Salvation is Not Theology

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Hey, welcome to Self Talk. I'm your host, me, Dr. Ray Self. Thank you for being a part of today's show. Thank you for listening. Be sure and share this with someone. Tell people about it. It means a lot to me. Our show is sponsored by the International College of Ministry, a ministry that I founded, a college that I founded. We're enrolling every day at icmcollege.org. If God's called you and you know there's a call of God on your life, it's very important to get equipped and get your credentials. Amen. icmcollege.org. 

I want to talk today about the theology of salvation. Is theology necessary? What's the problem with theology and salvation? Well, there's a big problem. Let's talk about it, okay? Thanks again for being a part of the show. You know, it seems that today there's a lot of arguments online. A lot of people debating theology, all kinds of debates out there. And sadly, people even get angry online. Um, it's interesting to me when I listen to these various people arguing theological debates; you can pretty much tell what denomination they're coming from because they, they view the Bible with their denominational sunglasses, so to speak. But I want to talk about salvation and theology. See, there's a lot of theological questions about salvation out there. Is– once you're saved, are you always saved? Can you lose your salvation? How do you get it back? Is– what makes you lose your salvation? Eternal security is a very controversial topic, and people debate it all the time. Is it possible to lose your salvation? Is baptism necessary for salvation? If you're, if you, you're saved and you don't get baptized, does that mean you're not actually saved? Uh, what about that? Is, is salvation fully by grace? Or like James said, uh, faith without works is dead. So are there some works required for your salvation? Or how about this one? Have you been predestined? Is only the elect, only the predestined are the ones who are saved? So God chooses those who'll be saved with this irresistible grace and the limited atonement of Jesus Christ? 

All these theological questions and what they cause is a lot of debate. And sometimes I have to be honest, I get online, and I'll debate a little bit of them because– I'll debate them sometimes because I get angry with some of the false teaching I see out there. I don't like to see people misled about salvation. But honestly, you see, salvation's not theology. Salvation is real. Salvation is an experience. Salvation is becoming another person. The Bible calls us a new creation. The Bible says we must be born again. You see, salvation is not an argument. It's not an argument. You can argue about salvation. You can argue about the theology of salvation, but theology doesn't explain salvation. Salvation is a real supernatural, incredible, life-changing experience. Salvation is an experience, a– just, miraculous experience. 

I love to tell the story about my dear friend Marcus, who's actually with the Lord now. I was pastoring a small church in a little town called Olive Branch, Mississippi. Great little church. And I had an associate pastor named Marcus. Marcus was a very big guy. Um, big African-American guy. He was, um, just, just a big - I don't know, he was probably 6'4, 300 lb. Always had a smile on his face. Loved to hug people. One of the friendliest, nicest, most gentle people I've ever met. You might call him a gentle giant. Full of love, full of laughter, incredibly gifted prophetically, great preacher, tremendous man of God. One day I was talking to Marcus, and I asked Marcus says, "Marcus, tell me, tell me your story." And I said, "What were you like? What, what were you like before salvation?" He goes, "Oh, you did not want to know me before I was saved." I said, "Well, what do you mean?" He said, "I was the guy that you prayed you would never meet. I was that guy. If you were walking down a dark street, I was the guy that you hoped you never ran across because if you did run across me in a dark street, I'd put a gun to your head and I'd rob you and maybe do things worse.” I said, “Marcus, that's you?” “Yeah.” I said, “What happened?” “I met the Lord, and I'm different. I'm a different person.” And you see, to me, that's a great story because salvation is not a theological argument. Although you can argue about it theologically, salvation is a supernatural experience. 

When a person becomes saved, when the Holy Spirit anoints them, comes in them, and they get filled with the Holy Spirit, they've accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, there is a change. We are born again. We become another person. It happened to me, and millions of Christians will testify that salvation changed them. They became a different being. See, salvation is not a theological argument. Although you can argue about it theologically, salvation is a miraculous experience. And I can tell you story after story after story of people I have known that went through miraculous deliverance when they were saved. Um, homosexuality, that people that came out of homosexuality, drug addiction, alcoholism, uh, like Marcus who was just a criminal and came out of that. Amazing stories of transformation.

And, see, salvation is about being declared not guilty and being justified and reconciled. I talked about that this morning on my show, my Facebook live show. I do that, by the way, every Tuesday morning at 9:30 Eastern, 8:30 Central. Check it out. My Facebook live broadcast, about a little 10-minute show. But the deal is, yeah, salvation is uh, eternal life. Salvation is justification, redemption, reconciliation. It's a full benefit package. But salvation is a miracle. Salvation is a miracle. One time, it's probably been 10 years ago now, I was having a, a discussion with a family member who happened to be an atheist and um, the subject of Christianity came up and she said to me, she said, "Well, that's just what you believe." I said, "No, it's not what I believe. It's what I've experienced." You see, Christianity is much more than a belief. Salvation is much more than a belief. Christianity is a life-changing, miraculous, born-again, holy cow, new way of living; a, a new person. You become a different person, and you have power you've never had before. You feel love that you've never felt before. You feel an anointing, the presence of God. You're able to hear His voice. It's an incredible experience that changes you at your very core. That is salvation. And it's much more than a theological argument. 

So sadly, people want to debate and argue and get angry with each other over it. And I think, you know, some of the people online debating theology, I wonder if they even know the Lord. Because you see, salvation is an experience. Christianity is more than a belief. It's not a way of thinking. It's not– It's more than a way of living. Christianity is a miraculous experience. I mean, something happens. The Holy Spirit comes in you. You become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you become changed. You become a whole nother person. And all of a sudden, you, you, you hear things you couldn't hear before. You discern things you couldn't discern before. You, you, the, the voice of God becomes alive. You can hear God's voice. You feel His presence. You feel His love. And, and you change where the desires you had before are no longer your desire anymore. 

You know, I'll tell a testimony about alcohol and drinking. So, many years ago, I was a, a social drinker. You know, social drinker is, it's called– a person who says, "Well, you drink, so shall I." Social drinker. And I would drink when the occasion called for it, which was weekends, parties, uh, happy hour, whenever the occasion called for it. Now, this is probably been 40 years ago. But I had been– I was saved, but I was drinking. But then the Holy Spirit…I got filled with the Holy Spirit, which is a whole nother thing after salvation, which is an incredible thing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But when the Holy Spirit came on me, all of a sudden, my desire for alcohol left. I didn't think, well, you know, I'm a Christian now, Holy Spirit-filled Christian. I can't drink anymore. It wasn't like that at all. It was, I don't want to drink anymore. It's just, it's just not there. 

You see, folks, a born-again Christian who's been delivered is not trying to abstain. They have been set free from things. You see, abstinence is when you want to do it, but you make yourself not do it through self-discipline. Freedom is when you don't want to do it because you have no desire to do it, because the desire is completely gone. It, it's erased. It's gone. You no longer have that, that want anymore. And that's what happened with me with alcohol. But that's again an example of Christianity. It's supernatural. Salvation is a supernatural experience. It changes who you are. It changes your desires, your beliefs, your feelings, your core, your heart, your wants. It changes you. He changes you. Salvation is an experience. And then, when you're saved, you enter into the body of Christ. And all of a sudden, there's a lot of supernatural things.

Let me tell you something, folks. When you're saved, and you're filled with the Holy Spirit, which I encourage you to always pray, “Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit,” you will experience supernatural. I can tell you story after story after story of, of people I've seen healed. Broken legs, blind eyes healed, cancer healed, people coming out of wheelchairs and walking. Myself diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Yes, me, muscular dystrophy, 35, 40 years ago, they said I would never walk again. I'm walking. Amen. I, I've just– I see these things. I've experienced these things. I know these things. The voice of God, God talking to me, God directing me, and then being able to lay hands on people and see them healed right in front of my eyes and give prophetic words that end up to be true, or confirmation of something God has given the supernatural over and over again. And even when there's no supernatural happening, I've seen so much supernatural. I know, I know, I know that God is alive and I have a relationship with Him, and He cares about me, and He's talking to me, and I can talk to Him and I, and He'll talk back to me. It's an incredible life-changing experience. So, yeah, theology is a great intellectual exercise, but without the experience of an indwelling relationship with God, it just, it's just an intellectual argument. An intellectual argument. Don't, don't let these theologians reduce your Christian walk to an intellectual argument. Christianity is a beautiful, wonderful, life-changing, everyday life-changing experience. That's what it is. 

And so, yeah, should you…I mean, listen, I have a doctor in theology. I teach theology. I believe we should know the word and know God, but if you, if you study the word and you don't have a relationship with the author of the word, it's all in vain. It's just intellectualism, which is flesh. You see, the most important thing is that you're experiencing and knowing personally the author of the Bible. That's the most important thing. Now, the author of the Bible wants you to know His word. And the more you know the word of God, the more you understand the author of the Bible. 

So, my point of this podcast is that Christianity is more than theology. It is a life-changing, miraculous experience. And I want to encourage you with something right now. You say, "Well, you know, I, I've, I've been saved. I, I did what I was supposed to do to be saved. I confessed  Jesus Christ as Lord, and you know, went down and did that, but I haven't experienced anything." What you can do right now is pray with me for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. You see, there's one thing to be saved and, and, and anointed and appointed as a child of God. And there's another thing to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, "Do not be drunk with wine, but be continually filled with the Holy Spirit." The book of Acts says, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." And so, I want to pray right now for those who may need to receive Christ for the first time and those who say, "You know what? I haven't experienced that supernatural you're talking about.” I want to pray for the Holy Spirit to come on you, to come in you and fill you because when the Holy Spirit comes on you and in you and fills you, you will experience supernatural things. Amen. 

Heavenly Father, I thank you for everyone listening to my show today. Father, I pray, if there's anyone listening and says, you know, “I think I want to be saved. I want that experience. I want to– I want to know that I'm a child of God. But I want to be forgiven of my sins and get this guilt and shame off of me.” If that is you and you know that is you, pray this with me. But mean it from your heart. Don't just do a repetitious prayer because I'm saying it, but mean it from your heart. Okay? Pray with me. Lord Jesus, I believe you're the Son of God, I believe that you died on the cross to pay the price for my sins. I ask you, Lord, to forgive me of my sins. I choose to repent of my sins. And I ask for your forgiveness because I believe you're the Son of God. I believe you died on the cross. I believe you rose again on the third day. Rose from the dead on the third day. Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I accept you as my Savior. Save me now. Now, Jesus, I ask for the Holy Spirit to come and to fill me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come. Fill me completely. Wash me clean and fill me, Father. Fill me, Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ, I proclaim and believe, everyone who wants it, believes with me now, you are being filled with the Holy Spirit. You may call it the baptism. You may call it the filling, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. Lord, I pray supernatural power, supernatural anointing, a supernatural experience over everyone listening to this podcast who is willing to receive it now. Come, Holy Spirit. I thank you for those that prayed the salvation prayer. And I thank you now for filling them and all of us fresh with your Holy Spirit, baptizing us fresh. More power, more anointing, more glory, more of you, Lord. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. You are welcome to fill us. Fill every vessel, every open vessel listening to my voice, who's willing to receive. Come, Holy Spirit, fill us now. Fill us fresh now in the name of Jesus. Come, come, touch, fill. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Praise you, Father. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for your anointing. Thank you, Jesus. We love you, Lord. We praise you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Amen.

Listen, um, I'd love to hear from you. If you have questions about what I just prayed, the best way is just email me. Email me at uh, drrayself, d r r a y s e l f @gmail.com. Ask me your questions. I'll answer them. Be glad to help you. Thank you for listening to the show. If you'd like to help us out financially, that'd be great. That's up to you. It's up to you and the Lord. No pressure there. I thank you for being a part of Self Talk with Dr. Ray Self. Be sure and tell your friends about this. Love you much. Be blessed and know that Christianity is more than theology. It's a real, incredible, amazing, beautiful experience and a deep abiding relationship with our Lord. Amen. And amen. God bless you.