Chapter 12: The False Salvation Doctrine

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In order for you to get the most out of this chapter, you need to

understand that as you read, you may be thinking to yourself thoughts of how the Apostle Edward has to be errant on salvation Scriptures. Instead, you should focus on what the Scripture citations are teaching you. God gave me an illustration on the subject of judgmentalism and how it can impact the

way we think about life and even Scripture. Here is how judgmentalism recently affected my own thinking on the simple issue of house repairs.

While Jackie was dying, an exterior contractor came to the door in the spring to offer a free hail inspection for damage to our siding and roof. I

was not interested and chased them away. They might have thought I was rude. I believe I said something like: “Leave me alone. My wife is dying and I have my hands full.” They specialized in insurance claims and offered the prospect of a new roof paid for by the insurance on the house.

Enter my judgmentalism. Parts of my roof were 30 years old; some other parts 18-25. Part of the 30-year old section was repaired about 20 years ago. Thus the roof was of a mixed age. It looked bad and definitely

needed replacement. While the main area of the house was not leaking, my office area was experiencing some problems. I had made a mental note that as soon as resources were available I would replace the roof. I have talked to my nephew Jay, himself a contractor, about the roof. He told me at the

time to have the contractor look at the roof. Let him be your representative.

Of course, my judgmentalism said: “Edward, you should just replace the roof. Look at its age, etc.” I figured I could have a roof party and that

family and friends could help. Jay could head up the project and had all the necessary tools to get the job done fast. Many houses around me had the siding and roof replaced since I was first contacted. Jay had a heart attack.

As I dialogued with God on the subject, the message I got from Him was: “What business of yours is the roof?” Huh? That’s right, weird to me. Finally, I had to concede to God that whether or not the roof was repaired or replaced by the insurance company was not really my business. It is true

that a violent storm racked the house less than a year earlier. My personal diary provided an historical record of that violent storm.