6 Ways to Provide Security to False Salvation

As a pastor, I interact with many people who struggle to trust in the authenticity of their conversion; in their minds, their sins follow them very closely and their falls always occur; most of the time, I realize that these people are faithful brothers and sisters. who need comfort and comfort.

But there is another group of people, in many of our churches, who are much more concerned: those who firmly believe, but without foundation, who are truly converted. Maybe you know this guy. They know the right words, they are free from public sin scandals and they are moral people. But they have no real fruit, no proof that God’s Spirit of Conversion operates on them, and often there is an area that is not about secret sin.

Six Ways Pastors Feed false Security of Salvation

Are these people hard to reach?They think they already have what they need most, so they’re not looking for anything else!And if there is an area of hidden sin, they have long made peace with it.

Unfortunately, our churches are, at least in part, responsible for the presence of these people among us. Let me suggest six ways in which pastors can inadvertently contribute to false security in these people.

1. Show off the gospel

It is easy to assume that the people of our churches understand and believe in the gospel, after all, they are in church on Sundays. But the fact is that many of our churches have taken for granted the message and understanding of our congregation, as a result, our churches are full of people who can understand some of the implications of the gospel (for example, how to be a better husband, how to deal with anger), and live a moral life without appropriating the gospel for themselves.

This is spiritually deadly because moral life can be evidence of someone’s faith in the gospel, but it can also be evidence of their own righteousness and righteousness. It is certainly right to point out that the faith it justifies is never alone, that works always accompany true faith. However, we must first emphasize that we are justified only by faith and emphasize it over and over again, otherwise the works you see will not be works of saving justification. When the gospel does not clear up, when the preacher does not highlight the way to heaven and the way to hell, people assume that their morality or presence in the church gives them strength. for security.

In short, don’t preach moralism. Never preach the gospel every week and then, with the gospel guidance firmly in place, preach the imperatives that necessarily follow.

2. Give them a superficial view of sin

The Bible teaches us that sin is not only something we do, but is what we are in our fallen state. The scriptures teach us that we are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2. 1-2), slaves of sin (John 8. 34), guilty of one violating God’s law (James 2. 10), and condemned to experience the righteous wrath of God (Romans 1. 18). We are completely sinners.

People with unfounded security often misunderstand sin. If sin is just a matter of external and observable behavior, then with a little effort and discipline, they can solve their own problems. But if we can force them to struggle with the biblical teaching on sin, then they will be forced to see their need for a new birth and salvation from outside their own person.

3. Treat church members and discipline them informally

Membership in a local congregation is done to give believers the security of their salvation. It’s a corporate seal of approval for someone who claims to be a Christian. When a congregation examines a person’s profession of faith and way of life, baptizes and admits it to the Lord’s Table, the church says, “From what we can say, and with the power and wisdom given by Christ, are you one of us?On the other side of the coin, when a church excommunicats someone, it tells the individual that their actions have diminished the credibility of their profession of faith and the basis of their safety.

But when a church is promised with its members, when it allows people who are not present in the church to keep their membership, a false security is fed: how many people will go to hell because their lazily supervised membership has given them false confidence ?

4. Show them the basics of their safety based on past external actions.

As we have already pointed out, the gospel requires an answer from us. Churches and evangelization programs have sometimes found it useful to present methods that allow people to express their new commitment to Christ. Some offer people the opportunity to recite the “prayer of the sinner. “Others offer the option to walk around the room on Sundays or fill out a response card, and these external actions can, in fact, be a true response to the Spirit’s work of conversion.

But they can also be disappointing. It is possible to pray, walk down the hall, sign a card, and still be completely lost in your sins. Therefore, if we encourage people to be safe on the basis of some kind of outdoor activity, this can be done regardless of the new birth. , we put them in grave spiritual danger. How many people walk completely lost, but surely they will go to heaven because they said a prayer once in their childhood?

5. Net connect justification and sanctification for your people

In a well-intentioned effort to magnify God’s free grace, it is possible to teach the truth of justification only by faith, only through Christ, without connecting all points to our listeners. But the teaching of the scriptures is that Christ’s work of justification will do so. Always bear the fruit of justice in the lives of believers, as I said before (for one example, see the logic of Romans 6. 1-14).

The disconnect between justification and sanctification is very dangerous for believers, as it diminishes the understanding of their need for personal holiness and their motivation to love God through obedience, but it is doubly dangerous for those who have false security, because it makes them think that it is possible to live in open rebellion against God and always be right in their eyes.

6. Teaching them to ignore biblical warnings

The Scriptures are full of dire warnings for those who would accept sin and / or abandon their faith (for example, Matthew 5. 27 and Hebrews 6. 1-6). In our own effort to clearly teach God’s sovereign concern for His people, it is possible to diminish the force of these warnings by giving the impression that they do not apply to believers.

But these warnings are in the scriptures for a specific purpose. They are true and are one of the ways God prevents His people from straying. A wise shepherd will emphasize the gravity of sin and apostasy, and encourage all his listeners to remain in the faith.

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