The Salvation Chair by Carol Castillo

Building our salvation experience is like building a wood chair. The seat of our chair is the foundation of our doctrine: repentance, baptism in Jesus Name, Holy Ghost infilling. To that seat, add four legs, or principles: prayer/fasting, tithing/giving, faithfulness to the house of God, and personal ministry.

If one leg is removed, you don’t have a chair, you have a stool. You can still sit on it, but you’ll sit low all your life. Others will step on you so they can get higher. You don’t pull up to the Master’s table on a stool. Stools are also called “spectator chairs” because people sitting in them are watching the action but not participating.

If two of the four legs are removed, the chair will be so unstable, it will be worthless either to use or look at. It will be cast onto the junk heap, ruined.

Wood chairs also need a back consisting of a frame and some type of backing. Build plenty of back support so you can have the right posture. Fellowship weaves a slat into your back support. Convictions weave a slat into your back support. Church attendance weaves another slat into your back support. The more slats you weave into your back support, the more you will sit straighter and stay stable in your seat without falling or tipping off.

A chair that stands the test of time must be built from materials of great strength and hardness. At my house we have a set of old oak chairs that barely have a scratch. They weren’t as comfortable as the recliner, but the recliner fell apart long ago, while those oak chairs are still standing strong. Some people are recliner saints. They want to sit in the cushy chair with the cup holder, push back and just sleep in Jesus. The Bible says one day we will sleep in Jesus, but not when we’re still alive!

Don’t forget to add armrests because we rest in the arms of God.

Now we get to the final step. This is when the finish is applied. A good finish creates a glow and shine, protects the chair, is durable, and lasts forever. The finishing ingredients are listed in II Peter 1:5-8 (NIV). “…add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There’s a reason why the head of a committee or a board is called a “chair” - it’s an emblem of authority – the kind of authority God wants us to have in our lives. Tapping into that authority requires diligence. We must put our salvation chair to daily use and care. The chair will get wobbly if it’s not maintained properly. “I prayed for a week, I can skip a day.” "I haven’t missed church in a month, I can stay home for a while.” Diligence requires the discipline of repetition. Days add up to months and then years of building that strong chair, that seat, that foundation, that will keep you from falling and support you successfully through life’s tests and trials.