One bit of my succinct standing advice on recurring themes is “If you’re grudgingly trying to do the minimum God requires, you’re not doing the minimum that God requires. Mark 12:30.” I probably could have said “If you’re grudgingly trying to do the minimum God requires, you’re ipso facto not doing the minimum …,” but I use enough Latin phrases already.

I don’t recall what prompted that thought originally, but I suspect it was my old friend, who considers himself religious (although he might quibble with the word) in the Evangelical Protestant tradition, and who told me point blank, in jargon I knew all too well, that he just wanted to make it into heaven and “would leave all the jewels in the crown for others.” A fair summary of the meaning of this jargon is this, by one Kyle H at the impeccably reliable Yahoo! Answers (emphasis added):

Paul talked many times of running the race, striving for the goal, etc.
Now, we are saved through grace, not by works, lest any man should boast.
Faith saves, works get you rewards in Heaven. Paul knew he was saved but he kept striving for the rewards, a main goal of his.
I have no idea what the rewards may be but they must be very good if Paul was always talking about them.
I believe jewels in your crown = rewards, whatever they are.
There are many people of many faiths that will be in Heaven.
Paul said, if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, (in other words tell people about Him and your belief in Him) and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
He never said you have to first be Baptist, Catholic etc.
I know I will get a lot of the bad thumbs for this, but, believe it or not, there will be a few, (LOL) Catholics in Heaven.
No matter what your creed, your beliefs; your denomination, the first and only requirement to get to Heaven is to accept by faith that Jesus not only died for your sins, but the He was raised from the dead and is now at the right hand of the Throne of God.

So my friend apparently wants (a) to accept by faith that Jesus not only died for his sins, but the He was raised from the dead and is now at the right hand of the Throne of God but then (b) direct his own life, march to his own drummer, and have as good a time as possible without voiding the fire insurance policy.

When last I was deeply immersed in the Evangelical world, that attitude was epidemic. It would be unfair to say “pandemic.”

Prooftext battles are useless and futile, but my citation to Mark 12 says:

And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

So if you ask “what must I do to be saved?,” you’re asking a good question. If you ask “what must I do to be saved?,” intending to do no more and intending in particular not to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, you’re violating the first and greatest commandment, and the only possible answer is “repent.”

Unpacking “repent” is beyond the scope I’m willing to take up today except to say that nobody who’s grudging toward God deserves any “eternal security” he or she may delusionally feel.

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“The remarks made in this essay do not represent scholarly research. They are intended as topical stimulations for conversation among intelligent and informed people.” (Gerhart Niemeyer)

Some succinct standing advice on recurring themes.