Conversion & Calling, Student Workbook, SW01

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C O N V E R S I O N A N D C A L L I N G

In other words, they focused on doing good works to show that you truly belonged to God. As a disciplined and interested family, this neighbor household was very involved in all aspects of church life--choir and worship ministry, Christian education, and nursery duty, to name a few. Then, this church hired a new pastor who began to teach that busyness in the church was not sufficient for a relationship with God. One had to be converted, to be born again. This new emphasis was difficult for the neighbor family to accept, since they believed that they should practice religion by what they did. The born again language confused them. The neighbor father put it this way, “Being born again--that’s becoming a little too religious for me!” What would you advise Hosea to say to his neighbor to clarify the relationship of faith to works in and through the church? In visiting a friend’s church, Shirley was stunned to see the emphasis in the church on finances--on getting money and giving money. The current sermon series was on giving in order to get fromGod. One thing that the pastor said caused her to wonder if it were biblical teaching or not. The pastor said that if you were not willing to support your church and your pastor financially then you were probably not saved, and needed to check your faith credentials all over again. In powerfully strong terms and tones, the pastor boomed, “The proof is in the pudding. Just saying you are a Christian isn’t enough; you have to prove precisely what you believe by how you act and what you give. I would say that if you meet a stingy so-called Christian, they probably aren’t truly saved. To know God is to be generous, especially financially so!” How would you help Shirley evaluate the teaching she heard on that visiting Sunday? The Proof Is in the Pudding

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Once Saved, Always Saved

James believes that sometimes the teaching of “eternal security” (the doctrine that once one is truly saved by faith in Jesus Christ, that they cannot ever be lost again) has been used as a smokescreen for practicing evil. As a Sunday School teacher, James is deeply concerned about “putting feet to our faith,” not merely saying words but living out the reality of our faith in practical deeds and an active lifestyle. Convinced by texts like James 2.14-26 and Ephesians 2.10, James emphasizes that we can only know those who are legitimately converted by their good deeds and outward works. He has noticed that some who hold to the “once saved, always