Among the many blessings God’s people enjoy, surely salvation tops the list. What is better than  inheriting eternal life in God’s kingdom?
Yet, this raises a question. If God’s people are saved, why did Jesus, Paul and James teach about salvation? After all, they directed their messages to God’s people, not those lost in the world. Why would God’s people need to learn about salvation and inheriting eternal life in the kingdom?
Four reasons exist for teaching God’s people about salvation:
- To call for repentance or to celebrate repentance.
- To encourage pressing forward with faithfulness toward the end.
- To warn against the dangers of rebellion.
- To guard against or correct some aspect of a false teaching.
Jesus, Paul and James did not provide us contradictory messages about how to become God’s people. God has not changed. God claims people as his own when they enter his covenant relationship. This was true for Israel and is true for Christians.
To cut to the chase, those within God’s covenant people are instructed to reject rebellion and conform to God’s ways if they wish to receive the promised blessings and life. We find Jesus, Paul and James using the language of salvation to encourage God’s people to conform to various aspects of faithfulness. They did not advocate diverse principles for becoming God’s saved people.
Let’s begin by considering Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus. When Jesus visited Zacchaeus’ home, Zacchaeus announced he would repent from his sinful ways by loving others with his wealth and restoring what he had stolen, even exceeding what the law prescribed (Luke 19:8; Exodus 22:3-4).
When God’s people sin thus abandoning God’s ways, they need to repent. Perhaps our minds flashback to Israel’s prophets calling God’s people to turn from their wicked ways.
Because Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was "a son of Abraham," the Christ could rightfully exclaim upon hearing Zacchaeus’ determination to repent, "today salvation has come to this household" (Luke 19:9). This was an appropriate message for Zachaeus, a son of Abraham. However, it would be inaccurate to tell those outside of God’s people, just repent and you’ll be saved.
To highlight that Jesus’ teaching regarding salvation was directed towards God’s people, consider his responses to the question, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" On one occasion he counseled obeying the Law’s commands (Luke 18:20). At another time he provided a similar answer by instructing the inquirer to obey the two greatest commands (Luke 10:26-28). "Do this and you will live" (Luke 10:28). These are instructions for God’s people, not those outside of covenant.
Likewise Jesus informed his disciples that whether someone loved his neighbor or not makes a difference on the day of judgment. Condemnation comes upon those who did not love their neighbor, while inheriting life is granted to those who loved (Matthew 25:31-46).
Once again, Jesus was not affirming that the Gentiles could successfully save themselves based upon their own merit without any relationship with himself or with God. Rather, the Messiah was training his disciples about the importance of their lifestyle.
Similarly, Jesus’ parables of the talents and minas emphasized the value of following the master’s commands and rejecting a rebellious dismissive attitude about their duty. These are parables for God’s people, not an exhaustive prescription for how Gentiles could become God’s saved people.
We should be able to agree Jesus’ teachings were not directed toward those outside of God’s people to inform them how to become God’s saved people. He taught the lost sheep of Israel and his Jewish disciples how they needed to live to be saved.* Neither Paul’s nor James’ messages conflict with Jesus’ teachings.
Next week the focus will be on James’ message.
*Nicodemus was not someone outside of God’s people. In fact, as a pharisee and teacher of Israel, Nicodemus was not just any typical member of Israel. Â He assumed no changes were necessary in order for him to enter into the kingdom. Jesus taught him otherwise.
- The Wanted-For-Murder Poster And Acts 2:38 - 2025-08-13
- JESUS, Paul and James on Salvation (2) - 2025-08-13
- Jesus, Paul & James on Salvation - 2025-08-06