Garth Young: Are You Good Enough?

A guest blog, by Garth Young.

If you could communicate something to those you care about most before you die what would it be? Surely there must be something important you’ve learned that’s worthy of passing on to the next generation—something that’s meaningful and valuable. What would you say is most important? What would your story be about?

Having been brought up in the Oregon City Followers of Christ group, I was taught mainly with stories. These weren’t stories that would point to the gospel but mostly stories from within the group about healings, miracles, things Walter had said, things the elders had taught and how the FOC in Idaho was wrong, etc. The stories were mixed with biblical directives but always pointed to the group in Oregon City as being a special place, the place to be for a chance at salvation—if you were good enough. The following story is one of many that haven’t left my memory after all these years (probably because it seems to be at the core of FOC theology).

I must have been in my late teens when this older man lay sick on his deathbed. As far as I know this man had always been a church member, he was a father and husband, and the son of an elder. From my teenage perspective, he was the kind of man that should be able to speak of real hope and wisdom. As he lay there in a room with his brothers by his side he said this: “I’ve never been drunk, I’ve never committed adultery, I’ve never killed anyone, and I think I’ve got a real good chance of going to heaven.” The brothers all seemed to be in agreement that their brother was on good ground because of his own record. As the story was retold to me at home by one of the brothers of the sick man, he built upon the story with his own comment: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could say the same things before you die?”

Somehow this story affected me. As I recall the impact of this and other stories there is a realization that I liked stories like this because they fed my misguided notion of being spiritually advantaged because there was something good in me and something extra-special about my church. Having a head start on everyone else in the world outside of my group, now I just needed to earn salvation, so I listened for the instructions of going to heaven. When I messed up in my pursuit of being righteous, I would simply start over, and I started over a lot. Even when I could control the words and actions, there were the thoughts to deal with everyday. With this heavy task of self-achieved righteousness ahead, questions often arose in my mind about real hope, purpose and happiness. I continually wrestled with that deathbed story.

What the dying man said sounds right if you read the scriptures merely as a compendium of instructions. But if you read the story in the scriptures and see the hero of the story, it’s shocking. There is no place or people group that can save me and I can’t be good enough to make myself right with God. But there is one story that can bring light out of darkness, it’s a story of the innocent dying for the guilty, the strong standing in place of the helpless, the righteous one suffering and dying for the unrighteous -- that is the good news. If it doesn’t shock you then you haven’t really heard it. If the story of Jesus doesn’t rattle your very core and change you, it will become an offense that forces you to stand upon your own record.

And on the last day, when it matters most, your own record will be contrasted against Jesus’ perfect one and then you’ll see there has ever only been One who was good enough to earn salvation. Will He be your Hero?

Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works?

This is perhaps the most important question in all of Christian theology. This question is the cause of the Reformation, the split between the Protestant churches and Catholic Church. This question is a key difference between biblical Christianity and most of the “Christian” cults. Is salvation by faith alone, or by faith plus works? Am I saved just by believing in Jesus, or do I have to believe in Jesus and do certain things?

The question of faith alone or faith plus works is made difficult by some hard-to-reconcile Bible passages. Compare Romans 3:28, 5:1 and Galatians 3:24 with James 2:24. Some see a difference between Paul (salvation is by faith alone) and James (salvation is by faith plus works). Paul dogmatically says that justification is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), while James appears to be saying that justification is by faith plus works. This apparent problem is answered by examining what exactly James is talking about. James is refuting the belief that a person can have faith without producing any good works (James 2:17-18). James is emphasizing the point that genuine faith in Christ will produce a changed life and good works (James 2:20-26). James is not saying that justification is by faith plus works, but rather that a person who is truly justified by faith will have good works in his/her life. If a person claims to be a believer, but has no good works in his/her life, then he/she likely does not have genuine faith in Christ (James 2:14,17,20,26).

Paul says the same thing in his writings. The good fruit believers should have in their lives is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Immediately after telling us that we are saved by faith, not works (Ephesians 2:8-9), Paul informs us that we were created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). Paul expects just as much of a changed life as James does: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). James and Paul do not disagree in their teaching regarding salvation. They approach the same subject from different perspectives. Paul simply emphasized that justification is by faith alone while James put emphasis on the fact that genuine faith in Christ produces good works
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This article was reprinted with permission and was originally published at gotquestions.org.

Garth Young: Lost and Found, Part One

It’s not easy to find former Followers who are willing to speak publicly about their experiences in the church. I am grateful, therefore, that former member, Garth Young, has agreed to tell his story on this forum. Please check back on Wednesday for part two and the final section next Sunday.

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My name is Garth Young and I grew up in the Followers of Christ Church in Oregon City. I am 41 years old, and am married to Elaine whose maiden name is Moore. We have five children, three of whom were born while we were attending the Church in Oregon City.

For those of you who are curious, this is the first time I have ever written anything about the Oregon City Followers of Christ Church - anonymous or otherwise.  This is a brief recounting in my own words of what happened to me ten years ago, when I led my family away from the church that had been our life.

Being born and raised, and starting a family within this group has meaning. It means this is my life; these are my people, my family and my friends. We had a common bond not just because of the close relational togetherness, but because we were different from those outside because of what we practiced and how devoted we were to the assignment of following Christ.

Dedication to being a member by attendance and belief in the church held out great potential for escaping the wrath of God and going to heaven. This makes complete sense because nobody wants eternal punishment and even the simplest mind can grasp the idea that good people are rewarded while bad people are punished. As a young person I was taught from the pulpit to get my good works in early and that would make me prepared. I still remember a time as a boy helping stack firewood for an older couple in our church, my friend brought up the fact that we were doing it; we were getting in our good works.

The last elder died when I was fifteen and there was no more teaching from the pulpit. The potential hope for salvation now came down to attending church twice a week and singing hymns – and of course, being a good person was still a huge part of the equation. Helping people within the group (especially when sick) was highly promoted, as was prayer and fasting, greeting with a holy kiss, and abstaining from the services of a physician. Along with these I had heard from an older and seemingly wise man that drunkenness, sexual sin and killing a human would greatly hinder my chances of finding favor with God, but most of all stay in the church.  As a result of this, a pattern began to develop within me; everyone makes mistakes, but if I can do more good than bad, it should work out in my favor, especially if I remain part of the church. This was my understanding of what God wanted his people to know and to do.

There were opinions within the FOC that considered some of the essential teachings of the church to have been radically softened over the last twenty years. The hard lines that made up the earlier church had been restructured as a remedy for our missing parts. Baptism, Lord’s Supper, preaching and leadership were areas of contention because they didn’t exist anymore. These practices disappeared due to a lack of leadership (Apostle or Elder) to implement them. At nineteen, I was well on my way to becoming an obstinate hardliner. Not only did I think salvation was achieved by going to the right church and following the prescribed actions, I also believed the bar of earning salvation needed to be raised.     

I was familiar with the bible and considered myself in agreement with the teachings of scripture. My reading however, centered on me. My understanding of the bible was always filtered through the lens of what I must do, and how I must continue in my own strength. I prayed for help, I prayed for a preacher, I prayed for understanding, but really I had the idea that faith was self mustered. There were many deficiencies in my character like pride and anger, just to name a couple.  My assessment of the continual behavior and desires that proceeded from my heart and mind fell far short from the calling Jesus gave to be perfect as the father is perfect (Mat 5:48). If perfection was the requirement for entering the kingdom, then I was disqualified at every level and so were all of my family and friends.  But if perfection was just a target to aim at in hopes of an occasional hit, all the while knowing I was safe because I’m part of the right church that does the right things, I could rest. The burden of perfection was relieved because I did what I was supposed to do. Or did I? Was it really possible that my actions could somehow erase all the condemnation that my sin had accumulated?

Little did I know, my life was about to radically change.