PUBLIC VIEWPOINT

Grisham Shows Faith In Man, Not God

I knew that eventually Lowell Grisham’s true core belief system would surface and it did in Sunday’s article (June I). His opinion piece is based on a set of ideas that come from man and not from the God of the Bible.

First, Lowell takes a statement made by the current Pope that “everyone is redeemed,” which is totally true as stated in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Being redeemed means that the price has been paid for our salvation by Christ’sdying on the cross. It is not salvation in and of itself.

But Lowell extends this statement of truth to include guaranteed salvation for everyone.

Grisham’s own words: “All loved. All accepted. All saved. Everyone!”

Then, Lowell, why did Christ himself say the following regarding judgment day in Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knewyou. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

I’ll answer for you: It is because to be “saved” one needs to have personal relationship with the Lord and in doing so believe by faith as stated in Ephesians 2:8-10 that “God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

To summarize, I’ll use the Bible and not words from men. Romans 10:8-10: “That if you confess withyour mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

Will an atheist ever say this?

Lowell said himself when he quoted 1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

And “in Christ” means those who know Christ.

CRAIG HANSON

Bella Vista

Opinion, Pages 5 on 06/08/2013

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