"I Would Rather Cool Down a Zealot than Heat Up a Corpse."

I know a lady who went to her a pastor for help. Her cousin was experiencing a conversion. He was reading the Bible, coming to church, and suddenly seeming very interested in Spiritual things. He was devouring TV and radio programs on the Bible. Whenever this woman would talk to him about the basic gospel ... that Jesus died in our place and that salvation is truly a gift, not to be earned, not to be lost ... he would not easily accept this. He kept repeating that he believed in Jesus for many years, but that as he had continued to live in sin, he couldn't have been saved. He insisted that he hadn't the Spirit of God at that time, but that now he did. She had known the cousin then and could see that yes, he did not seem to be at all serious about faith in Christ. She suggested that perhaps the gospel was not real to him at that time. He said that he absolutely believed, but was not born again. He then said that he felt his committing his life to Christ and being willing to lay down all disobedience and desires of the flesh was what clinched the deal for him and was a sign that he was chosen by God now, but not then.

The woman was very concerned. She did not want her cousin's new found zeal to be spent spreading an unclear gospel to the other members of the family. Besides that, she wanted him to clearly understand that salvation is all based on the work of Christ, not any of his own work, willingness to obey, or any of the like. She wanted him to be sure to see it ... that looking to Christ alone in faith is how the restfulness of salvation is brought. She just wanted him to get it right. She also found it offensive when he would talk about his many years of faith in the Lord, but faith not having been enough. She really felt that if he would think about it more, that he would come to the conclusion that he was not believing on the true gospel message then, it was not real to him, or that he was just remaining a baby for those years ... anything but to say that faith in Christ's finished work had not been enough!

She went to her pastor, as the cousin had been attending her church. She had heard that her pastor was a some kind of a Lordship Salvation (soft?) adherent, but he certainly was not incredibly vocal about it.

She explained her concerns.

Her pastor didn't seem to share the concern over the fundamental mis-statements or misunderstnding that this cousin seemed to have. He said of the cousin:

"I would rather cool down a zealot than heat up a corpse."

And so this woman left the pastor's office feeling very sad.

Is it OK to allow someone to miss the beauty of justification by faith because they have zeal and enthusiasm?

Is it OK to allow someone to mistake that they have committed themselves into God's favor by obedience and committing their life, rather than finding favor and life with God by simple faith in Christ's work? ... Christ's work!

"I would rather cool down a zealot than heat up a corpse."

It occurred to the lady then, that perhaps this was the point of Lordship Salvation teaching all along.