Ximena Delgado (second from left) celebrates her new life.
Luke 19:1-10
“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, `Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, `He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’ ‘
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, `Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’
Jesus said to him, `Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’”
Has salvation come to your house?
This is the most important question anyone could ask you! Every day, we all face numerous challenges and decisions, but what other question has been asked of you today that carries eternal implications?
I became a Christian on April 1, 2005. Had you asked me this same question some time earlier, I would have said “Yes, salvation has come to my house.” And I certainly was wrong!
Growing up, I always believed that I was a Christian. I went to church with my family every Sunday and Wednesday while I lived at home. I had a faith in Jesus and believed that he died for my sins. I worked at a church camp during my summers in college. My parents were even missionaries in central Africa for seven years! Yet there was no power of Christ in my life! My life was unrecognizable as a Christian. I knew how the Bible said I should live, but I thought I was a Christian because I believed in Jesus. In fact, I thought that the Bible was impossible to obey, and didn’t apply to us today.
If someone were to have observed my life, they would not have seen the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), but rather the acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:19-21)! Paul writes to the church in Galatia “that those who live like this (according to the sinful nature) will not inherit the kingdom of God” Galatians 5:21.
Jesus clearly taught that belief in him was not enough to be one of his disciples.
The apostle John records,
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:31-32.
From this passage, we understand that one not only needs to believe in Jesus to be a disciple, but also hold to his teachings. In fact, James writes, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” James 2:19. Thus, we understand that belief in God or Jesus is not enough. There must also be actions which accompany this belief.
I had always thought of myself as a Christian because I believed in Jesus. After visiting one of our sister churches in Portland, Oregon, some of the members of that church did some personal Bible studies with me. They showed me from the Bible that Jesus’ disciples were later renamed “Christians,” that, in fact, a Christian and a Disciple were the exact same thing. (Acts 11:26) This was a radically different teaching than what I had understood my whole life. I knew, without a doubt, that I was not a disciple, according to the standard of the Bible. I actually never thought that I needed to be one! After understanding a Disciple and a Christian are the same thing, I realized that I was not even a Christian, that salvation had not yet come to my house. Even after understanding this, I still was not urgent to become a Christian. It took several months of Bible studies, and putting what I had heard into practice, until I finally developed a Godly sorrow.
Paul writes about Godly sorrow in his second letter to the church in Corinth.
2 Corinthians 7:9-11 “ Your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.”
As in this passage, my Godly sorrow led me to repentance. It all made sense to me on March 25th, 2005. After countless hours of studying the Bible, many conversations about my life, hours of prayer, and much correction from the Bible, I finally understood what I had done with my life apart from God, and what a great need I had for Jesus! I spent one week making right the wrongs I had committed, wherever possible,
and apologizing to many people, especially to my family and those closest to me. I remember an overwhelming “eagerness to clear myself.” And then, on a Friday night in Beaverton, Oregon, after being made into a disciple, confessing and repenting of my sins, I was baptized for the forgiveness of my sins, and became a Christian as the Bible teaches! (Acts 2:38) Salvation had finally come to my house!
And now begins the life-long journey to remain faithful to the Lord, regardless of the challenges that I might face.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
My hope and prayer is that salvation does come to your house! And if it has come, that it stays!
And to God be the Glory!
Luke Speckman
Campus Minister
