I know that sounds sort of silly; after all, what does losing weight have to do with salvation?
That’s what I am going to explain.
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When we go on a diet, we investigate what foods to eat, what proportions of fats, protein, and roughage to have at each meal, and try to avoid all those fad diet ideas.
But the one thing that every diet requires is a combination of discipline, will power, and self-control.
We have to know what we need to eat, how much we eat every day, and to keep at it until it becomes a habit.
And we must always remember that good habits are hard to form and easy to break, while bad habits are easy to form and hard to break.
So, how does this relate to salvation?
Well, to start with, we need to know what to “eat” to start our path to salvation, and that is the Bible. And I mean ALL of the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation.
Next, we need to consider what proportion of the Bible we should have? Well, there are those daily proverb calendars, or tracts that many religious groups hand out weekly or monthly, or just opening the book when you remember to and reading wherever you end up.
But that doesn’t work because there is no discipline or regularity, and when you go on a diet you certainly want to remain regular.
The proportion of the Bible that I use on my “salvation diet” is to read a little every day in order, from start to finish and then all over again. In order to make sure that is done, I keep my Bible in the bathroom because I know no matter what else I have planned to do, I will spend at least enough time sitting there to read a chapter or two.
And it is surprising how quickly you go through the Bible that way when you are all alone, and no one wants to interrupt you.
I like to think that God is on his throne and I am learning about him while on my throne.
So we have covered what to eat (the Bible), how to eat it (daily, a little at a time), and now we have to consider avoiding those “fad” religious diets.
What am I talking about? Some fad ideas are which calendar is correct, how to pronounce the Tetragrammaton, replacement theology, and even the idea of the Trinity.
Why do I say they are fads? Because a fad is something that makes what you want to do seem easier, such as the idea that “believe in Jesus and be a good person” is all you need to be saved. That is a fad because it sounds easy to do and is a quick path to salvation. The problem is, like with all fads, it doesn’t really work in the long run. First off, what does “believe in Jesus” mean?
Believe he existed?
Believe he is the Messiah?
Believe he was supernaturally born from God?
Believe he died and was resurrected?
Believe his sacrifice makes it possible for us to be forgiven of sin?
Guess what? Every demon in hell, including Satan, all believe that, but are they saved? Of course not!
“Oh”, you say, “That’s because they are not also a good person.”
What did Yeshua (Jesus) say about being good? Let me remind you- in Mark 18:19 he said that no one is good except God. So, unless you happen to be God, you can’t really be good.
As for calendars, pronunciation, divine or not divine, none of those things save us because we are not saved by being on the absolutely correct date when celebrating a Holy Day, or knowing how to pronounce Y-H-V-H, or whether or not God and Yeshua are the exact same entity.
NO!
We are saved by faithfully believing that Yeshua is the Messiah God promised to send, that he sacrificed himself as a sin sacrifice for us and that his sacrifice was accepted (because he was risen from the dead to eternal life in God’s presence), and that through his sacrifice we can find forgiveness from our sins which is how we are saved.
That is what we need to believe, and none of those other things really make any difference. They are just fads, which never really have a lasting beneficial effect.
I can’t lose weight very easily, for a number of reasons, but I can maintain my salvation diet. And whether I die fat or thin, at least I get to be in God’s presence for all eternity so long as I stay on this diet.
Thank you for being here and please remember to comment and share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers., Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so L’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!