David Wheeler Encourages Students To Examine Salvational Beliefs During Campus Community March 27

Students gathered in the Vines Center March 27 at 7 p.m. for Campus Community, where they heard from professor of Christian Leadership and Church Ministries for the Rawlings School of Divinity David Wheeler. 

Wheeler, known for his personable and engaging teaching style, also serves as the senior executive director of LU Shepherd and teaches the evangelism class at Liberty University, a general education requirement for most Liberty students. 

He opened the weekly Wednesday gathering by reading a list of some unusual American laws, such as the illegality of donkeys sleeping in bathtubs, cats running loose without taillights and people wearing fake mustaches to church. Wheeler used these humorous examples to point out that the laws created by humanity are not always rational, relating his illustration to Colossians 2:16-23, where Paul emphasizes the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice for salvation and confronts the propagation of several false teachings.  

Wheeler urged students to consider, “What were these false teachers thinking? And why?” 

He then covered Paul’s acknowledgement of five false teachings in the passage which included the wrongful addition of philosophy, astrology, circumcision, ascetic rules and the worship of angels to biblical truths. He explained that these fallacious proclamations added unnecessary requirements to God’s ultimate gift, making salvation seem overly complex. 

“Think about it,” Wheeler said. “These false teachers were teaching that Jesus Christ himself is not sufficient, that he was not unique, that he was one among many manifestations of God, that the gospel cannot be that simple.” 

Wheeler emphasized that legalism, human reason and works-based righteousness are not the answers to the religious queries the world often poses to believers. 

“Legalism … is the idea that we must keep the law in order to be accepted by God. Guys, what we believe is that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, and that he paid the price fully for our sin,” Wheeler said. 

Wheeler also spoke about the pitfalls of perfectionism and his own struggles with attempting to be flawless, saying that he is often his own worst critic. He encouraged students to forgive themselves and accept God’s grace, and to not be constantly burdened by the weight of trying to be enough for God. Instead of striving for self-righteousness, Wheeler urged students to embrace grace, faith and Jesus by putting their trust back where it belongs: in Jesus’ hands. 

To conclude the gathering, Wheeler challenged students to examine their beliefs on salvation and confront any misconceptions they may have about God’s grace. 

During their worship set, the Liberty Worship Collective played the song, “Abide.” The lyrics embodied the essence of Wheeler’s message: focusing on complete dependency on God. 

The message of accepting God’s grace found resonance with many students. Senior Mary Rachel Francis reflected on being receptive to the Lord’s forgiveness. 

“I kind of want to try to be enough sometimes and then receive God’s grace, but he forgives me, so I need to be better at receiving that, and that’s something that I definitely need to be reminded of,” Francis said. 

Junior Will Starling discussed his appreciation for the opportunity to connect with others at Campus Community, and detailed his interest in considering people’s worldviews and beliefs regarding religion. He also elaborated on the importance of faith and God’s love. 

“God’s love is more than a feeling,” Starling said. “And so, we just need to be there and … be present and have our gaze fixed on God.” 

Wheeler gave students a much-needed reminder of God’s provisional love at this Campus Community, reminding students of the truth of the gospel’s message of salvation and encouraging students to keep their faith in Jesus, rather than themselves. 

Brinckerhoff is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.