(Romans 3: 23, 6: 23, John 1: 12, Revelation 3: 20)
As many of you know, a friend of Teresa and mine recently passed. I first came to know Tommy as a witness for the State of Washington in case I prosecuted ten years ago. I got reacquainted with Tommy when I started volunteering at the Quilcene Food Back on Wednesdays after the Covid-19 pandemic closed our doors in March. Teresa, who was already a regular volunteer, had already met Tommy on her own and developed her own friendship. Our relationship had now changed as we were co-workers in our weekly mission to feed the hungry. As I previously related, Tommy died on the job suffering a heart attack as we all stood by and watched helplessly. I had written in our newsletter and in a Facebook post honoring Tommy that when he got to heaven and met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates Saint Peter said; “I see that when you died you were feeding the hungry. Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest.”
I now have to admit to a failure on my part as a pastor and a Follower of the Way. During our renewed friendship I never asked Tommy if he was saved, if he had a relationship with Jesus, if he had a Salvation Plan. I took comfort in the fact that it appeared he had turned his life around, as he had quit drinking and was volunteering tirelessly every Wednesday, rain or shine. Well, God answered my question and reassured me that Tommy had indeed made it to heaven. Leslie, the food bank manager, had found Tommy’s Bible and written on the inside page was Tommy’s Salvation Plan which is as follows: 1) Romans 3: 23; We have a problem. We all have sin. 2) Romans 6: 23; There is a penalty for sin, but there is a way to escape death. 3) John 1: 12; Just knowing about Christ is not enough…you must receive Christ. 4) Revelation 3: 20; Confess your sin and invite Christ into your heart. Wow, I thought, that’s quite a plan. A simple plan for a simple man. A plan anyone could follow.
Now, I don’t know where this plan came from. It is possible that Tommy himself came up with it, but I suspect someone gave it to him. Someone had already had that conversation with him about his life and the life to come. Regardless, I am happy that Tommy had a plan and that he got to meet Saint Peter and enter into his rest, and I think his plan is worth a closer look.
Step one is admitting you have a problem and that problem is sin. Romans 3: 23 says; All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus. I think, for Tommy and folks like him, this verse speaks to them in a way that puts them on equal footing with everyone else, even those people who think they’re better than them, the ones that look down their noses at them. And, for many, some sins seem bigger than others because their obvious consequences are much more serious. Murder, for example seems to be worse than hatred, and adulty worse than lust. But that doesn’t mean that because we do lesser sins, we deserve eternal life and others do not. All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. All sin, therefore, leads to death because it disqualifies us from living with God, regardless of how great or small our sin seems. We would be wise not to minimize “little” sins or overrate “big” sins, as they all separate us from God, but they can all be forgiven. It is important to remember that we all are justified, set right with God and acquitted despite our sin, by God’s grace. The astounding aspect of God’s rectifying intervention is that it is done on behalf of undeserving people, people like you and me. God certainly perceives our sins and wrongdoing but chooses to liberate us, nonetheless. By providing emancipation, freedom from sin, Jesus allows for sinners’ gracious right standing with God. For someone who has fallen short and realizes it, this is certainly good news.
Step two is understanding the price that has been paid for our redemption. Romans 6: 23 says; The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Tommy knew the penalties for his wrong-doings and the punishment of and by man, as he probably spent more time in the county jail than in church during his rebellious years. But he also knew how to escape the Death Penalty, the greater punishment. The Apostle Paul is telling us that Christ’s currency is eternal life, new life with God that begins on earth and continues forever with God. This eternal life remains “God’s gift” that comes to us in Christ Jesus our Lord, and whatever righteousness may be found in us, this also is the gift of God. I am convinced that Tommy got this just by the evidence of his new life in serving God with a servant’s heart. Tommy’s new life had begun on earth in his service to God’s hungry and poor children and now continues on forever with his God. Tommy passed a righteous man in the eyes of God.
Step 3 is more than just knowing Christ. It’s receiving Christ into your heart. John the Apostle tells us in John 1: 12 that; those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children. Tommy knew he was a child of God because he welcomed Christ into his heart, and we know that no one comes to the Father but through the Son. Through faith in Christ, this new birth changes us from the inside out, rearranging our attitudes, desires, and motives. I didn’t realize it until now, but I saw this new birth in Tommy that had changed him from the inside. The old life was gone, put behind him and he met each new day with a smile and a hope in what is unseen. When he smiled his eyes lit up and his face beamed with the light of Christ. We’re told that being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God’s family. By Tommy’s example, we are shown this fresh start in life is available to all who believe in Christ. Did Tommy’s rebirth bring him better health, more wealth, prosperity, more status and respect among his peers? No, he was the same old Tommy who lived in the same old motorhome, but you could tell there was something different about him. So, in a way, I guess he received much, much more. His life had been rearranged and he had a new spiritual birthright as a brother to Jesus Christ and a child of God the Father.
Step 4 is when you simply confess your sin and invite Christ into your heart. In Revelation 3: 20 Jesus says; Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me. Tommy knew Christ wanted to get to know him on a personal level, and all he had to do was answer that knock at the door, let Jesus in and have a heart-to-heart. And Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts every time we sense we should turn to him. Jesus wants to have fellowship with us, and he wants us to open up to him. There is nothing we can tell him that will shock him or that He doesn’t already know. That’s why he’s knocking. He is patient and persistent in trying to get through to us, not breaking and entering, but knocking. He allows us to decide whether or not to open our lives to him. Jesus is waiting and hoping that eventually we’ll get up and answer the knock so he can come in and have that personal one-on-one talk you’ve been longing to have, that conversation you didn’t know how to start on your own.
Quite a plan, don’t you think? Pretty simple, direct and to the point. It’s certainly not cluttered with a bunch of rules and regulations, ceremonies and rituals which can confuse and discourage a new believer. It’s a personal plan for salvation, one that lays a foundation in Jesus Christ and the Good News from which a person can begin that new life on earth that continues in eternity. Do I believe Tommy had a plan and was working it? You bet I do. I saw it in the way he worked providing food for the least-of-these every Wednesday at the food bank and how he personally interacted with the other volunteers. He knew that what he was doing for the least of his brothers and sisters every week, he was doing for Jesus and it gave him the peace of Christ that passes all understanding. Tommy’s Salvation Plan gave him a victory in Jesus over death even as he died serving others.
Please pray with me.
Gracious and loving God, it’s an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory who gave his life on Calvary to save wretches like us. We heard about his groaning and of his precious blood’s atoning for our many sins, great and small. How grateful we are for his healing and cleansing power that mends our broken spirits. And how we look forward to that day when we will reside in that great mansion built for us in glory because we have been redeemed by your all-encompassing love and grace. Because of your plan for our salvation we have won our victory in Jesus. Move us to share your plan of salvation with others. Make us the messenger that stands at the door and knocks hoping one of your lost children will answer and let Jesus into their hearts and walk the path of a new life in you. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.