Is Salvation Difficult?

II Corinthians 11:3 – “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Introduction

In my previous post, I examined by the word of God the unscriptural teaching of “tarrying” for salvation. It would benefit the reader to read that article (“Tarrying” for Salvation) before reading this one.

Those who believe that a person is saved only after begging, crying, and spending a great deal time praying usually have an overall mindset concerning salvation that salvation is very difficult to obtain. As a matter of fact, they describe salvation in such a way that they seem to imply that, short of a miracle, salvation is impossible to gain. To these people, being saved is no big deal. It doesn’t mean much, probably because those who have been saved probably will not be able to maintain their salvation. If you hear them tell it, those who have salvation at this moment will probably not be saved in the end anyway.

People with this mindset love to emphasize how hard it is to be saved. It is, without a doubt, a source of pride for them. Salvation, in their mind, is so difficult to obtain and nearly impossible to maintain; but they, dear friend, are among the choice few who have held out through the difficulties of salvation, and they are “still saved.” You can hear the bragging in their voices as they remind you that So-and-so could not hold on to this difficult salvation; this preacher and that one lost their salvation in the overwhelming difficulties that accompany salvation; but alas! They have held on! They have, where others have fallen, stood true in spite of the difficulties that have brought down their brethren. “Not just anybody is going to heaven,” they say. But keep listening. Not everyone is going to heaven, BUT THEY ARE! Oh how superior they are to others!

Those who believe that salvation is extremely difficult to attain almost always believe in a salvation that is gained by works. Oh, they say they don’t believe in such; but the reason that salvation is so difficult to either attain or maintain is because the works necessary to maintain it are so exhaustive. “Salvation is not by works,” they assure us, “but if you do not tilt your head at a certain angle and hold your mouth a certain way, you’re going to hell!” Salvation is not by works, they claim, but if your prayer life does not measure up to their standard, you will lose your salvation. Salvation is not by works, they affirm, but if you do not “fast twice in the week,” (Luke 18:12) like they do, then you will forfeit your salvation. So it is plain to see that those who believe that the way of salvation is difficult often believe in a works-based salvation.

But is salvation difficult to obtain? The clear, concise answer is no. Is salvation difficult to find? In our world of many religions, sects, and creeds, yes! But once the Biblical way of salvation is found, it is not difficult to obtain. Is the way of salvation preceded by obstacles that present difficulties to the seeker? Yes! That is precisely why there are lost people who, after hearing the simple gospel, yet remain lost. Every saved individual overcame obstacles to be saved; but salvation itself is not the obstacle! While there are difficulties that hinder people from coming to Christ, Christ is not the difficulty! I believe that an elementary study of scripture will prove these statements to be true.

A Look at Our Text

The text marking the beginning of this post, II Corinthians 11:3, states, first, that being “in Christ” is simple; and second, that the removal from this simplicity is defined as “corruption.” It is not commendable to make the matter of salvation complicated; it is utter corruption to do so.

In the verse following our text, II Corinthians 11:4, Paul refers to those who complicate the gospel as “preaching another Jesus,” “receiving another spirit,” and “receiving another gospel.” The Jesus of a complicated gospel is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Though the Bible is plain that there is simplicity in Christ, those who promote the “complicated gospel” have scriptures that they use. Let us examine a few of them.

Strait is the Gate and Narrow is the Way

The first passage used to promote a complicated gospel is found in the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:13-14 – “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Notice first, in verse 13, the word “many.” Speaking of the broad way that leads to destruction, “MANY there be which go in thereat.” Notice then in verse 14 the word “few.” Speaking of the narrow way that leads to life, “FEW there be that find it.”

The primary message of Christ’s exposition of the two roads is to show how many are on the broad way in contrast to how few are on the narrow way. Notice again the last words of verse 13, which speak of the broad way – “Many there be which go in thereat.” Here, a question is raised. Why do so many walk the broad way? In the next verse, Jesus answers that question clearly – “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life.” The way that leads to life is strait and narrow.

Now, please stay with me. The word “strait” in the King James Bible is not synonymous with the modern word “straight.” The modern word “straight” means “not curved” or “level.” The Greek word translated “strait” in the King James Bible means “narrow, from obstacles standing close about.” Noah Webster defines “strait” as “narrow; close.” He further defines “strait” as “difficult; distressful.”

So, there it is. The gate that opens the way of life is said to be “strait,” defined by Webster as “difficult.” Listen to me carefully. Jesus plainly teaches here that there is difficulty associated with the gate that opens the way to eternal life. But where does the difficulty lie? Is the gate said to be “strait,” or difficult, because the way that leads to life is a hard road? That’s not what Christ said. Christ says nothing in these verses about the narrow way being a hard way to walk. Show me where Christ stated that the narrow way is difficult to walk. It is not there. That’s not what Christ said, yet that is what people teach.

Look again at the last words of verse 14 – “Few be there that find it.” Did you get that? Jesus, speaking of the strait gate and narrow way, is not talking about that way being hard to walk, but rather hard to find. There is great difficulty in the “strait” gate and narrow way; but that difficulty lies in finding it, not walking  in it. Once this is understood, there is no contradiction with Paul’s words in II Corinthians 11, when he speaks of the simplicity that is in Christ.

How true I have found Christ’s words! The strait gate is hard to find! Many of you reading this have had no difficulty finding the strait gate, but you were raised around the strait gate. But I have dealt with lost people who expressed a desire to be saved. The Jehovah’s Witnesses told them that the way to the gate was their way. The oneness movement pointed them another direction to the strait gate. The Methodists assured them that the way to eternal life was yet another direction. The Christian Science movement, the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church of Christ, and a myriad of other movements insist that their creeds point to the strait gate. Yes, there is a great difficulty associated with the gate that the opens the way of life. The difficulty lies in finding the way, not walking  in it.

Strive to Enter In

In Luke’s gospel, Christ spoke similar words to those words written by Matthew.

Luke 13:24 – “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

This is a very popular verse used by those who believe in a difficult salvation. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke of both a strait gate and a narrow way. Here, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus speaks nothing about the narrow way. He speaks only of the strait gate.

Look at the opening words of this verse. Christ says, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate.” Just like Matthew’s gospel, we have the word “strait” describing the gate. We see again that there is difficulty associated with the gate that opens the way of life. In Matthew’s gospel, we saw that the difficulty associated with the gate lies with finding the gate – “Few be there that find it.” Here, in Luke’s gospel, Christ does not emphasize that the gate is hard to find. But there is a difficulty associated with the gate. Christ even enforces the difficulty associated with the gate by commanding his hearers to strive to enter in. Webster defines “strive” as “to make efforts; to use exertions; to endeavor with earnestness; to labor hard.” But please notice that we are not told to strive because the way of salvation is hard; as a matter of fact, the “way” is not even mentioned in Luke’s gospel. So, if you conclude from this verse that the way of salvation is hard, there is something about this passage you are not understanding.

Is there difficulty associated with the gate? Yes. It is called the “strait” gate. If we get to the gate, we will do so by striving. In this verse, Jesus is dealing with one of the greatest difficulties presented to the sinner – the difficulty of procrastination. When a sinner hears the gospel, his greatest temptation is not to resist the gospel; but rather to put it off. “Don’t reject the Lord,” the devil tells him. “Just don’t respond today.” This temptation should be resisted with every fiber of the sinner’s being. The sinner should strive against this great temptation. Hell is full of people who meant to be saved someday, but they did not strive against the temptation and now they are lost eternally. Though they seek to enter in, they shall not be able.

How do I know that this is the difficulty to which Christ is referring? Let’s look at our verse once more. “Strive to enter in at the strait gate,” Christ says. Why strive? “For many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” This arouses a question in the heart of the careful reader. When will people seek to enter in, and find themselves unable to do so? Christ answers that question clearly in the next verse:

Luke 13:25 – “When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are.”

When will people seek to enter in and not be able? “When the master of the house shuts the door and you stand without and knock.” There is a great difficulty associated with the gate. But the gate itself is not the difficulty. Salvation is not the difficulty. Procrastination is the difficulty. And if it is not striven against at all costs, the sinner will soon find that the gate that he delayed to enter will be shut forever.

Salvation, like Paul said in II Corinthians 11, is simple. The act of putting off salvation is a great difficulty and a great temptation that must be resisted. Failure to overcome this difficulty has landed many souls in a burning hell. The gate is open now, but not always. That’s the difficulty. Salvation is not the difficulty; salvation is the solution to the difficulty.

The Righteous Are Scarcely Saved

Perhaps the scripture that is misused the most to prove that salvation is difficult is found in I Peter 4:

I Peter 4:18 – “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

This verse is often misused by, in the first place, changing the word “scarcely” to “barely.” Those who believe that salvation is difficult often quote this verse by saying, “Salvation is so hard to attain that if the righteous are saved, they will barely be saved.” This is a gross mutilation of a blessed verse. James Strong defines the Greek word translated “scarcely” as “with difficulty.” Noah Webster defines the word “scarcely” as “hardly; with difficulty.” Both men define this word to mean “with difficulty.”

This verse does not mean that salvation is so complicated and hard to obtain that those who live perfect in every way will just “barely” obtain it. Then what does this verse mean?

First, we have seen that the word “scarcely” means “with difficulty.” So, look again at the first part of this verse – “If the righteous scarcely be saved,” or we could say, “If the righteous be saved with difficulty.” Those who are righteous are saved with difficulty. Everyone who is saved has been saved with difficulty. Keep this in mind; I will come back to it later.

Now, let us examine the latter part of the verse. We have the question, “Where shall the ungodly appear?” Peter is speaking of the Day of Judgment. How do we know? The verse prior to this one makes it clear. In I Peter 4:17 – “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” Peter is talking about the end of those who do not obey the gospel. Their end is the lake of fire, into which they will be cast at the final judgment.

At the Great White Throne Judgment, the lost will try to negotiate with God, but it will be of no avail (Matthew 7:22). In the midst of the negotiations, the lost will no doubt use their difficulties – whatever obstacles hindered them from being saved – as excuses. We see this in Luke 14, where Jesus tells of a man who made a supper. The man began to invite people to the supper. One by one, those invited began to make excuse. One said that he could not come because he bought a piece of land and had to go see it. Another said that he had just purchased five yoke of oxen, and needed to go prove them. Another said that he had married a wife, and therefore could not come. Notice very carefully – there was no difficulty with the supper itself. There was no difficulty with the invitation to the supper. The difficulties lied in the events in the lives of those men who received the invitation. The men who were invited used their difficulties as excuses. The piece of land became the hindrance. The oxen became the obstacle. The newlywed wife became the difficulty. The supper was not the difficulty! Salvation is not the difficulty! The invitation to salvation is not the difficulty. However, some people use difficulties of life as excuses for not being saved. When lost people stand before God, will these excuses be valid?

Perhaps you can envision the scene of the final judgment. A man stands before God. He is lost, but tries to assure the Lord that, had he been raised in a Christian home, he would have been saved. Will that excuse hold up? Absolutely not! A witness will rise up, and say, “Lord, I wasn’t raised in a Christian home either, but I was saved!” And the excuse will be thrown out.

You see, the righteous are “scarcely saved.” The righteous are saved “with difficulty.” Everyone who is saved had difficulties to overcome. You say that the reason you’re not saved is because you had to bury one of your babies? There are some people who had to bury their children, and yet they are saved. You say that the reason you are not saved is because you’ve had a hard life? A hard life is a difficulty for sure, but there are saved people who were saved in spite of the difficulty of having a hard life. To put it as gently as possible, these difficulties are not valid excuses for rejecting salvation. Everyone who has been saved could have used some difficulty as an excuse to remain lost. But they didn’t. They overcame those difficulties. They strove to enter in at the strait gate. They overcame their difficulties and were saved.

That’s the meaning of the verse – “If the righteous scarcely be saved,” – and the righteous truly are saved with difficulty – “where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” – where shall the lost, who try to use their difficulties as excuses, appear? Since every saved person overcame difficulties to be saved, every difficulty that the lost man tries to use as an excuse on Judgment Day will be overthrown on that fateful day.

This verse is not about salvation being difficult. It is about lost people using their difficulties as excuses. They’ll have no excuse, because righteous people were saved having to overcome the very same difficulties. No wonder John said in I John 5:5, “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” The believer is an overcomer because he overcame difficulties to be saved!

O Give Thanks unto the Lord!

Psalm 107:1 – “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Only an arrogant individual will purposely neglect to give the Lord thanks.  Every breath you breathe comes from God Almighty.  Yet there are those who will use the Lord’s air that fills their lungs to curse His holy name.  How low!  How proud!  How coldhearted!  How arrogant!  How disgusting!  I do not know of a sin more gross than neglecting to give the Lord thanks for His many blessings.  Every person reading this has something to thank God for; and most of us have very much to thank Him for.

In Romans 1, Paul speaks of the heathen who commit sins that even beasts of the field know better than to commit.  When reading this chapter, one may wonder, “How does anyone sink so low?”  Paul tells us clearly how a civilized people sink lower than the beasts of the field:

Romans 1:21 – “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, NEITHER WERE THANKFUL; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Paul clearly makes a connection between the grossest sins committable and neglecting to be thankful.  If you are truly thankful toward God, you acknowledge that God Almighty is high above you and your philosophies and ideas.  Being thankful toward God requires submission to the mercies of God.  You realize that God is good in spite of you, not because of you.

I want to use Psalm 107 as my text, and give the reader four things for which I am thankful.

I am Thankful for What God HAS DONE

Psalm 107:2 – “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.”

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”  What a privilege it is to be redeemed from the hand of the enemy!  I am thankful, first, for what God has done.  He redeemed me!  He paid for me with His own blood! 

I have often said that my salvation is as real to me as any possession I have.  I have given my testimony on this blog, so I’ll not expound much here.  But I will mention that nothing is more real to me than my salvation.

At six years of age, I went to a Vacation Bible School at a church located behind my house.  One of the men went from classroom to classroom trying to get children to say the “sinner’s prayer.”  I said that prayer.  However, I did not realize what I was doing.  I was told I was saved, but at that time, I had no genuine salvation experience.  The pastor of that church, who meant well, baptized me a few months later (January 22, 1989).  When a person was baptized in that church, they became a member of the church.  So, at six years of age, I repeated a prayer, got baptized in water, and joined a Baptist church.  But I was lost as I could be!  I was without Christ. 

A few years later, I went to a different Baptist church.  I sat on the front row every service.  I distinctly remember going home after the services, sitting in my room, and something deep inside me telling me I needed to be saved!  That “something” was the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit of God was dealing with me, showing me that I needed to trust Jesus Christ to save me completely.  I would sit in my bedroom, and think about how I needed to be saved.  Then, I would turn it off, saying to myself, “You’ve already said the prayer.  You’re all right.”  Then, I’d forget about it…until the next service.  This went on for a few weeks.  Finally, on March 13, 1994, on a Sunday morning, after the pastor preached a message on the subject of salvation, I went to the front.  I told the pastor I needed to be saved.  We knelt down, and there I placed all my faith in Jesus Christ and was saved by the grace of God!  I am thankful for what God HAS DONE! 

God has done more for me than just bestowing upon me spiritual blessings.  I am thankful for what God has done for me materially.  I am thankful for my health.  I know people younger than I am who have diabetes.  I know people younger than I am who have had heart surgeries.  I am thankful for my health!  I am thankful to God that when I open my eyes, I can see.  Not everyone can say that.  I thank God that I can hear, for that is not the case with everyone!  I thank God every time a bill is due, I have the money to pay it!  Let us not take anything for granted, but “in everything give thanks!” 

I am Thankful for What God Could’ve Done, but DIDN’T DO

Psalm 107:10-13 – “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.”

The psalmist, in the above verses, tell us about a people who sat in darkness, being bound in affliction and iron.  Why are they bound?  BECAUSE THEY REBELLED AGAINST THE WORDS OF GOD!  They were in bondage because of what THEY did!  They “made their bed rough;” now they have to “lie in it,” as the old-timers say.  But notice this – even though they were afflicted because of their own doings, notice what happened.  When they cried unto the Lord, what did the Lord do?  Did He say, “I’m sorry, you’re in bondage because of your own sins”?  No!  When they cried unto the Lord, He saved them out of their distresses!  The Lord could have left these people in their bondage and affliction, and He would have been just in doing so!  But He didn’t!

Likewise, the Lord could have left me in my sins.  BUT HE DIDN’T!  He could have let me go my own way and end up in hell!  Surely, that’s what I deserve!  But He did not do what He rightfully could have done!

I am Thankful for What God CANNOT DO

Psalm 107:20 – “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

“He sent His word!”  When I read this phrase, I am reminded that there is something that God Almighty cannot do! 

Titus 1:1, 2 – “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began.”

Friend, God CANNOT lie.  And I thank Him for this truth!  I do not have to worry about what God said not coming to pass.  If God said it, it absolutely will happen just like God said it would.  God says that He formed man with His own hands out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7).  The atheistic professor says that humans evolved from some non-existent ape-like “missing link.”  Who is the liar in this case?  The atheistic professor is the liar, for God Almighty CANNOT LIE!  God said that marriage is between a MAN and HIS WIFE (Genesis 2:24).  When a liberal says that marriage can also be between a man and his husband; or between a woman and her wife; tell me who the liar is.  It is not God, for God CANNOT LIE!  God said that He knows the baby in the womb personally (Jeremiah 1:5).  When an abortion doctor says that removing a baby from the womb is no different than removing a gallbladder, who do you suppose the liar is?  It is not God, for He CANNOT LIE! 

I am thankful for what God cannot do!  I am thankful that, in a world of change, there is something that is consistent!  What God says will never change!

I am Thankful for What God WILL DO

Psalm 107:29 – “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

“He maketh the storm a calm.”  As sure as you are reading this post, you will face storms in this life.  You have already faced storms, and there will be more.  You will have physical ailments.  You will be betrayed by friends.  You will have financial troubles.  Your marriage will be tried and tested.  Relationships with others will be strained.  I’m not trying to be dismal; I’m trying to be honest.  Storms will come.  They always have, and they always will.  Hard times will come your way.  Get ready for it. 

But know this: “He maketh the storm a calm.”  Even though there are storms that have not yet come my way, I know that God will bring me through them, as He always has.  He will calm the storm!  He may let the storm rage for a while before He calms it, but HE WILL calm the storm.  “He maketh the storm a calm.”  I am thankful for what God WILL DO!

Arrogance? You May Have More Than You Think!

One key characteristic of God's grace is the fact that He gives when we do not deserve it. In my own walk with the Lord, I have noticed significantly that the Lord does far more in spite of me than he does because of me. This is a portrait of God's amazing grace. In the book of I. Peter chapter 5, verses 5 and 6 have some phrases for us to ponder. One such phrase is, "Be clothed with humility." Another is, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." A third is, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." Truly humility is essential in anyone getting anywhere with God Almighty. The Lord will overlook a lot of shortcomings and help us anyway. Nonetheless, I am convinced that God will not overlook pride. The sinner MUST humble himself to be saved. The saint MUST humble himself for his prayer to be heard. Solomon stated, "These six things doth the Lord hate, yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A PROUD LOOK..." God hates arrogance. We must humble ourselves to get anywhere with God.

"I have no arrogance in me," you may boast. There are four ways in which arrogance shows its ugly head. First, if a person has heard the gospel and rejects it, he is very arrogant, and needs to come down a notch or two. When I tell you how to be saved, and you say, "I'm as good as anyone in that church," you are arrogant. When the gospel is presented to you and you reply to the knocking Saviour, "I do not need what you have to offer," you certainly are very proud.

Sinners are not the only arrogant ones; Christians, if we are not careful, may have arrogance in our hearts to some degree. A second way that arrogance shows its ugly head is by complaining. Yes, complaining is arrogance. The spirit behind one who complains says, "How dare something go wrong in my life today?!!!" If we understood how many blessings with which we are richly blessed, the only words that would proceed out of our mouth would be those of thanksgiving, and not words of complaint.

A third way in which arrogance reveals itself is by a person attempting to "make a deal with God." Christians go to the altar and say to the Lord, "If you'll...then I'll..." LIKE WE'VE REALLY GOT SOMETHING TO OFFER GOD! Like He'd better jump on it or He'll miss a deal! We need to understand that we do not need to make a deal with the Lord; we need to ask Him to give us what we need out of His grace. Then, we'll just live for Him because we love Him, and not because we're trying to pay off His blessings.

Fourthly, UNFORGIVENESS is arrogance. If, after you have been wronged, you refuse to forgive, you are arrogant. The spirit behind the unforgiving one says, "I can't forgive; they wronged me!" Well, with all due respect, who do you think you are? There is someone who is higher than you, and His name is Jesus. He was treated more wrongfully than either you or me. And, at the very hour of His crucifixion, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" If, after Christ forgave you, you refuse to forgive others, you are very highminded! No wonder Ephesians 4:32 says, "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."