Procrastinated Salvation Due to a Fallen Gospel

Answering a post on Reddit

Prayer for an end to procrastination

Hi all, lately I've been learning about what it means to actually be a Christian. It's not just a feeling, but rather a love relationship with God. Recently I've been struggling with 3 major things and I was wondering if you would be willing to pray that God helps me overcome them (preferably quickly too):

1. Procrastination (this is probably my biggest one, because I fear that I take steps back when trying to take steps towards God because I end up feeling like I'm willing to do what God wants, but after I do this, this, and this. The thing I assume that God wants me to do is call upon His name to be saved, but I sometimes can tell that I hold out on calling His name due to the procrastination and the genuineness of my heart [4]).
2. Lust (I'm having trouble realizing that my lust has had destructive effects on me and need help realizing this in a way that will result in my salvation).
3. Going "in and out of reality" (basically zoning out or going into a sort of autopilot mode. It's like listening and watching a conversation and enjoying watching more than being a part of it).
4. The genuineness of my heart (I struggle with genuinely praying, wanting God's help, and wanting Him at times, and how this relates to the procrastination of potentially holding out on Him when it comes to calling upon His name. Sometimes I think that I hear about a problem and then assume I have it or let myself slip into that problem, so that's another thing I would appreciate prayers for: running from problems that God doesnt want me in, not to them. Thank you all so much, happy new year and merry late Christmas :). God bless you ❤

Answer

I struggle with many of the same things and do not count myself worthy to preach. And yet, we are responsible to share what we have been blessed with, so I'll offer what I have learned. It will revolutionize the way you look at the problems for which you've requested prayer.

All religions except one have, as their ultimate goal for individuals, achievement through personal merit of some form of "salvation." Many mistaken variants of Christianity, veering onto that same path, have become counterfeit "Christian" churches, denominations, or movements.

To debunk that concept, the Law given to ancient Israel through Moses proved that nobody could achieve that level of righteousness. The Mosaic Law was one Law with many points. It had several layers.

The Law is like fractals. Every time you look closer, you see more details. Each layer adds details about how to fulfill the previous layer:

1. Love God
2. Love God's creation; specifically, fellow humans
3. The Ten Commandments
4. Another 600 commandments; some being ceremonial or civil and only for ancient Israel, but many being moral.

Here's one example:

1. Love God.
2. Love God by loving your fellow humans.
3. Do not commit adultery or covet (desiring what's not yours).
4. Do not lust after someone other than your spouse because lust is adultery of the mind and covetousness. God is Spirit, so what we "do" in our spirits is just as real to Him as what we do in the material world.

Although the Law served to maintain peace between neighbors and between us and God, it served two main purpose:

• Many ceremonial elements conveyed spiritual or prophetic truths. For example, the sacrifices symbolized how Christ would bear our sins on the cross.
  
  
• The strictness of the Law showed us that we could not self-righteously justify ourselves. "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law [specifically, ancient Israel; generally, self-righteous people], so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." (Romans 3:19-20).

Both purposes drove a third: Instead of relying on self-righteousness, we must trust entirely the undeserved favor of God. "Now to the one who works [people who try to achieve salvation through self-righteousness], his wage [salvation] is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Romans 4:4-5). So if you think you will get salvation by controlling your lust, you will never achieve it. But when you grasp how futile your efforts are and instead trust God 100%, He gives you the gift!

In other words, if you insult the Giver by trying to deserve the gift, you get neither the Giver nor the gift. But if you receive the gift as a free gift, you receive both. "For by grace you [people who have already found salvation] have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

This does not mean you can maintain sinful habits. The next verse says, "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). It makes no sense that a person would repent from sins and then embrace them.

As part of salvation, God becomes no longer your Judge, but rather, becomes a Father who cares about your maturity. Therefore, like any good human father, He chastises His children. In some cases, He even will call His children home to heaven prematurely, if they are stubborn enough about destructive sins. (See the first twelve verses of Hebrews 12. https://biblehub.com/nasb/hebrews/12.htm)

(Hint: Don't listen to people who promise prosperity or "your best life now." Once God starts training you, life can seem a lot harder; and if you don't receive such correction, you need to re-examine whether your faith was genuine.)

Receiving the gift is like changing directions. It means turning away from sins and from self-righteousness and turning to faith in God. You already feel the weight of your sins, so I don't need to tell you to repent. When you receive the gift as a free gift, God gives you a spiritual rebirth and sends His Holy Spirit to help you get the victory over your sins that you could not achieve on your own.

Victory over sins is a result of salvation, not a cause of it. If you wait to make yourself worthy, you will wait forever. The world's religions say you must achieve that victory in order to receive salvation. They make the result into a cause. This is one of the heresies that the Bible talks about in the letter to the Galatians. 

Pop culture has misdefined the term "fallen from grace." The term does not mean losing God's favor. It means that a false gospel is followed that teaches people to do things to earn salvation (Galatians 5:4 https://biblehub.com/nasb_/galatians/5.htm). 

2,000 years ago, new Christians from the Jewish culture said you had to be circumcised or eat only kosher foods. Today, people say you have to avoid certain sins or persevere by your own strength, or else you lose salvation. Their message is "fallen from grace" into self-righteousness.

When you understand that salvation is a gift, you will no longer have any reason to procrastinate about receiving it. 

Copyright 2020, Richard Wheeler. Permission granted for non-remunerated use, providing that credit is given where credit is due.