveyed here in the United States may not be too well theologically grounded. That's another possibility.

Now you see, there are people who believe that, but in a crunch, I doubt if they'd believe it. But these people, I think, were genuinely deceived. I mean, this is a case of genuine deception. They actually believed it. Some may not, but these people thought, "Can't you see our credentials? Look at the miracles we've done." And they set themselves up as people who were to be admired because of their religiosity and they really connected with God. And they are lost forever. Lost forever.

You say, "Well, what is the narrow way?" Well, that's why I'm preaching this series of messages. The next message I preach in this series is going to be entitled "Why Grace Is So Amazing," and then another message entitled "The Gift We Cannot Live Without," another message "The Miracle We Need." I hope that you will be here and invite your friends because we're going to find that the narrow path is fraught with beauty and glory and wonder. But I can't leave you here, can I? I can't pronounce the benediction now. So I need to give you a little bit of insight as to where we're going.

One day, Jesus told a parable and He said, "You know, there were two people who went into the temple to pray. There was one man who said, 'Lord, I thank thee that I'm not like other men: adulterers, extortioners.' He says, 'I'm not like that. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Thank God. But for the grace of God, I'd be like others. But You've been good to me, and I'm here in the temple to thank You for Your goodness.'" There was another man, Jesus said, who came to the very same temple. He was a publican, and he didn't have the nerve to raise his eyes toward heaven when he prayed because somehow in raising his eyes, it was as if he would look into the face of God and he knew that God was holy and he knew what was in his own heart.

So he never prayed that way. He just smote his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner." And Jesus said that that man, who was a much greater sinner than the other man standing over there, that man, Jesus said, went away to his home justified. And the other man didn't. Now don't miss my point. Even though the other man gave God thanks for the good works that he did, even those works that he did because God gave him the grace to do it, those works were works of lawlessness and damned him forever.

Do you realize it's possible that someday people will stand in the presence of God and say, "Oh God, I was a member of Moody Church. Oh God, I sang in the choir. Oh God, I taught Sunday school. Oh God, I got a record for perfect attendance. I read my Bible through every year. Oh God." And God will say, "All that you did were works of lawlessness. I never knew you." Door slammed shut forever. And that's it.

What is it that you need to do, my friend, today? It is to give up once and for all all attempts to think that you are going to help God in the process of salvation. It is to see yourself as a sinner that is helpless and needy in the presence of a God whose holiness is so ablaze that if we were to see Him for a moment, we would disintegrate. It is to look upon God would be far more difficult than it ever would be for us to look upon the sun. For the brightness and the glory and the wonder of God would exclude all that. And here we stand, helplessly. Were it not for His grace in Christ, we would be damned forever. And He would say to all of us, even those of us who are in religious work who do kind things, they are works of lawlessness. Oh, the tragedy of misplaced faith. Genuine, genuine deception.

I urge you today to come to the only one qualified to save you. Throw off all pretense. See yourself and cast yourself upon the mercy of God in Christ. Apart from that, the door will be closed to you too. Let us pray.

Our Father, we are frightened when we read this passage because it causes all of us to look within and to say, "Have I really believed? Have I really believed? What is it that I have trusted? Did I trust all the good works? Did I trust my own commitment to decency?" At this moment, I pray that Your Holy Spirit would enable everyone who has listened to this message to examine his or her heart to know whether or not they have savingly believed. Have mercy on us, Father, because we are creatures who love deception. We love it. We are not creatures who want to admit our sinfulness. Show us who we are and show us who You are.

And now before I close this prayer, where are you in your relationship with God? The broad way with all of its options, the narrow way which leads to life. You talk to God right now and you tell Him where you're at. You tell Him right now. Father, have mercy on those who are deceived. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: This is Pastor Lutzer. If you have never savingly believed on Jesus Christ, would you do that now? I trust that this message helped you to understand that salvation cannot be of works. It has to be of divine grace. It is a gift of God through repentance and faith. And I want to thank the many of you who are helping us get this message to the ends of the earth.

Let me ask you a question. Are you blessed as a result of this ministry? If you answer yes, it's because there are people just like you who help us, who pray for us. Would you consider becoming what we call an endurance partner? Now I'm going to be giving you some contact info. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy and then I'm going to repeat the info because this is critical. Here's what you do: go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com and click on the endurance partner button. Do some investigation. Or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337.

I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone, a listener in East Africa. By the way, I also have letters here from Arabic-speaking countries because Running to Win is heard in various parts of the world. This person says, "Your teaching on Running to Win has been molding my spiritual life. God is sustaining me and my family through this program." Would you help us? Once again, I want to give you the contact info to become an endurance partner. Here's what you do: go to rtwoffer.com, click on the endurance partner button, or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Consider standing with us as we do all we can to reach as many people as we can with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Connect with us right now.

Dave: Time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Interpreting the Bible correctly involves understanding the context in which a given verse appears. This may be at the heart of Marlene’s question. Marlene asks: "Psalm 82:6 says that we are all children of the Most High. What does that mean since many in the New Age movement quote this saying?"

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Marlene, thank you so much for your question and, yes, the Bible does have some phrases like the one that you quoted: that we are children of the Most High and so forth. But always you have to look at these verses in context. As a matter of fact, there in the Psalms, I think it's referring to the judges whom God appointed. And there are verses in the New Testament that talk about "we are all children of God by faith in Christ," etc., etc. And the impression can be given that indeed the word "all" means every last individual when really it can't, because it is very clear that not all of us as human beings are children of the Most High.

In fact, all that you need to do is to read the New Testament and discover that Jesus said, "You are of your father the devil." And on and on, the Bible makes a great distinction between those who really do belong to God and those who belong to God because they were created by Him. In that sense, they are His children, but they are not sons and daughters of the Almighty purchased by the blood of Christ. There is no evidence in the New Testament or the Old for New Age thought that everybody is a son of God or that all of us are gods and all that we have to do is to realize our godhood. That is heresy, it is demonic, and it's not true to the Scriptures.

Dave: Thank you, Marlene, and thank you, Dr. Lutzer, for that perceptive answer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614.

We've all heard the well-known song. Now let's answer the question: why is grace amazing? Once people understand what the Bible teaches about salvation, they know that grace is unmerited favor and they thank God every day for the grace that made it possible for them to become citizens of heaven. Next time on Running to Win, we'll discover what grace is and why that grace is truly indispensable. Thanks for listening. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.