Teachings or Actions
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by Tim Keller, and the scripture is Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
It's not the teachings of Jesus but the actions of Jesus that save you. If it's the teachings of Jesus that save you, then what basically saves you is how you live. If it's the actions of Jesus that save you, then you can be saved by grace.
If you look at all other religions, you'll see that what really is crucial is not what the founder of that religion did but what they said. It's not their actions, but their teachings. In every other religious system you are saved by how you live --by living a particular kind of life. That means that what is really crucial is the founder's teaching on how to live. For example, Buddha says here's how to find enlightenment. Mohammad says here's how you submit and please God. They all have somewhat different teachings, but the point is they're all the same. It's their teachings that are important because it's how you live that saves you. But Christianity works completely opposite.
We don't need a way for us to live the right kind of life, but we need the actions of Jesus Christ to come in and live the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died. We don't need a teacher. We need a Savior. We don't need someone who tells us what to do. We need someone who does what we should have done.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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