Many object to the practice of some evangelists who say that if you believe in Jesus, then you will be saved from eternal condemnation. They say that is just fire insurance.
John Piper has a November 8, 2017, post entitled, “Jesus Isn’t Your Insurance Policy” (see here). He writes,
What is this [saving] faith?…It is a receiving of Christ for who he really is: the beautiful, supreme, all-satisfying treasure that he is as our divine substitute and sovereign. It is the receiving of Christ for who he is, not as health insurance or fire insurance.
Antioch Chapel has an online article (here) entitled, “Jesus is not your fire insurance policy.” Taking a Lordship Salvation position, the author says, “The Bible recorded many accounts of what constitute a born again Christian. A born again Christian never treats Jesus as a pass to heaven. Jesus becomes the Lord and not just a fire insurance policy.”
In an online article (click here), Larry Moyer takes the opposite view:
Is it okay for someone to come to Christ because he simply wants “fire insurance”? In short, if a person sincerely believes that there is a hell and sincerely believes only Christ can deliver him from that eternal fire and punishment, then yes. That’s an excellent reason for coming to Christ.
According to some, we should not believe in Christ simply because we wish to avoid eternal condemnation. But others say that is precisely what we should believe in Jesus for.
What did Jesus say (WDJS)? We need wristbands with WDJS on them.
Jesus said that believing in Him is the way to escape eternal condemnation (John 3:16-18). He repeatedly said that the one who believes in Him will not perish, will not hunger or thirst, will not be cast out, will not die (John 3:16; 6:35, 37, 39; 11:26). According to the Lord of Glory, we should believe in Him for everlasting life, which is the same as believing in Him to save us from eternal condemnation.
In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, the Lord implied that a great reason to believe in Him is to avoid being sent to torment in Sheol (Luke 16:19–31).
I personally don’t fully like the expression fire insurance when it comes to the reason we believe in Jesus. Why? Because insurance is something you may or may not actually need. But everlasting life and salvation from eternal condemnation are something everyone absolutely needs. We all have eternal fire in our future until we believe in Jesus. I’d prefer an expression like escape the coming fire guarantee. Wait. That is cumbersome. How about no-fire assurance? That’s a bit better. But you get my point.
I certainly agree with Moyer that believing in Jesus to avoid the lake of fire is a wonderful reason (compare Rev 20:15).
Of course, I agree with Piper that the Lord Jesus is beautiful, glorious, wonderful, amazing, and supreme. That certainly motivates us to believe in Him for the salvation He offers. But He doesn’t give us a transformed life simply by believing in Him. That requires our being exposed to the Word of God over time so that our minds become renewed (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 3:18).
When you evangelize, I hope you are aiming to meet the felt need of the person you are talking to. He needs everlasting life. He needs salvation from eternal condemnation. The Lord Jesus guarantees that with His no-fire assurance.
Before I close, let me mention some reasons why people believe in Jesus which are not saving reasons. Some believe in Him for…
- A good marriage.
- Relief from stress.
- Riches and honor.
- Good health.
- Long life (here and now).
The prosperity gospel promises people things which God has not guaranteed to the believer. None of the above are guaranteed to the believer in Jesus Christ. What is guaranteed is everlasting life which can never be lost, an eternal home in Jesus’ kingdom, no future judgment regarding your eternal destiny, and no eternal condemnation.
No-fire assurance. NFA. I like it. Do you think that will catch on?
Leo Z
Relating to this post, I would like to briefly share my conversion experience. I was saved at age 12 in a Vacation Bible School. My teacher had a lesson about the unsaved being cast into the Lake of Fire forever (Rev 20:15). Then John 3:16-18; 5:24 and 11:25-27 was taught thereafter. Long story short, I believed in Jesus for everlasting life that day. Did I buy fire insurance then? I did not, as I did not have to wait to make a future claim on an insurance policy. I got life everlasting that day, that very moment I believed. I passed from death to life and was no longer a condemned man who will perish. I was assured of a physical resurrection (unless I go via air mail, alive, at the Rapture) and I will not experience spiritual death. That day, Jesus became precious and dear, beautiful, and loving and everything else that is magnificent about Him to me. He is all that to me today. His love and His sacrifice compels me to look at Him that way. Do I always do so? No, as I have my moments in life where I take my eyes off of Him even becoming a prodigal son once. But through it all, He is truly faithful and just.
Leo Z
After I believed that day, my teacher asked. “So, what now”? Then she did a lesson on what God’s expectations are for those who have believed in His Son. That is to live for Him, abide in Him and love Him as He had loved us, not to either prove it or maintain salvation, as LS asserts. My salvation was a done deal and was eternally secured that day. Although my VBS teacher taught FG tenets, she did not label her teaching FG, nor did she label herself as FG. She just taught the Bible.
WDJS wristbands? You may just have something there. NFA (No Fire Assurance)? That’s a great phrase and I will quote you on it!
Thank you for allowing me to share a testimony of God’s Free Grace. Earnestly praying for you and the GES family!
Timothy J Amoroso
Nice post brother. God bless.
Carl
Jesus’ sacrifice provided salvation from hell and to eternal life. I wonder then if someone only views their salvation as being saved from hell does that cause them to live unto themselves while on earth waiting for the benefit of their salvation when they die. And, if someone views salvation as being saved to eternal life does that cause them to live for Jesus while on earth realizing that in addition to this they will also be reaping a greater benefit when they die.
Leo Z
God’s love is manifested in Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself as the propitiation for the sins of all men [the whole world] (1 John 2:2), and it continues on in His offer of everlasting life to those who would believe in Jesus for it. When one believes, eternal life becomes a present possession not a mere future reward (John 3:16; 6:47); “has everlasting life”, in these verses denotes a present possession. Yes, salvation has a future eschatological aspect to it, but “life” is given to believers at the moment of faith. Removal of eternal condemnation is realized at that moment “life” is bestowed (John 5:24). In short, life is given, condemnation is removed right there and then.
Receiving the free gift of salvation, the quintessential manifestation of God’s/Christ’s love, should be the motivation to live for Him (2 Cor. 5:14). Unfortunately some believe/teach that the motivation to live for Him after believing, rests on their measure of perseverance in the faith, so they will receive future eternal life. Hence, their is never the realization or any semblance of being fully assured of their eternal destiny. Gratitude for God’s love and being certain of life everlasting because of Christ’s work and promise, is a better motivator to live for Him than the fear of failing to persevere in the faith and in living the Christian life, always looking to our works and subjective self introspection as our measure to guarantee our eternal destiny.
Timothy Grady
Nicely put Leo .
Thanks for your testimony as well .
There’s no cookie cutter approach in evangelism , as Bob points out .
As well , without an explicit understanding of believing in Jesus for eternal life , then clearly it falls short .
Going straight to John 3:16,5:24,6:47,11:24-27) saves a lot of wasted time down rabbit trails !
Timothy J Amoroso
I believe we can know if another person has eternal life by the words that come out of their mouth. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Now, how do we assess whether the person is a liar? The is above and beyond our pay grade. Only God knows the hearts of men. Only God can tell is a man is telling the truth. But eventually, the truth will come out and we will know whether or not that person was lying. But, if a person claims, simply by saying that they have eternal life because they believed in Jesus for it, who are we to assume they are lying? We should give them the benefit of the doubt.
Leo Z
Last post #4. The fire insurance argument has been used to slam Free Grace (FG) in their zeal for adamantly teaching that salvation is by faith alone. Those who promote Lordship Salvation (LS) use it to say that FG does not put emphasis on the submission to Jesus’ Lordship. Hence it is said that the teaching of obedience and surrender is sub-par even non-existent in FG. Nothing is farther from the truth. FG never denies Christ’s Lordship and living godly lives in Him. FG’s keen emphasis on salvation by faith alone, is to refute LS’s assertion that salvation comes by faith AND submission (surrender/obedience) to Christ’s Lordship. Jesus said everlasting life is gained solely by believing in Him, not by believing AND submitting to Him (John 3:16; 6:47). That in essence is a works salvation gospel no matter how it’s spun theologically (by redefining saving faith, creating the notion of true and false faith, etc.) LS theology is but a modified form of the faith plus, Romanist view of salvation. LS soteriology lumps justification and present practical sanctification into one congruent process in the salvific transaction. It also confuses salvation and discipleship, entering and inheriting the Kingdom concepts and more, thereby skewing their perspective on the salvific process. FG teaching clearly delineates these concepts in the proper context of how Scripture presents it. Scripture is clear! Salvation is by faith alone, apart from works! (Eph 2:8-9; Gal 2:16).
Vince Deegan
Great message, Bob. Perfect answer.
KEN TAMASHIRO
Hi Pastor Bob,
I think the word Fire Insurance is a good word to upset the Lordship legalist because they know it is True and that is exactly what a person needs to know to have Eternal Life plus nothing else.
To the unbeliever, it makes sense because Jesus did not throw in Morality also to get into heaven but only Belief in what Jesus promised.
When the unbeliever understands that a Great Party of people is waiting to see him and that all is good between God and himself because of what Christ did for him, how can he lose and everything to gain because God accepts him as he is because Christ took care of it all.
In my understanding, Christ made the invitation to all,… to join him in a Great Party created by God Himself.
Grace and Peace to You,
Ken Tamashiro,
Timothy J Amoroso
Nice post. … it makes sense because Jesus did not throw in Morality.. to get into heaven but only Belief in what Jesus promised. Amen to that, brother. God bless.
Timothy J Amoroso
..He doesn’t give us a transformed life simply by believing in Him. That requires our being exposed to the Word of God over time so that our minds become renewed..
Beautifully stated.
And, the assurance of no fire, excellent.
Faith is like being on a jury and weighing the evidence. Some people will be convinced the person is guilty simply because they see the evidence. Others will see the evidence and even if it tells them the person is guilty, they still won’t believe, because they think (sincerely) the person is a good person, and they like him.
Saving faith is simply seeing the evidence from Jesus’ promise in John 3:16, which tells us that we have eternal life right now, and, therefore, can never go to hell, in the future because we have a bodily resurrection. Being convinced this promise is true for us, means we have already been convinced that what Jesus promises to us, everlasting life, is true. Therefore, we have salvation from hell.
Ray Mitchell
Amen! Jesus preached many times urging people to believe in him to save them from hell fire. Jesus preached that message directly. Who would not want to be saved from hell and make that one primary reason to be saved? No one! The ones who disagree do not want to go to hell and they will take Jesus hand out of hell if that could happen. Here is what Jesus said:
“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28. Jesus commanded us to be afraid of hell and that God could send us to hell. Jesus would not command something that is selfish or evil! Just common sense. God wants to save us from hell so Jesus scares people with hell so they can be saved by fear out of hell. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.” Matthew 18:9; “whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” Matt. 5:22; ” for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” Matt. 5:30. Lots of hellfire preaching to motivate them to salvation and eternal life.