Salvation

How We Are Saved

One thing nearly all who call themselves Christians agree on is that we need saving, but that is about where the agreement ends. False religions are everywhere, distorting the truth, and even in true churches, there are lies from the wolves and confusion among the flock. Catholic doctrines claim that our good works help earn our salvation, and Calvinists claim that only a few who were chosen before time can possibly be saved. The following may clear some things up:

• God truly wishes that all would repent and be saved.
• You must have faith in Jesus to be saved. Faith in God has always been required, and since Jesus made Himself known, faith in the Son has been necessary as part of putting faith in God.
• If you say that you trust in Jesus but do not believe his warnings about behaviour that will send you to hell, you do not really trust him.
• You cannot earn your salvation. If you were perfect, you wouldn't need saving, but since you aren't, you need the atonement provided by Jesus, the perfect sacrifice.
• You must be a slave of righteousness, not of sin, so you must do good works and not practise sin. Nevertheless, when you do sin, you can be forgiven.
• Salvation is not an irrevocable, conditionless agreement: continued faith is required. You can fall from grace, which will mean you are not saved from the judgement.
• What matters is how you are when you die, so always be ready.
• We will be judged according to what we know, so those who know nothing of the Bible or Jesus through no fault of their own but worship God and practice righteousness will be given eternal life.

In summary, turn to Jesus and obey Him. It seems to myself and my family that every book in the New Testament makes it clear that salvation requires continuous, active faith. If you doubt this, read your Bible more. When you sin, do not forget that Jesus Christ is our advocate and that you can be forgiven. Just return to the path and keep walking.

How Much Faith?

There is near complete agreement that faith is necessary for salvation... But how much faith? There are answers in scripture.

Our faith is proven by testing—by our responses. Yes, even by works. James 2:14–26 Our works do not save us, but our covenant with Jesus depends on true faith, and therefore, how we show our faith by our deeds. This will terrify those who are constantly warned against anything except undefined belief being associated with our salvation, but think about all the scriptures that follow.

Jesus says that if we deny Him, He will deny us¹; if we call on Him, we will be saved²; if we endure even to death, we will be saved³; if we overcome, we will be given eternal life⁴; if we are liars, sexually immoral, etc., we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven⁵; if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven⁶; by neglecting to provide for his family, a man has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever⁷. What can all this mean except that if we really believe what He says, will we obey Him? If we hear Him and do not do what He says, will our houses not collapse?

Remember that God provides a way of escape from sin in every situation and that we have an advocate in Jesus, but we ought to always be ready and practice righteousness, not evil, just as it is said in all the scriptures, lest He come at a time when we were not expecting, and we be found wicked and unworthy servants.

Free Grace

If you believe that we are saved simply by believing that Jesus died and rose again, and that we do not also need to repent for our sins and no longer live in sin, then you believe in Free Grace. You believe that faith apart from works will still save. You take the verses on salvation coming by faith and not works very seriously and literally, but you do not believe the verses that say without good works, you have no faith.

Jesus and many other righteous persons showed that righteousness is all intertwined: love of God with your heart, mind, and soul, obedience to His will, forgiveness of others, love to one's neighbour, and more, are all expected of the believer. To illustrate their unity, just as it is not true charity to pray for a beggar to have money but give him nothing, it is not true faith in Jesus which does not believe his warnings and commands. How could a man trust the Lord yet not believe that he will not be forgiven if he does not forgive others? (Matthew 6:14–15). Therefore, we must be doers of what Christ preached, not hearers only, to be saved. Or do you deny this small sampling of scriptures?

'For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.' (Matthew 6:14–15)

'Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.' (Romans 11:20–22)

'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.' (John 15:1–2)

'But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.' (Luke 6:46–49)

Consider Hebrews 3 and 4 as well, where it is shown that God has always made the path to salvation known, and that disobedience has always been grounds for rejection by God. Nevertheless, he is merciful and forgiving, if we turn from our sins and ask for forgiveness.

If you teach nothing more than letting Jesus into your heart and spreading the message of forgiveness, you are not teaching anything like Jesus, or Paul, or James, or Peter. In fact, Paul summed up his preaching that all 'should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance' (Acts 26:20). I implore you to teach the truth.

References

Calvinism

Calvinism distorts salvation in many ways, teaching that God only died for a few, and that all the rest were destined for hell before the world began. It teaches that we are responsible for our sin, even though we cannot help ourselves. None of us are said to have the will or capacity to accept the gospel unless God first regenerates us. All this, I cannot help but say, is a demonic belief. It leads to despair, hopelessness, and hatred of God, or a love of injustice and punishment.

God is not a trickster or cruel. When He tells people they could turn and be saved, He means it! He meant it when he said the following to Cain:

So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it." (Genesis 4:6–7)

For more on Calvinism, go to the article, or see the links below.

Resources

Once Saved, Always Saved

Being heavily intertwined with Free Grace and Calvinism, this doctrine is that a true believer cannot lose his or her salvation. Note that often, salvation is taken to be a thing which has already happened, which is obviously not true, since the judgement is yet to come. If we are saved now, it is in the same sense that I have eternal life: I will die, but it is a sure promise from God.

There are several possible justifications one could have for believing in Once Saved Always Saved (ONAS):

1. Man has no independent will, and God has decided that his puppets shall not once be declared saved and then not.
2. Once a man meets the conditions for salvation, God will no longer reject him under any circumstances, even if he leaves the faith entirely for the remainder of a long life.
3. Once we are saved, we are made to lack the desire or will to do anything which would disqualify us from salvation (e.g., apostacy).

For option 1, see Calvinism. For option 2, see Free Grace. For option 3, read on.

Several things prove definitively that we are still tempted even to the point of abandoning Christ: 1. There have been many with seemingly true belief who have left the faith. 2. Much of the New Testament is focused on warning us not to fall away. If we were not tempted to, this would be a waste of time. 3. The scriptures clearly describe losing the right to be saved. The following are but a few examples.

'If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud."' (2 Peter 2:22–23)

'But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.' (Ezekiel 18:24)

'If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done.' (Ezekiel 33:13)

'Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.' (1 Timothy 4:1–3)

Some ONAS proponents believe that anyone who seems to have left the faith was never saved to begin with; however, we know that people can normally change their beliefs if they choose, so this would be odd. Moreover, we are still left with the three unreasonable possibilities from above if we try to justify this view. If the believer is still tempted and has free will, falling away is always possible.

Now those who teach that no true believer in Christ will desire to do anything that could disqualify him from salvation are harming their brethren out of their own pride. They may poison the walks of others who struggle with temptation by undermining their belief. We—believers, that is—are exhorted time and again to not live according to the flesh, or to serve money, or to love the world—it can be put many ways—lest we be destroyed. Once more, if there were no temptation, the warning would be unnecessary.

Is Salvation Earned or Maintained?

The most common retort to the view presented here is that I am preaching works-based earning of salvation, or that I am saying believers must maintain their own salvation. Considering what is meant by these phrases will clear things up.

There is no number of works you can do to earn your salvation, because God's standard is perfection, and we all fell short. Once we have failed, how can we earn our way back by being perfect? We need saving from Christ. Therefore, salvation is a gift, as the word says.

Salvation is conditional though. Automatically, this repulses some because of what they have been taught by men about gifts being totally without conditions, to justify their theology. But dare you deny that salvation is conditional on faith? So then, we know that you must have faith, and never is it said that if we no longer have faith, we shall still be saved.

That brings us nicely to the accusation of maintaining salvation. To maintain salvation would imply that Christ's sacrifice once and for all was not enough, and that once we come to Him, we are given the reigns and have to earn the rest of the way ourselves. This is not what those who preach that true faith requires overcoming are saying. We are gauranteed salvation if we remain in Christ, but we must live for Him and ask forgiveness when we fail to remain in Him. We cannot live for the flesh, and in so doing the devil, and remain in Christ.

Holy Spiritism

I have used this term, holy spiritism, to describe the widespread belief that the Holy Spirit will take care of your problems for you, provided you truly believe. Most who say this are not actually Calvinists, in that they believe we still have to make our own choices. However, the truth is, they do not seem to have thought through this belief much at all, which I do not say to offend, but because it is true. They say that 'leaning more on God' is what they need to do to stop committing the sins they are stuck in, or giving the Holy Spirit more 'room to move'. I think they are confused by the fact that we can do nothing without God and therefore think we have no will of our own.

Self control is a fruit of the Spirit. Think about that. Having control over ourselves is one of the things God provides to us through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God provides us with the ability, but we still have to use it, or it would not be self control. Again, we are told to discipline ourselves. Paul said, 'No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.' (1 Corinthians 9:27). So you see, we must still act, though God acts with us. We could do nothing without Him, but if we do nothing, He will not do it for us.

The Law

Coptic and Ethiopic Orthodox groups, along with those in the Hebraic Roots movement, believe that all or part of the Law of Moses must be followed for salvation. Yes, Jesus said that not a jot or tiddle will pass away until all is fulfilled... But He also said, 'It is finished,' when He was on the cross. Paul raged against following the Law, and Peter and James firmly decreed that the gentiles did not have to. Read your Bible.

'And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!' (Gal 5:11–15)

Roman Catholicism

Unbeknowst to much of the public, Catholic doctrine insists that salvation can be earned in part by good works. Be very careful not to believe this false teaching, as if salvation is by grace, then it is not by our own work. We would not need salvation if we were good enough, and since we are far from it, it is a gift, not something earned.

Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2010)

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9)

Catholics must believe in other extreme departures from scripture in regard to salvation also, such as the Treasury of Merit and Purgatory (see resources). The Treasury of the Church, as the former is also called, is how indulgences are provided. Through them, the good works of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints are given to believers when the Roman Catholic Church sees fit. It also seems that indulgences emerged as a concept in the 11th and 12th centuries (see Resources), which should call all of Catholicism into question for a true believer.

As for the idea that there is some middle ground between Heaven and Hell, namely Purgatory, does it not strike you, like other Catholic doctrine, as strange that we apparently must accept such a significant doctrine only on the authority of men who have not been attested to us by miracles from God? Most importantly, why accept the teaching that membership with a church that submits to Rome is necessary for salvation, along with confession and absolution from a priest, when the Bible provides us with all we need to be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17), yet it mentions none of this.

More

The Unity of Scripture on Salvation

An Important Aside: Read Your Bible

If you want to understand, sermons and articles can only do you so much good. The Bible is the word of God, and the better you know it, the better you will be at identifying deception, mistakes, and the big picture on every issue. While I thoroughly encourage reading the New Testament first, you must then read the whole Bible multiple times to gain a deep understanding of many of the teachings within.

In addition, it seems that the focus of pastors on commentaries and theological investigations may distract them from actually reading the Bible a whole book at a time, causing them to only see sections in isolation oftentimes. If they then read a chapter without knowing how the author is referencing the previous one, will it end well every time?

Contradictions?

I am going to present to you several points on salvation from the scriptures. On the one hand, if you are like me and unfortunately used hyper-sceptical people as role models growing up, you may see some of them as contradictions to one another. On the other hand, you may have been led to believe that only some of these statements are true, and the rest either don't apply anymore or don't say what they seem to say. For each case, I will provide advice.

1. 'Salvation is of the Lord.' (Jonah 2:9)
2. It is by grace, through faith, not by works. (Ephesians 2:8–9)
3. Those who have done good shall be saved, and the unrighteous shall go to eternal punishment. (John 5:28–30)
4. 'If you that if you confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.' (Romans 10:9)
5. 'Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13)
6. If you believe and are baptised, you will be saved. (Mark 16:16)
7. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? (James 2:14)
8. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

How are there no contradictions in those points? After all, we are told that if you confess Jesus is Lord with your mouth and believe that He was raised from the dead, we will be saved, yet we are also told that if you simply believe and are baptised, you will be saved. Is baptism needed, or is saying that Jesus is Lord needed? If you are a sensible person, you will appreciate that there are general rules and exceptions, and that when we speak, we have a certain point in mind, and we do not address every possible question at once. Indeed, if I say to you that your car will be fine if you top up its coolant, does that mean that you do not need to put petrol in? Or if I tell my wife that she needs to top up her petrol before it gets below a quarter of a tank, would I want her to try filling up in an emergency?

There are many, many false beliefs, but with knowledge, common sense, and most importantly, a willing heart and petitions for wisdom from the Lord, these things will become clear to you.

As for those who believe that, say, works are not required for salvation because it is a free gift, and so on and so forth, remember that the whole of scripture is true. If you dismiss scripture which disagrees with your theology, or believe any reinterpretation that confirms what you want to believe, then you deceive yourself. Though the Bible can at times be cryptic, it is also often very clear and blunt. You should be careful not to believe that every sentence can be dramatically reinterpreted with the right 'historical context' or because of a preconceived belief of 'what Jesus was really like'.