What If

 

 

What if I end up in hell

Because I got it wrong,

Numbered among the “never saved”:

Though strong but wrong?

 

What if on my own merit

I listed all I would’ve done

Only to hear the words, “depart from me”

After life’s race I had run?

 

What if given my status

Especially in some church,

I was called a worker of iniquity

And left in the lurch?

 

What if lesser mortals

Made it into heaven

And hell became my reward though

I believed I was forgiven?

 

 

 

What if as a Christian

I did all that was required

But on that great judgment day

I ended up in hell’s fire?

 

What defense have I

In heaven’s court of law

Or on what human legal experience

Could I then draw?

 

Did you not realize

These are all questions?

Have you ever given thought to such

In any form or fashion?

 

Do we have a right

To God’s mercy and grace?

Is there merit in any one of us-

Even a tiny trace?

 

 

 

If your answer is yes

Then you do have a right

But how would such stand up

In light of the Light?

 

Not well, I would imagine,

Given our sin nature

For regarding who by nature we are,

There’s a bigger picture.

 

That picture, my friend,

Is Yahweh:

The one that sees all, knows all

And has the final say.

 

No merit of heaven

But justly deserving hell

And God would still be justified

Even if no warning bell.

 

All of this is to say

We’re all without merit,

Regardless of status or ethnicity

Hell is our exit.

 

A delight in the Law

Is not a delight in the Lord

So, ‘tis only by God’s grace and mercy

And faith in His word.

 

My just dessert, I repeat,

Is a burning hell

And my argument based on the Law

Is a sure death knell.

 

“I never knew you”

Wasn’t said to the saved

But to those who highlighted works

And not morally depraved.

 

Not to the born-again,

Were these dreaded words said

But to the self-righteous Pharisees,

Who were spiritually dead.

 

 

 

What if you keep the law

But do not know the Christ,

You will wake up in hell, I tell you!

Your good will not suffice.

 

The Law cannot save,

It was never meant to

But to point us to the one who can

And that one is Truth.

 

Stewart Russell © August 5, 2025

 

Not of Merit but of Mercy

 

 

Not of merit but of mercy

Cannot be earned by you or me,

No payment is thus exacted

Yet in fact, ‘tis not free.

 

There I go a wandering

Amidst my conflicting spree,

Ah, but need I remind you again

Free did cost somebody?

 

Life eternal is costly

Though to the saved it’s free;

Costing Jesus every drop of blood

Shed on Mt Calvary.

 

How dare I try to earn

What’s been given free

Naught of merit but of mercy,

Offered by Christ to me?

 

‘Tis true, rewards of merit,

Must be dutifully earned

But to apply this to Jesus’ sacrifice,

Does God’s mercy spurn.

 

 

It is not gratefulness

And certainly not appreciation

To even think of trying to merit

The gift of salvation.

 

No amount of money

And no resumé of works

Can merit the kingdom of heaven;

Not even in the church.

 

While works can’t save

They accompany the saved

And testify of God’s saving power

Even beyond the grave.

 

Blessed are the dead

Which die in the Lord

That they may rest from their labours

And their works follow them.

 

Ephesians 2:4-7

 

But God, who is rich in mercy,

For his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins,

Hath quickened us together with Christ,

(By grace are ye saved;)

 

And have raised us up together,

And made us to sit together

In heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

 

That in the ages to come

He might show the exceeding riches

Of his grace in his kindness

Towards us through Christ Jesus.

 

 

Not of merit but of mercy

All that we have in Christ,

Any attempt to earn the Father’s love

Spurns the Son’s sacrifice!

 

Stewart Russell © June 5, 2025

 

Absolutely No Conflict

 

 

 

Some perceive there’s a conflict

Between the apostles James and Paul

On the matter of salvation

But I see none at all.

 

For a background to this matter

Of these two texts take note:

There are Ephesians 2:8 and 9

And James 2:24 and I quote:

 

You see then how

That by works

A man is justified

And not by faith only.

 

Now hear the apostle Paul:

 

For by grace are you saved

Through faith;

And that not of yourselves:

It is the gift of God:

Not of works,

Lest any man should boast.

 

At a glance it would appear

There is obvious contradiction

But look a little closer and you’ll see

There is no such opposition.

 

Paul appeals to the fact:

The fact of salvation, I mean,

While James coming in behind

Speaks to the resulting scene.

 

Saved by grace!

It starts and ends with God,

And the faith that comes by hearing

Is also divinely caused.

 

By grace through faith:

Both from God’s loving hand,

Compliments of His precious Word

Effecting salvation’s plan.

 

No works to raise the dead

Or in keeping the dead alive

And none can maintain salvation

No matter how he strives.

 

So, where do works come in

As James appeared to suggest?

It is the fruit-producing consequence:

The evidentiary process.

 

 

By their fruits!

This is how we come to know,

The fruit of the one that is saved

Will gradually begin to show.

 

Paul speaks to the heart

While James reflects the walk,

It’s what’s inside intimates Jesus:

Living is more than talk.

 

Paul speaks to the internal:

That’s where God’s work is done,

James appeals to the external:

That’s where our race is run.

 

Compass by many witnesses

As this Christian race we run,

The battle’s is the Lord’s, we are told

And He has already won.

 

Take note of James’ “Show me!”

 

Show me your faith

Without your works,

And I will show you

My faith by my works.

 

 

Works is the external evidence

Of the work done inside:

The work of the Holy Spirit

In the one in whom he abides.

 

There is therefore no clash

Between the two apostles,

Actually, one complements the other

In this perceived tussle.

 

No evidence, no life!

That poor old soul is dead!

“All talk and no walk”, indicates

He is on his deathbed.

 

 

For as the body

Without the Spirit is dead,

So faith without works

Is dead also.

 

No conflict, I reemphasize,

Absolutely no conflict at all,

No contradiction of sorts or otherwise

Between the apostle James and Paul.

 

Stewart Russell © October 11, 2022

 

Unpacking Romans 10 verse 10

Faith without works is dead

But salvation is of the heart,

Romans chapter 10 verse 10

Would be a good place to start.

It is evidential of an instance

When salvation actually begins,

There is a precise point in time

When one is saved from sin.

For with the heart

Man believes unto righteousness

And with the mouth

Confession is made unto salvation.

I make no claims to brilliance

And I am not a scholar of Greek

So while you may disagree with me

We must let the Bible speak.

For if I can’t trust what I read

From the pages of God’s Word

Then Christianity is a waste of time

And what we believe is absurd.

It is with the heart the Bible says

That a God-relationship begins;

When I believe the Gospel message

At that point I am saved from sin.

In Acts chapter 16, verse 30

Life’s vital question is asked:

The Philippian jailer clearly believed

That he had to perform some task.

“What must I do,” he pondered

“That I may receive salvation?”

Quite obviously from his question

Some action was his perception.

The answer was not anticipated

It was nowhere in his thoughts:

“Just believe.” the Apostle said

And salvation to him was brought.

  

No action initiates salvation

There are no indulgences or behavior,

Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

He alone is the Saviour.

For with the heart

Man believes unto righteousness

And with the mouth

Confession is made unto salvation.

The confession intrinsically motivated

By what has already been wrought

Compels the new believer to testify

To the deliverance that Christ bought.

A right relationship with God

Paid for with the Saviour’s blood,

Yes, a sinner believes unto salvation

And not by doing anything good.

But faith without works is dead

Maybe you have heard of stillborn,

If you have never confessed Jesus

This is your state so be warned!

For if indeed Christ lives within

Though one will occasionally slip

Evidence will be seen of this reality

In a believer’s life and lip.

Salvation is not sustained by doing

But rather on the fact of being

Faith without works is dead

If no evidence the world is seeing.

Stewart Russell © November 2018