There’s a video of Tom Cruse going around the Internet which is said to have been taken at a 2004 International Association of Scientologists meeting where Tom is saying… “It’s a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist and it’s something that you have to earn,”
Most world religions say… “It’s a privilege to call yourself a _(fill in the blank)_ and it’s something that you have to earn.”
Even some “Christian” groups say… “It’s a privilege to call yourself a “Christian” and it’s something that you have to earn.”
When God in his mercy reveals his glory and majesty to us and we see what Jesus Christ did for us by His grace we know that if we had a thousand lifetimes we could never earn the right to take one step toward God’s throne by our own merit.
A Christian will say… “It’s a privilege to call yourself a Christian and it’s something that I accept as a gift from God.”
Paul said it best in Romans 8:23-25 – “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
And in verse 28 Paul says…
“Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded.”
As this wonderful hymn says…
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.
1517 AD Blog 