SALVATION IN THE BALANCE

I listen to a lot of YouTube videos on theological topics - sermons, debates, responses to current events, etc. 

I am not using YouTube as an echo chamber, in fact, I find it fascinating to explore various viewpoints. I have listened to Calvinists and non-Calvinists, atheists and theists, and Protestants, Catholics, and the Eastern Orthodox.

YouTube videos present a microcosm of American Christianity - and it's a view nearly impossible to attain through any other means.

One of the trends I have noticed is how we tend to define Christian belief as primarily the mental assent to a specific set of doctrinal suppositions. 

We all agree on the need to affirm the proper doctrinal stances and then ... we all argue about which ones are correct.

And those arguments can get pretty passionate. After all, salvation (supposedly) hangs in the balance!

But how can our salvation be dependent on whether or not we take the first three chapters of Genesis literally? Or whether we affirm Jesus' death on the cross brought our atonement specifically by satisfying God's wrath against sin? Or whether we look for truth in Scripture alone or look to both the Bible and Church history? (That's assuming we believe the Bible to be "inerrant" in the first place!) 

Will Jesus be meeting professing Christians at the pearly gates and telling some, "You were so close to getting eternal life. Unfortunately, I really DID create the world in six literal 24 hour periods and YOU bought into evolution. So sorry!"

No, Scripture says that those who get turned away will hear Jesus say simply, "I never KNEW you."