Glad or Bad Tidings?

A friend sent this to me and I think you will appreciate it. Go ahead and see what you think. To say the lease, if you allow it to, it will lighten the load you possibly carry.




GLAD TIDINGS VS. BAD TIDINGS

Those persons who are convinced that they may in some way be instrumental in the eternal salvation of other men's souls would, if they thought about it correctly, ever live with the terrible burden of wondering if perhaps by their failure to do as much as they could have done toward that work they might possible be responsible for the eternal damnation of others. Such failure would carry such horrendous consequences that a person who was truly sincere about it could not bear the thought. Not only that, but they would constantly question whether their own soul should be spared the fires of hell if, as a consequence of their neglect, others were eternally damned. Such a burden would be an impossible weight for anyone to try to carry. If they were to view the matter as seriously as its repercussions called far, it would literally drive them insane.

O! How good it is to know that such an awesome responsibility does not rest on the frail shoulders of puny man, but that the matter of eternal salvation is wholly in the hands of God. As hard as it is for most people to believe, it is nonetheless a fact that no one but God has ever saved a single soul in that sense. Christ died on the cross to save, not try to save—"His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21 & 1st Tim. 1:15) and the Scriptures make it very clear that He is the only Savior. There is salvation in no other and there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we "must,"—not might be, saved (Acts 4:12). The apostle Paul made this point in such plain language that we are without excuse if we fail to grasp it. He tells us that God "hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (II Tim. 1:9). If this were the only scripture we had to prove this truth, it would be sufficient, but there are too many others to mention in this format.

There are ways in which we may be instrumental in saving a soul from a kind of living death (See James 5:20) and from a multitude of other temporal calamities, but we cannot save a single soul from eternal damnation. That required the blood of Christ and His imputed righteousness. And by His "one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). Nothing can separate them from the love of God (Rom. 8:39) and none of them can be eternally lost (See John 6:37-39). This fits the definition of the word "gospel." It is good news or glad tidings. But any contrary view is a religion of bondage and should not be embraced.