Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson (From Canada) Revised August 28, 2012

(Note: The passages quote in red below are from the King James Bible. Bold is added.) The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that Jesus, who was crucified and buried as the substitutionary atonement (propitiation) for mans sin, was resurrected from the dead as Saviour for all who will turn to Him for salvation. It is also called the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:13), the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24), the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:7), and the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15). Taken together, these designations, among others, emphasize that salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, that it is a gift of Gods grace without mankind being able to perform any acts (works) of merit to earn it. Salvation means the mind has changed (repentance) towards that which honours God, away from all that does not, and ones life is fully committed to Christ in confident trust in Him for its eternal estate. Being inherently disposed to sin, mankind cannot be in the presence of infinitely holy God without a Mediator, who is Christ alone. The Bible, Calvinists, and Arminians are in agreement that salvation is Gods sole prerogative to give a gift born of His grace and mercy. Romans 6:23 refers to salvation (eternal life) as the gift of God: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But contrary to the Bible, Calvin restricts the beneficiaries to those sovereignly predestined to receive it, while Arminians hold that salvation is available to all provided God first regenerates mans understanding and will to believe and seek it. If John Calvin was correct in teaching that an individual has no choice but to accept salvation (irresistible grace), is it truly a gift? Or would it better be described as Gods unilateral imposition? James Arminius at least had it partly right in maintaining that the gift of eternal life was available to all, but that it could be refused. Calvin, and to a lesser degree Arminius, are in conflict with the Bible, which teaches that: 1. Election to individual salvation is based upon Gods foreknowledge, not a predestined few. (1 Peter 1:2) 2. God planned mankinds salvation before the Creation. (Ephesians 1:4-11) 3. By Gods foreknowledge, He has predestined true Christians to Christ-likeness and a glorious future with Him. (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:5,11; 1 Peter 1:2-4) It is not who is predestined to salvation, but rather that to which the saved are predestined. Heaven and hell are not referred to in the predestinate and predestinated passages (Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5,11, respectively). 4. God desires that all be saved. (Matthew 10:32 (whosoever), 16:25 (whosoever); John 1:8-9 (every man, all men), 3:15-16 (whosever), 10:9 (any man); 2 Corinthians 4:2 (every mans), 2 Peter 3:9 (any, all)) 5. Nevertheless, few will be saved, according to Matthew 7:13-14, which says:

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto [eternal] life, and few there be that find it. Despite the Biblical fact that God grants eternal life to anyone who truly seeks it on His terms (repentance and belief), there remains the unfathomable mystery of why some choose to seek it while most do not. Man has long attempted to explain the inexplicable by systematizing the Bibles teaching, John Calvin and James Arminius being two examples. Nevertheless, the reason for only some experiencing the conviction of mind and conscience that leads to salvation will always remain hidden in the mind of God, despite our attempts at rationalization. That salvation is solely by the grace of God and not works - earned reward for being a decent person living a moral life, service to others, observing Old Testament law, or anything else we may do - is made clear in numerous New Testament passages. In other words, it is impossible for sinful man to first clean himself up in order to merit eternal life. Following are a few confirming statements from Scripture. Knowing that a man is not justified [declared righteous upon salvation] by works of the [Mosaic] law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16) Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh [works]? (v.2-3) But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith (v.11). (Galatians 3) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. (Spoken to the saved, Romans 6:14) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:5-7) What does the Bible say is mankinds responsibility, if any? Is man born with the innate capacity and responsibility to seek salvation? Or, does the Bible teach there is an a priori condition to seeking salvation; namely, that the faith to believe and the will to seek it are only possible by Gods enabling (prevenient) grace, without which salvation is not possible?

Free will in seeking salvation

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

The question at hand is whether or not every individual, in his or her natural unsaved sinful state, is born with the innate ability to perceive the eternal and to sooner or later reach out for understanding. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: He [Creator God] hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. The Hebrew for world in this verse (Strongs #5769) has the sense of that which is everlasting - as in eternal, in contrast with our present duration-limited material world. In its context, this passage is also saying that God has placed in the heart of each of us at the time we were created, an affinity for the eternal spiritual life that extends beyond our brief earthly sojourn - a beckoning mystery that can only be understood by revelation. Sources: Welchs Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the [King James] Bible and Wilsons Old Testament Word Studies, page 489, for world. In seeking expression for this innate spiritual need, Scripture shows that mankind has always invented and institutionalized counterfeits, and thereby turned away from seeking after the one true God who has revealed to everyone, through His created natural order, that He exists. If man can freely seek the false, so also the Truth: choose you this day whom ye will serve (Joshua 24:15). See also Deuteronomy 30:19 and 1 Kings 18:21. Paul poetically declared this wonderful mystery when he said in 1 Corinthians 13:12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then [in eternity] shall I know even as also I am known. But in 1 Corinthians 2:14, he also said the following regarding spiritual knowing: But the natural man [the unsaved] receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [upon salvation]. Although the context of Pauls first statement refers to being face-to-face with Christ in eternity when all shall be revealed, it also implies that to come to that glorious meeting, it is necessary to first meet Him now, in this life, through the gift of salvation when eternity shall be revealed in part. That necessity is why Jesus tells unsaved humanity in Luke 11:9 to Ask, and it [salvation, eternal life now] shall be given you; seek, and ye shall fine, knock, and it [eternal life] shall be opened unto you. Once eternal life has been imparted, John 16:13 tells us the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth and he will shew you [eternal] things to come. Furthermore, Paul, in Philippians 2:13 says that upon salvation the Holy Spirit imparts the power to will and the ability to do of his good pleasure, but He does not override either. In speaking to the men of Athens at Mars hill, Paul exhorted them to seek THE UNKNOWN GOD whom they already worshipped in ignorance of His identity (Acts 17:22-31). That mankind has always experienced this sense of the unknown God is also evident in the fact that there has never been a time or culture in which mankind has not sought a connection with the transcendent. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says it is inherent in our humanity to do that. Given the testimony of Scripture, how then, could we affront the wonder of our own existence by requiring the

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

sovereign imposition of prevenient grace, a concept of mans invention, in order to perceive and seek God, when He had already imparted that capability to us when we were created? But there is more. Genesis 3:22 tells us that as a consequence of the fall, God also gave us a moral compass the conscience - to discern the difference between good and evil: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us [Triune God], to know good and evil. It makes no sense for man to have knowledge without the will and ability to act upon it. With knowledge comes individual responsibility for its application; knowledge devoid of purpose being worthless, like clouds and wind without rain (Proverbs 25:14). Would God be inconsistent by assigning means and responsibility to all human endeavours, except for the seeking after spiritual rebirth, which is Gods stated desire for everyone? Rather than the redundancy of man having to be regenerated (prevenient grace) in order to have the will to seek salvation, the previously quoted passages reveal that man was born with that capability and with a conscience and mind that can know good and evil. How man willfully responds to that knowledge must therefore be his responsibility, although the Holy Spirit does urge the conscience and guide and impart understanding for salvation, growing in holy living (sanctification), and for particular divine purposes. The Bible is replete with imperatives to the unsaved to seek salvation, for every one that asketh receiveth (Matthew 7:8), implying each can choose to do so, or not. For example: - Ask, seek, knock: (Matthew 7:7) - repent and believe: (Mark 1:15) This passage is clearly referring to those to whom Jesus was preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God; namely, the unsaved. Similarly, in Matthew 9:13 and Mark 1:4, 2:17, the reference is to the call to sinners to repentance, implying they have both the will and ability to choose to obey. It follows that if the unsaved have chosen to repent upon hearing the Gospel, they have already chosen to seek salvation as the reason. - believe: (Luke 8:12; John 8:24, 12:36; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-11) Note that each of the passages cited are either about, or addressed to, unbelievers, implying that they have the innate capacity to obey, or not. - If thou shalt confess (Romans 10:9) This is the essence of the Gospels invitation to salvation. It clearly places the responsibility for acceptance upon the individual hearer (If thou, singular), which necessarily means the hearer can decide (will) to do so, or not. In speaking to some of the unsaved in Luke 13:3, Jesus says: I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. What God desires (wants) for each of us is not necessarily what He purposes (determines) shall occur. But that in no way implies our Creator lacks the power to control what He has created for His own glory and pleasure. (See the parable of the potter and the clay, Romans 9:20-24.) God purposed mankinds free will and permitted the consequent uncertainty, as seen from mans perspective. But from His foreknowing one outside time, all is known, as it would be if He were to see everything that has ever happened and ever will as an infinite eternal

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

now. Isaiah 46:9-10 addresses this. Therefore, uncertainty, according to mans limited perspective, would be certainty when seen from Gods, and the outcomes of His desire and purpose, as they concern individual salvation, are relative to the frame of reference time or eternity. Both Reformed and Arminian advocates may argue that knowing about and wanting (willing for) the Gospels salvation do not necessarily imply the ability of the unsaved to act on that knowledge. Furthermore, John 1:7 says that all men through him [Christ] might believe, which might be mistaken to suggest Christ is the enabler (through) and rewarder of our seeking, rather than the One who invites and then imparts eternal life. (See the parable of the wedding feast, Matthew 22:1-10.) Belief implies faith in what is believed. As faith is exercised it deepens, providing the object of belief is proven true and trustworthy. Calvinism and Arminianism hold that before an individual can be saved, the Holy Spirit must first impart, as a gift, the faith to believe - prevenient grace again. One of the Bibles conflicts with these two isms is whether the antecedents for that and it in Ephesians 2:8-9 refer to faith or to salvation as the gift. Both words are singular, which means their antecedent must be either salvation or faith, but not both. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that [salvation] not of yourselves: it [salvation] is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. The surrounding context of verses 8 and 9 tells the reader that salvation is the gift, not faith, which has already been established by Romans 6:23 (quoted previously). If the will to believe in faith is an individual responsibility, rather than Gods gift, everyone must have also been created with the innate ability act on that faith. Otherwise, what is the will of man if it only appears to be free from his perspective, but is actually coercion from Gods? The will of man is free, or it is not will, but rather deceptive manipulation and an affront to Gods character. For one to say I want (will) to be saved, but I dont know how (lack the ability), is to either not understand that salvation is free for the asking, or that the genuineness of the desire is in question. The inference from Hebrews 11:6 is that faith is mans responsibility. Otherwise, the writers statement is redundant when he says the following, and then repeats it for emphasis in verse 5: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 2 Peter 3:9 says that the Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing [causing] that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, yet most die in unbelief, facing what that means eternally. Does God ever give up the possibility of an individuals salvation? Apparently He does, as indicated in Romans 1:20-24, which says that man can allow his mind and conscience to become reprobate beyond his own capacity for restoration. The Holy Spirit could sovereignly do that, but that He may not implies the responsibility for guarding them rests with man. For the invisible things of him [God] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, they knew God [by His Creation], they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves Titus 1:15-16 says of the unbelieving, including those with empty professions of faith, that even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God [as the Creator of all that is, but not personally]; but in works [practice] they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. Even when the moral direction of the unsaved appears to be in line with the character of God, the motivation is nevertheless divided (Romans 2:14-15). 1 Timothy 4:1-2 describes apostates, those who have fallen away from faith in Christ to follow false teaching, as having their consciences seared. James 1:13-14 and 22-23 warn that even the saved who neglect Gods Word can have their innate moral and spiritual understanding willfully conditioned and corrupted, which is the reason for Pauls admonishment to them in Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Concluding comments
Granting that God did not contradict Himself when He inspired and subsequently preserved the Scriptures for posterity, it follows that the Bible cannot teach both Calvinist doctrine (TULIP) and mans free will in seeking salvation. The explicit wording in the few passages cited above does not allow for Calvins prevenient grace as the pre-condition for salvation. Imposing this doctrine contradicts and complicates what God intended to be straightforward. It also places upon adherents of Calvinist (Reformed) belief, the burden of explanation for how the explicitly worded passages mentioned support their beliefs (i.e. TULIP). To summarize the Bibles teaching about mankinds responsibility regarding salvation: 1. Ecclesiastes 3:11 teaches that everyone has an innate spiritual sense of the eternal. The implication is that man is born with it, as well as the potential to willfully seek Christs salvation in faith. Free will, like every other inborn human attribute, is a potential that can be applied for good or ill, according to Genesis 3:22. 2. God only desires, but does not mandate, that everyone accept Christs offer of salvation; most will choose to reject it. 3. The Bible explicitly says that Christs invitation to salvation is open to all without exception, but those who refuse it do so willfully. Calvinism contradicts this, presuming to redefine Christs inclusive offer of salvation as referring only to those He sovereignly predestinated to receive it. In doing so, Calvinism also redefines the biblical meaning and purpose of predestination from Christ-likeness to salvation. 4. That everyone, saved or not, has a will to act upon knowledge is clearly stated in Colossians 2:23s reference to will worship, as well as numerous imperatives and admonitions throughout the Bible to turn to the Lord.

Salvation according to the Bible

By Brian Finlayson

August, 2012

5. Prevenient grace is a concept of mans invention. That this grace must be sovereignly imposed follows logically from its antecedent doctrine of total depravity, which contradicts the meaning of Genesis 3:22 and the preceding points (above). Arminians believe that once prevenient grace has been imposed, it only enables seeking, but does not guarantee it. Calvinism says this grace is irresistible and that the result is certain salvation. Without either of these invented concepts, Calvinism and Arminianism fall as salvation doctrines. 6. The Bibles teaching regarding salvation and mans responsibility to seek it is neither Calvinist (Reformed) nor Arminian.