The Doctrines of Grace

Psa 3:8 Salvation belongs to the LORD.



This is one of the cornerstone beliefs of the Christian faith. Just as everything is from God - creation, life, sustenance, and intelligence - so also salvation is of the Lord. It is no wonder, then, that we must devote every careful attention to the details of the doctrines concerning how we are saved and guard them zealously. If we fail at this, it means eternal damnation for those whom we communicate this wrong message to; for an example, just look at the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses, who preach a message contrary to Scripture (I may post on these groups in the future). Paul opened up his letter to the Galations by witheringly denouncing them for adding their own works to the process of salvation. Thus, it is easy to see that what we do believe about these matters is quite important to God!



I opened this post in a strong way because I want to draw the line in the sand. There are many who do believe in the normal creed that "Salvation is by grace through faith alone," but in their actions subtly deny this fundamental of the faith. They put a greater value on our decision to accept Christ than on God's saving grace. They lift the human disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, and meditation (in terms of focus) above the sustaining work of the Holy Spirit, rather than it being the other way around. In short, they distort the message of the Bible and plunge many believers into spiritual contradiction.



Let me announce that I am not saying such people are unsaved; on the contrary, I know many people who do teach this way, whether it be through ignorance of more precise matters or through a mistaken belief that this is the way to do things. I am very charitable and realize that many Christians (indeed, all of us) are in need of greater spiritual wisdom and theological precision. But what I am vehemently against is the open proclamation of such errors, in that they are boldly uttered and are adamantly declared to be Scriptural. I desire to defend the honor of my God in such conditions. It does make a difference if we believe God is in complete control of all affairs of salvation versus if we believe that we have a hand (if only a little one, or even a little finger) in everything. If the omnipotent Lord's aim in the history of this world is to glorify Himself, then He must by necessity have control over His greatest work, that of saving souls.



Thus, we have what are termed "the doctrines of grace." There are other names for this group of beliefs, but I prefer this one because it clearly shows the focus of these truths. Not all Christians will hold to the exact tenets that I will present here, but I would say that all genuine believers hold to their unifying principle - that God is the source of all these things, and is the master of salvation. In this blog entry, I will lay out the main tenets, and in the future will examine each of them individually in separate posts. This is because I believe that it will be greatly beneficial to our spiritual lives as Christians to hold to these truths. I know that understanding the doctrines of grace has made a tremendous difference in how I live my spiritual life, and I wish others to have the same benefit.



First of all, what is grace? It, simply stated, means "unmerited favor." It is different from mercy, which means "the withholding of deserved punishment." Grace, then, is positive (conferring benefits) while mercy is negative (removing judgment - being compassionate). So, the doctrines of grace could be defined as "The truths concerning God's unmerited favor to us humans in the matter of salvation." These doctrines have usually been grouped into five truths, although this is but one way of organizing them. They are listed below:



1. It is necessary that we be shown our need for grace - thus, Scripture teaches us that we have all sinned and are completely dead in our transgressions. It is not that we are just sick or are just tainted; we are dead (i.e. Ephesians 2:1). Salvation is not about throwing a struggling swimmer a life preserver; it is about diving down to the bottom of the sea, bringing up the dead body, and bringing it back to life. In order for God's unmerited favor to be shown to us, it follows that we must be without merit, and realize that this is our deplorable situation. Hence, the fact that we are sinners. We cannot lift a finger to merit salvation in any way, because our good deeds are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Sin began in Adam, who was our representative - we would have done no differently if we had been in his place - and through him sin befell us all. Because we are thus sinners by nature, we sin. It is not that we are just good people who do some bad things; we do bad things because we are bad! Only when God confirms us Christians in final holiness will we completely escape from the presence of sin, even though it no longer has power over us due to Christ's sacrifice. Therefore, since we are dead in our sins, it is up to God Himself to do the work of salvation, which was His plan all along......

2. God, solely according to His will and good pleasure, chose whom He would save from sin and from His wrath against sinners. His choosing is not based upon anyone's merits, or if anyone was a better person than someone else, but upon His own desire and plan. In short, we have no say in the matter of salvation; it is all up to our gracious Lord. This doctrine is often termed "unconditional election" - support for this is most notably found in Ephesians 1 where it talks about God choosing us before the foundation of the world and predestining us of His good pleasure. Lest anyone think that this doctrine seems "unfair," let me remind you that this is completely consistent with other Biblical truths. If we are all dead in our sins, then it is true that we have nothing to recommend ourselves to God, and thus election must be totally according to His plan, because all that is good and true and just is in Him. His election of believers is done in all high wisdom and perfection, because He knows what is best. Thus, this is a "doctrine of grace" in that all credit for election is due upon the Almighty. Election is one of the many facets of the diamond of "unmerited favor."

3. Christ, in His sacrifice on the cross, determined to save and ransom His church from the bondage of sin. Acts 20:28 says that He purchased the church of God with His own blood. Because the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient to save to the uttermost those whom God has chosen, it will of necessity save those to whom it is applied. The name of "particular redemption" is often given to this doctrine. It is completely consistent with the Undeserved Merit diamond's other facets, and with Scripture. The difficulty many have with this truth is when certain verses seem to say that Christ died for both the saved and the unsaved. It is often asserted that Christ's sacrifice made it possible for everyone to be saved, but that only those who believe actually receive the benefits of redemption. However, in light of other Scriptures that talk about the sovereignty of God in salvation and the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing our dead spirits to life in Christ ("regeneration), it must follow that Christ's sacrifice was only intended to save His elect. The point I prefer to focus on is that God is working out a plan to glorify Himself. Through the death and resurrection of His Son, He is adopting an innumerable host of sons and daughters into His family - solely by His own purpose and good pleasure. Particular redemption shows the grace and power of God in that He is actively saving and plucking out lost, sin-corrupted souls from the impeding judgment of His wrath upon the wicked world. Thus, all glory, once again, is alone due to the Lord - all whom Christ died for will assuredly be saved.

4. God's grace unto salvation, once it determines to draw a lost sinner to Jesus Christ, will not be denied in its purpose. When God sets His infathomable and holy love upon a human being, a profoundly wonderful thing happens. Through a magnificent and diverse array of circumstances, God redeems countless numbers of individuals by directing affairs so that they will come in contact with the Gospel, hear it, have their hearts warmed, and be renewed to life by the Holy Spirit in order to trust in Jesus Christ. The caricature of dictatorial compulsion has no life when we look at how God's grace draws someone to salvation. His grace, in a sense, does compel - but only in the sense that the individual is suddenly made aware of his or her sinfulness and recognizes the magnificent love of God for what it is. Eyes are opened, which were formerly blind and ignorant, and the glory of God is seen as salvation draws near. This is a miracle of freedom, not a bondage unto chattel slavery! One Scripture that portrays this set of circumstances is the Romans 8:28-8:30 passage, which is one of the best ways to show the process of salvation. Paul declares in Galations 1:15-16 that God had set him apart for His service before he was born, and called him through His grace. All believers are new creations in Christ, due to His marvelous grace - His unmerited favor. Glory be unto our Lord and Savior, wonderful things He has done!

5. The last major doctrine of grace is the completion of our salvation. Trials, tribulations, sorrows, and persecutions all befall us. Scripture says many will fall away from the professed faith into apostasy. Backsliding into sin is all too common with Christians. However, Scripture as usual presents circumstances in a much more profound light: God will deliver all His saints from not only the power of sin, but also from its presence, and will glorify them with Himself in heaven so that they will worship Him freely and with the full possession of their entire being - body and soul and spirit. Thus, the saints will persevere and steadily grow in holiness as they run their race on this earth. Remember my blog entry on sanctification? Salvation from the power of sin is not the end of God's grace; sanctification is also worked out by His grace. If God delivered someone from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, it must follow that His work must be completed, and that person needs to be confirmed in holiness, spotless and blameless both in Christ and in himself/herself. Right now, we are not actually holy in our bodies, since we still struggle with the corruption of sin within ourselves, but in Christ we have already been declared righteous and pure. How can God reject that which He has cleansed? How can a believer, absolved of his crime by the Judge, throw away his new nature and fall back into corruption, as a dog goes back to his vomit? If believers can lose their salvation, then God has failed in His purpose and shows Himself to be pathetically weak. Salvation is still ongoing right now, and God has purposed to complete it, but it will not be finished until we stand before Him holy and blameless.

John 10:27-30 shows Jesus declaring, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." The love of God holds us secure, and it encourages us to press onwards, so that we can reach the finish line and receive the crown of victory. Once again, it is solely due to His grace.

I am sure some of you, upon having read the preceding points, will have many questions. That is why I aim to go into each of these doctrines in detail sometime in the future. I will be presenting more Scriptural support, as well as discuss the common objections made to each point. At no point do I disclaim that we are responsible to trust in Christ, turn from sin, and apply ourselves to the pursuit of holiness. What I was mainly speaking against is the free autonomy of man to meddle with God's plan. If we are free to disappoint God from what He purposed to accomplish, then He is not sovereign. He desires to do what is best for His own glory; and as His creatures, we need to submit humbly to Him and admit that He infinitely knows how to do things above and beyond whatever we could accomplish. That is why I have done this brief review of the doctrines of grace as they pertain to salvation, because they deal with the bedrock of our faith. Yes, one can trust in Christ without needing to know all these specific details of sovereignty; but in order to best understand the Lord, these doctrines need to be learned and treasured.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them in the comments section, and I will do my best to answer them. You can also help me out by letting me know what I can directly address in the future entries where I will go into each doctrine in detail. As I have said before, I desire to present myself clearly, and I pray that I have been understood accordingly. May God bless you richly and may His grace shine upon you!