Qualified?

 “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

(Colossians 1:11-14 ESV)

I recently saw a study, conducted among Christians. It revealed that more than half of professing Christians, even in denominations that have a high view of Scripture, believe that they are saved by their own efforts. They believe that, by performing good works, they are enabled to receive the blessings of God. And, among Catholics, the number reached seventy percent.

While I’m not endorsing this study in any way, it does match my experience as a pastor. Over the course of my ministry, I’ve found that a majority of those who consider themselves Christian trust not in Christ for salvation, but in themselves. They find comfort not in Christ and what he has done, but in themselves and in what they have done.

This is not Christianity. It is not the Christian faith. In fact, it is another gospel. It is a gospel that cannot save.

It leads to one of two results. It can lead us to continually question our salvation as we’re regularly confronted with our shortcomings. This ultimately leads us to despair, as we realize that we do not and cannot live a life good enough to merit salvation. Or, it leads us to pride, as we sincerely begin to believe that we are good enough and that we’ve one enough to merit salvation.

According to Scripture, we are lost and can do nothing to save ourselves. As we see in the above passage, we are part of the domain of darkness. We are a part of the domain of sin, and the enemy of our souls.

Everything necessary to attain our salvation has been performed by Christ, and by Christ alone. We are not qualified for salvation because of anything in ourselves or anything we’ve done. We’re qualified by God himself.

It is he who has delivered us from the domain of darkness. It is he who has transferred us into the kingdom of his Son. And it is in Christ that we have redemption, and the forgiveness of our sins.

For this reason, we must not trust in ourselves. We must trust in the Lord, who alone can save. And when he enables us to do good works, praise be to God.