Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'" --Jeremiah 6:16

 

5 February, 2007   comments: (0) Today's Synergism   Salvation Charms: Dont Leave Home Without Them One can only wonder how many people are carrying around these assurance trinkets nowadays. It seems so medieval and primitive, but apparently there is no shortage of folks who will put some amount of eternal trust in "a thing" that they can carry on their person. Here's an interesting side-by-side look at the eerie similarities between the Catholic and Protestant versions of good luck charms for the soul. Catholic Version (a necklace) Protestant Version (a card you carry in your wallet) My own mother wears one of these, and so far as I know - my wife's mother was still wearing one of these around her neck when she passed-away a few months ago. For those who wear them, there is a sense of importance towards keeping these on at all times, except when bathing. A line in the Wikipedia description has these jaw dropping words: "The first privilege the Virgin Mary is believed to grant to those wearing her Brown Scapular is eternal salvation, if they wear it as they die". The ad says: "For many years, now, Crystal Cathedral Ministries has offered an important little card - your own personal Ticket to Heaven. I keep mine with me all the time in my money clip. Each card says simply this: "Anyone who comes to Me, I will in no way cast them out" (the words of Jesus Christ). Beneath Jesus' beautiful invitation into a relationship with Him, you may accept by signing your name. Once you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, it's guaranteed that, in that day in which there is no sunset and no dawning, He will open His arms and receive you..." (ht: Ingrid) Now, of course - neither the Catholic Church nor Robert Schuller (and his son) would go so far as to claim that these glorified good luck charms bring salvation, in and of themselves. They would have a more sophisticated explanation for the meaning behind these trinkets. Unfortunately however, that layer of theological explanation gets lost in the mix by a large number of people who carry around these items. Doubtless, many are putting some amount of eternal trust in their having these things with them at all times. If these superstitious items seem like obvious errors to you, do you also think that way about the "magic prayer" (the Sinner's Prayer) the way it's often used in today's evangelism? It's found on most evangelism tracts and is the climax for sermons in many churches these days. It's often presented a lot like the one on this page, and after having you pray that simple prayer - the pastor goes on to talk as though you've now been born again. Does this mislead people into the same kind of false sense of security about their eternal destiny that the salvation good luck charms do? So often these presentations are done without ever using the law to stir up an awareness of sin, so as to help sinners understand WHY they need Christ in the first place. And in some circles, these magic prayers are thought to be so powerful that a drunk man can be saved by praying it and the next day not remember it happening. These are just a few more examples of modern Christianity's acceptance of the error known as Decisional Regeneration, which imagines man at the controls of his own salvation. It's the man-centered thinking that humans have the power to activate salvation, whenever they want, like flipping on a light switch. The "Modern Synergism" category on Old Truth is dedicated to conveying the reality that God is the one in control of salvation, not man. Not man by . . . signing cards, wearing necklaces, praying simple prayers, checking boxes on church visitor cards, being baptized, raising a hand while heads are bowed and eyes are closed, coming forward to an altar, or going into an enquiry room. Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.585   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism