The Nature of Salvation

By: David Knoll

From Minister to Agnostic Billy Grahams name is known across the globe. He is seen as the most persuasive and effective evangelical of modern times and has set records for attendance at many of his events. What is less known about Billy Grahams is his close friend, an evangelical who was expected to be even greater then Billy Graham himself. His name was Charles Templeton. His evangelical ministry ran right alongside Billy Grahams ministry and they even exchanged pulpits at times. As Templetons ministry grew, intellectualism began to poke small holes in his faith. Allowing them to grow in size and even implementing more and more liberal ideas into his ministry, until he eventually denounced his faith all together. His public denial of faith in God in 1957 created a backlash in the evangelical community. The title of one of his books Farewell to God: my reasons for rejecting the Christian faith shows his feelings toward belief in God far better then I could. Lee Strobel, in his book The Case for Faith, interviewed Templeton near the end of his life, as the terrors of Alzheimers began to grip at his mind. Templeton expressed his desire to want to believe and stressed that he missed Jesus, someone he said was the most important human being who ever existed. Even with his desire to believe, he professed that there simply was no way to know God exists and that there cannot be, in our world, a loving God. He was emphatic that he did not accept Jesus as his savior and denied that he was God. How does God treat this sort of lifelong struggle? Does God say I know you denied me, but you made your choice 40 years ago, youre going to heaven.? Or is it simply a case of faith that was not truly genuine? Does God deny him access to his eternal presence in heaven altogether? These were the questions that I wrestled with for a long time. I began an investigation into what it meant to be saved, and how it is secured. To be Saved, or Not to be Saved To begin our journey into these important questions, I decided to start with what salvation is and what it is for. Why do we need to be saved at all? What do we do to get saved? If we do need salvation, cant we just do it ourselves? These questions are the ones that plague many today when thinking of salvation, so lets start there. Why do we need to be saved and can I do it on my own? To start with that, we must first look at what sin is. The word sin comes from a Greek archery term which literally meant, To miss the mark. What is this mark? Biblically speaking, the mark is God and anything outside of his perfect character, nature, and will is what we call a sin. Sin is sin in Author: David Knoll 1/9 2/20/2013

Gods eyes, whether you miss the mark by an inch or a mile, you are ultimately a flawed being; you are outside his perfect nature. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Rom. 3:23-24)

As we see, sin is missing the mark of Gods glory. God does not wish to see anyone suffer under the languishing of sin. However, just as God is love, God is also perfectly just. He cannot turn his back on the punishment he has set down for sin as shown in Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He also speaks of this in Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall surely die. God is a righteous judge, and although He loves us dearly, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished because this would violate His perfect and holy character. We know that the wages of sin is death, and that means death is the only way in which sin may be paid. We in our imperfect nature could never offer our deaths as a perfect sacrifice to fully pay for our own sins. The man or woman who dies without being redeemed finds that they must pay for their sins on their own, an impossible and eternal feat without God. Here is an analogy to drive home the point. Imagine a father and son. The father is a judge over the city where he lives. His son has just done something that warrants a fine of $10,000 and is very much unable to pay such a steep fine. The father cannot let his son off the hook no matter how much he loves him because he is sworn to uphold the law. However, after passing judgment he steps down and speaks to his son. I love you, and Id like to pay this fine for you if youd let me, he says. Now it is up to the son to choose. Do I accept this gift? Or reject it out of hand? To us the option seems clear in the case of money as we understand it. However, we are speaking of something much more serious here and that is eternal consequence. Alright, so we need to be saved because we are fallen and imperfect. How does one go about gaining atonement? From the teachings of the Old Testament, to atone for ones sins was to perform blood sacrifices at least twice a day. Think about that for a moment. They had to pay for their own sin twice daily using the life of another being. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that Author: David Knoll 2/9 2/20/2013

makes atonement for ones life. (Lev. 17:11) The bible teaches that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the coming messiah, the perfect lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. The one perfect enough to pay for all sin. In this Jesus was the ultimate wage. John 3:16 shows that whosoever believes in [Jesus] shall be saved. The bible teaches throughout the New Testament that salvation is through faith alone. So, we see what salvation is and why its necessary. Also, we even see Jesus and the Apostles spell out what is necessary to achieve it. Ultimately did Charles Templeton do what was required of him to be saved? Only God can know that for sure, but from a human perspective, it does seem likely that he did. This brings us right back to the original questions of, as some put, are you once saved always saved? I believe in order to fully answer this large question we need to look deeper at what we know of the nature of God, and the nature of Free Will.

Is Will Really Free? Free will vs. predestination is something that many people struggle with. But what does Gods word say about it? Do we really have the ability to choose? Why did God create free will if he knew we would sin? These are all great questions that dig deep into the nature of God. So starting off, what is free will? Free will is simply your ability to affirm or deny something. When you take an action, you either affirm or deny what action you are going to take before it happens. However, does that mean that the ability to perform the action is what dictates your ability to have free will? For instance, if your brain was placed within a jar, would you still have free will? I would say so, as the ability to affirm or deny would not be hindered at all. You would simply have less power to exercise your free will upon the surrounding environment, but its there none the less. The Bible never uses the term free will anywhere in the text. However, we can see through scriptures that man has the ability to choose. This inference can be derived by the fact that God often gives options to Man in general as shown in Genesis. (For passages that show we can choose, here are some examples: Deut. 3:19, Joshua 24:15, Proverbs 3:31, James 4:17). There are some who argue that we do not choose at all. They pull from obscure passages that talk about Jesus choosing us and God knowing who will follow him. However, Author: David Knoll 3/9 2/20/2013

knowledge of the future is not dictation. To know where everything will fall in the grand scheme is not much more then reading a history book and thinking that you caused the events. This still begs the question, why would God create us that way if he knew it would lead to the fall and our rebellion? I would suggest that God was compelled to create us. God is love. God would be compelled to make something that was capable of enjoying a loving relationship with him. But why is free will necessary to that end? Simply put, love cannot exist without free will. If you cannot choose to love then you cannot love. An analogy, to clarify, would be if I spoke into my phone message system and said I love you, I love you, then set it on repeat. Does the phone really love me? No, it is simply saying what it was programmed to say. However, this comes with strings attached. In order to have a choice to love, you also must have the choice to the opposite effect: to reject or hate. Free will is essential to genuine love. Which brings us to our next point on free will, would God ever take that from you? Gods Will The Bible often times speaks of Gods will. God being the perfect moral being will always have the perfect morality in his will. However, the will of God and the will of man are essentially the same; God simply has more power to exercise his will. In the case of salvation, The Lord is notwilling that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Does this mean that God will not send anyone to Hell? That would be a mistake, as Jesus speaks more about the realities of Hell more then any other biblical figure. It shows that God does not will you to be consigned there; however his ability to exercise this will is hindered by his ultimate justice and the price that must be paid for sin. This passage gives us a clear picture that God is 100% behind us coming to him. There is not one ounce of him that does not want you with him. That leaves the second half of the contract up to us. Once Saved Always Saved? God has laid down a promise. John 3:16 For God so loves the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Is this a fire and forget belief? Lets take a look. God shows us throughout his Word, that we are given a choice to accept his grace and be cleansed of sin. There are two interpretations to salvation security that are worth taking a look at in the perspective Author: David Knoll 4/9 2/20/2013

of what we have learned. One is a concept dubbed Once saved, always saved, or Eternal Security. The other side is often referred to as relinquishment. Lets explore the former first. This concept is spawned out of Calvinism originally. John Calvin was a French theologian who was a leader during the reformation of the church in Geneva. His biblical teachings were controversial during the reformation period and eventually became unique from the original split by Martin Luther, who had split from the traditional Catholic doctrine earlier based on what he considered to be false teachings in the faith. Calvins works are summed up into what are called the 5 points of Calvinism, also known as T.U.L.I.P. 1st: Total Depravity speaks on the total fall of human kind after Adam. It teaches that humans are not only total sinners, but are morally unable to choose to follow God on their own. 2nd: Unconditional Election speaks about how God picks you not based on any sort of merit, but by His will alone. It goes on further to say that you are elected by God because it is impossible for you to choose to love Him. 3rd: Limited Atonement speaks about how Jesus did not die for the whole world. It says that he only died for those who God chooses to elect into his kingdom. 4th: Irresistible Grace speaks about election once again. It says simply that when God does choose to elect you, that you have no ability to resist Gods choice at all. 5th: Perseverance of the Saints is the last point and consequently where the concept of once saved, always saved comes from. It says simply, that you cannot lose your salvation because you have been elected by God and have no free will in the matter at all. The problem with taking the 5th point and making it a standalone concept, as the once saved doctrine teaches, is two fold. First issue comes with its being standalone to begin with. The point is only functional because of the first four points. Without the election by God, this fifth point does not exist. The second problem is that it has little to no biblical backing. We will delve into some of the verses that are used to defend this modified Calvinist idea. One of the most quoted passages is John 3:16 (noted above), looking to the concept that you are saved once you believe, period. Ironically, those that preach the relinquishment use the same verse and argue that if you believe, you are saved, but if you stop believing then you are obviously not covered within the same passage any Author: David Knoll 5/9 2/20/2013

longer because the passage is conditional on your belief, which is a present tense verb. Lets take a look at some verses that are used in support of the modified Calvinist idea of salvation security. John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for Gods wrath remains on them. This one is obvious to see the merit, but again, who says when you are able to reject him? It doesnt seem to put a timeline on either option. John 10:28-29 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater then all; no one can snatch them out of my Fathers hand. However, what does snatch them refer to? Are you being snatched out of his hand if you freely walk out of it? Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, This does seem to speak to those who are in Christ. Wouldnt that imply that if you walked away from Christ, then you are now no longer in him and thus condemned? John 5:24 Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. This one is one of the strongest that once saved arguers use. It does seem to be very definite, but does it tell the whole story? Once more, believes being a present tense verb, should allow for you to stop believing and thus, the verse would no longer apply. Proper exegesis requires that we analyze the Bible in light of other Bible verses. So do these already shaky verses stand up to the rest of the Bible? Lets take a look. The second way to look at salvation is that you cannot lose it, however you can certainly relinquish your claim to it. They argue that God has shown in both Old and New Testament that God is capable of letting you choose to stop following him even after following him to begin with. We have seen some support that seems to be on a little bit of thin ice for the claim of once saved, always saved. The question then becomes, does the bible speak definitively in the other direction? Lets look at a couple of the passages that are used to support it.

John 15:5-6 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If Author: David Knoll 6/9 2/20/2013

you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. It certainly is longer then the others. Does that make it better? What we see here is this idea of remaining in Him. You cannot remain unless you are already in Him to begin with. Lets look at another. 2 Peter 2:20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord the Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. This verse points out that if you have escaped the world by knowing the Lord, you can then return to it and be worse off then before. If hell is where you were heading before, and now you are worse off, could it be possible that this is in fact referring to heaven? I wouldnt think so. Matthew 24 9-13 Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all the nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. This is Jesus speaking to his 12 apostles. They ask him what they will see in the end times and this is part of his response. It speaks specifically about salvation and about people who have faith and love. If they already have faith, and you are saved by grace through faith, and he says that you are not going to be saved if you dont endure to the end, then you can give up your salvation. If Jesus said it and its supported by many other parts of scripture, why then should we shy away from the way he portrays it? There are others that we could explore, and Ill list them at the end of this article. For the moment, a picture seems to be forming around Gods view of our free will in the matter.

Authors Conclusion So we have our stage set: biblical references to Gods nature, free will, the denounced faith of a large evangelical, and what salvation really means. So what happens when we put this all together? Are all the people who denounced their faith really lying Author: David Knoll 7/9 2/20/2013

about believing they were saved before? The implication of Once saved, always saved is that for it to be true, God must override your free will. To say that we can choose a whole lifetime to deny him, but the moment you accept him, you lose your will to deny him again is utterly not supported. I have tried and failed to find much corroborative biblical evidence to support the concept that you cannot relinquish your faith. However, we have seen that based on Gods interactions in the past, and some strong verbiage speaking directly about your choices, that he would allow you the free will to choose at any time, for or against. Salvation cannot be lost and the bible states that very matter of fact, but it does seem to indicate that you may choose to relinquish your claim to it.

References:
The Bible (NIV used for the quotes) The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel http://www.disciplesunited.org/Disciples-United-Study-Tools.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Templeton http://calvinistcorner.com/tulip http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/dabney/5points.htm http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06259a.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism

Other Bible verses for Relinquishment

1 Corinthians 9:25-10:12 become disqualified. Hebrews 2:1-3 fall away

Other papers by the same author:

Author: David Knoll 8/9 2/20/2013

The Realities of God and Faith (speaks on the truths of faiths around the world and God) The Cosmological Argument (speaks in simple terms about the existence of God) More on the way!

For questions or comments, or to suggest what to write about next, you can reach the author at apologeticselite@gmail.com Thanks for reading and always keep questioning!

Author: David Knoll 9/9 2/20/2013