Post Author: Bill Pratt
Category Archives: Salvation
Should Catholic Apologists Be Invited to Speak at an Evangelical Apologetics Conference?
Post Author: Bill Pratt
In a recent post, I mentioned some of the speakers at an upcoming apologetics conference sponsored by Southern Evangelical Seminary. One blog commenter noticed that Catholic speakers were being featured at the event and argued that they should not be. He believes that Catholics are not Christians, and therefore cannot properly defend the Christian faith (which is the goal of apologetics). Specifically, the commenter mentioned the fact that Catholics do not agree with evangelical views of justification by faith alone.
I disagreed with the commenter and argued that Catholics are Christian and should be able to present at the conference, but I want to know what readers of this blog think. Should Catholics be allowed to speak at an evangelical apologetics conference? Tell us what you think by voting in the poll below. Also, share your comments on this issue by commenting on this blog post.
Once Saved, Always Saved?
Post Author: Bill Pratt
Once a person is justified (saved), can they lose their salvation? This seems like an important question, but there are differing views within Christendom.
Calvinists, both moderate and 5-point, affirm eternal security. Eternal security is the idea that once a person is truly saved, he can never lose his salvation. Calvinists point to many verses that seem to teach eternal security, such as 1 John 5:13, John 6:37, John 6:39-40, and John 10:27-28.
Arminians, both classical and Wesleyan, believe that a person can lose his salvation. Classical Arminians believe that a person who apostasizes (denies that Jesus is the Son of God) loses his salvation. Wesleyans believe that there are several (the number varies) serious sins, that if willfully committed, cause a person to lose his salvation. This position is similar to the Roman Catholic view.
I happen to agree with the Calvinists on this issue, that once a person is truly saved, it is forever.
But there is another question to consider. How does a person know he was ever saved in the first place? According to Norman Geisler, a person can know they were saved if they “manifest the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22-23). He adds,
Throughout his first epistle John lists ways we can know that we are one of God’s elect:
(1) if we keep His commandments (2:3);
(2) if we keep His Word (2:4);
(3) if we walk in love (2:5);
(4) if we love the brethren (3:14);
(5) if we love in deed, not only in word (3:19);
(6) if we have the Holy Spirit within us (3:24);
(7) if we love one another (4:13); and
(8) if we don’t continue in sin (5:18; cf. 3:9).
I’ve discussed this issue with my Catholic friends and they always point out that when someone apostasizes or appears to be living in egregious sin, Calvinists like to say, “He was never saved in the first place.” This seems like a convenient way to never allow a person to lose his salvation! They have a point. We truly do not know about other people’s salvation and we shouldn’t be making judgments about that. We can judge their fruit, but never their salvation. God just does not give us that information.
However, with regard to our own salvation, I think we can be sure if we examine ourselves, as suggested above. I can’t imagine going through my Christian walk, wondering every day if I was really saved. I settled that issue a long time ago. Have you?
Does God Really Hate Esau?
Post Author: Bill Pratt
Many Christians are shocked when they read Romans 9:13: “Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.'” Since when does the God of love hate people? This verse, coupled with the rest of Romans 9, has led many to believe that God does not love all people, at least with regard to their eternal salvation. He seems to arbitrarily choose some people for salvation and some people for damnation. But must we interpret this verse in that way?
I think the answer is “no.” A more careful reading of this passage indicates that the subject is not individual salvation, but Israel’s national role in redemptive history.
Paul is actually quoting from Mal. 1:2-3, and a reading of those verses in the context of Malachi’s book clearly indicates that Malachi is using the word “Jacob” to refer to the nation of Israel and the word “Esau” to refer to the nation of Edom.
This makes perfect sense because Romans 9, 10, and 11 are all about national Israel and her role in redemptive history. Romans 9 refers to Israel’s past, Romans 10 refers to her present, and Romans 11 refers to her future.
It is a serious exegetical mistake to interpret Romans 9 to be referring to individuals’ salvation. According to Norman Geisler, “the election of the nation was temporal, not eternal; that is, Israel was chosen as a national channel through which the eternal blessing of salvation through Christ would come to all people (cf. Gen. 12:1–3; Rom. 9:4–5). Not every individual in Israel was elected to be saved (9:6).”
God works through nations to accomplish his will, just as he works through individuals. Just because Israel was the chosen nation to bring forth the Messiah did not mean that every Israelite would be individually saved. Individual salvation has never been and will never be based on a person’s nationality. Paul is talking about the nation of Israel in Romans 9, not individual salvation.
Finally, it is also important to explain that the word used for “hate” in Malachi 1 is a Hebrew idiom which actually means to “love less.” Norman Geisler explains: “This is evident from Genesis 29:30: The phrase ‘loved Rachel more than Leah’ is used as the equivalent of ‘Leah was hated’ (cf. also Matt. 10:37).”
God does not hate anyone, but he does bless some nations more than others.
Can Man Choose God On His Own?
Post Author: Bill Pratt
No. The Bible seems to clearly teach that God must call on man before man will respond. Original sin has caused man to reject God without God’s intervention. Jesus said, ““This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him” (John 6:65). The Psalmist said, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). God must initiate salvation because man cannot.
So does God intervene to convict all men of their sins and call them toward him? Yes, he does. All men are given the chance to accept or reject God because God calls all men. According to 2 Pet. 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” According to 1 Tim. 2:3-4, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
God will freely offer the gift of salvation to everyone, but each person must decide to accept or reject this free gift. God must call us first, as we are incapable of inclining our wills toward God on our own.
Historical footnote: The belief that mankind is born innocent of original sin and can freely choose God without God first initiating salvation is called Pelagianism. This heresy was condemned by the Council of Carthage (A.D. 416-418).
Can I Be Saved By a Simple Prayer?
The Bible unequivocally teaches that faith in God is what saves. So the question before us is whether speaking a “sinner’s prayer” constitutes saving faith.
All people possess intellect, will, and emotions – the ability to think, choose, and feel. When the Bible refers to faith, it seems to teach that faith involves all aspects of a person. In other words, a person’s intellect, will, and emotions must all be involved for faith to be salvific.
Let’s look at intellect first. Based on the NT, there seem to be six propositions that a person must intellectually believe to be saved:
- Existence of God
- Necessity of Grace
- Human Sinfulness
- Christ’s Deity
- Christ’s Atoning Death
- Christ’s Bodily Resurrection
Each of these doctrines must be intellectually held by a person to be saved. But believing in these truths with the intellect is not enough.
Billy Graham once said:
The word believe means more than just intellectual faith, because the Bible says, ‘The devils also believe.’ The devil is a fundamentalist, and he is orthodox. He believes in Christ. He believes in the Bible. Intellectually, he believes in the dogma. He believes in the creeds. But the devil has never been saved and he is not going to heaven. You may be able to recite theology, but I tell you that is not enough.
Saving faith also encompasses the will and emotions. The NT seems to teach at least six ways that our will and emotions must be involved in our faith.
First, true faith involves trust in God. Trust is the confident expectation that God will do what he says he will do. Trusting God involves an act of the will that is beyond mere intellectual assent.
Second, true faith involves the willingness to fully commit ourselves to Christ as the means of delivering us. Saving faith involves a true commitment to the gospel.
Third, true faith involves our obeying God’s command to believe in His Son. If we have saving faith, we will obey God’s command to believe in His Son. If we truly understand who God is and what He has done for us, our intellectual knowledge is accompanied by obedience to God’s command to turn to Him. The demons do not obey the gospel and have forever turned their back on God. Though they know who God is, they disobey Him. Likewise, unsaved people have no will to obey God.
Fourth, true faith involves love of God, which is the greatest command. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). You cannot have a saving relationship with God unless you love Him. Love of God is willing the ultimate good. God is the ultimate good. This is not merely a feeling of warmth toward God, but a robust passion and desire for Him that manifests in all our actions.
Fifth, true faith involves childlike trust entailing humility. There is no room for arrogance in saving faith. Demons exhibit no humility toward God, whereas believers realize that humility is the only reasonable response because God is completely responsible for their salvation. Dr. Gary Inrig explained humility this way:
If I try to make myself as small as I can, I’ll never become humble. Humility comes when I stand as tall as I can, and look at all of my strengths, and the reality about me, but I put myself alongside Jesus Christ. And it’s there, when I humble myself before Him, and realize the awesomeness of who he is, and I accept God’s estimate of myself, and I stop being fooled about myself, and I stop being impressed with myself, that I begin to learn humility.
Sixth, true faith involves repentance. Faith implies the kind of commitment to and trust in Christ that will make an actual change in one’s life. True repentance is a real change of mind about our sin and about who Christ is – our Savior. Repentance is life-altering as well. Therefore, faith and repentance are inseparable in the same way that the command to “come here” cannot be fulfilled without “leaving there.” True faith and repentance, regarding one’s salvation, involve embracing right and rejecting wrong – one cannot be exercised without the other.
So, is a simple prayer enough to save? If that simple prayer is being spoken by a person whose faith is intellectual, trusting, committed, obedient, loving, humble, and repentant, then the answer is “yes.” If not, then that prayer may be a significant step, but until the person has truly applied all of his personhood to his faith, it has not saved him.
Does the Bible Teach That There Are Many Ways to Eternal Life?
I have written on this topic before, but it deserves more ink. Sometimes another person says something so well, that I just need to get out of the way and direct our readers to them. Greg Koukl, of Stand to Reason, does a fantastic job addressing several aspects of this question in a recent publication. It’s a few pages long, but I plead with you to read it, as there is a lot of truth packed into it.
Bottom line: The New Testament only teaches that Jesus is the path to salvation. That alone should drive our evangelism. There may be other ways to heaven, but the Bible doesn’t go there. Instead of guessing what might be, let’s go with what we know.
If you care to, let me know what you think of what Koukl says.
Poll Says American Christians Don't Believe Jesus is the Only Way
My response to this article might surprise some of you.
The article discusses a recent report which indicates that 37% of evangelicals rejected the claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven. 52% of American Christians agreed that religions other than Christianity can lead to eternal life. But what does this data mean? Should we moan and groan that Christians don’t understand the teachings of their own faith? Maybe, but I think there’s another side to the story.
There is no doubt, from the Bible, that absolutely nobody gets to heaven without Christ’s death and resurrection, both of which were necessary to reconcile man with God. The tougher question is this: how is Christ’s sacrifice applied to people who never hear the gospel?
I, for one, do not like this line of questioning in a survey or poll because it puts the Christian in an awkward position. The requirement that every person, whether they’ve heard the gospel or not, put their faith in Christ is a nuanced issue that requires some explanation and does not lend itself to multiple choice answers. It’s like being asked to describe God in five words or less. It can’t be done!
The truth is that we aren’t given specific knowledge of which other individuals are going to heaven and which aren’t because we don’t know other people’s hearts and minds. God doesn’t tell us. Many Christians act as if we do know, but we just don’t.
The New Testament teaches us that we should believe in Jesus for eternal life, and it says this over and over and over again (read the book of John if you don’t believe me). So we have this positive command, to believe in Jesus, and it is a clear and plain teaching that the biblical authors wanted to make sure we understood. Another clear teaching is that those who have heard of Christ and rejected Him are in eternal jeopardy. We can be sure of these truths.
The New Testament, on the other hand, does not spend a lot of time talking about followers of other world religions who have never heard of the authentic biblical Jesus. Theologians have tried to explain what happens to those who never hear, but none of these proposals warrant dogmatism because of the scant biblical evidence.
I know that God wants people to believe in Christ. I know that those who reject Christ will be separated from God. The Bible teaches those things clearly, but I don’t know, for sure, what happens when a person is unable to hear or respond to the gospel of Christ.
I believe that many Christians know John 14:6 and they know Romans 10:9, but some pollster calls them and puts them on the spot: “Is Jesus the only way to heaven?” Polls don’t allow for nuanced answers. They demand black and white answers, and frankly, I can sympathize with those being asked this difficult question, most of whom are not theologians who study this issue every day.
A much better question to put to Christians would be: “Does the Bible teach that believing in Jesus leads to eternal life?” I think the vast majority of Christians would answer “yes.”
A follow-up question could be: “Should Christians tell others about Jesus so that they, too, can have eternal life?” Again, I think a great percentage would say “yes.”
Let’s focus on what we know.
What Are the Essential Beliefs of Christians?
As an apologist, I am often asked about all sorts of religious groups. Some of these groups are clearly not Christian and have never claimed to be Christian. Some of them, such as Christian Science, don’t claim to be Christian, but their name causes confusion. And some of them claim to be Christian, but they are not.
In addition, since there are so many denominations in the Christian world, I am often asked what these various denominations believe and whether they are true Christians. Determining whether a group is Christian is made simpler if we can agree on what the essential doctrines of Christianity are. If we agree on that list, then we can compare the doctrines of religion X and see whether it lines up.
My answer to this question of the essential doctrines of Christianity is based heavily on an article written by theologian Norman Geisler in the Christian Research Journal, volume 28, number 6.
First, what I mean by an essential doctrine is a doctrine that directly affects the subject of salvation. There are at least a couple of other essential doctrines that do not directly affect salvation that I will consider another time.
There are three stages of salvation for the believer: justification (freedom from the penalty of sin), sanctification (freedom from the power of sin), and glorification (freedom from the presence of sin). Each of the essential doctrines deals with one of these.
In the area of justification, here are the essential doctrines:
- human depravity
- Christ’s virgin birth
- Christ’s sinlessness
- Christ’s deity
- Christ’s humanity
- God’s unity
- God’s triunity
- the necessity of God’s grace
- the necessity of faith
- Christ’s atoning death
- Christ’s bodily resurrection
These 11 doctrines are essential for justification. Now please understand, I am not saying one must explicitly believe all 11 of these doctrines to be justified. These 11 doctrines must all be true in order for anyone to be justified. The New Testament seems to teach that 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 all must be explicitly believed for justification.
What about sanctification? There are two essential doctrines for sanctification:
- Christ’s bodily ascension
- Christ’s present high priestly service
Both of these must be true for the believer to be sanctified during this life.
Finally, glorification involves one essential doctrine. This doctrine must be true if we hope to spend eternity with God.
- Christ’s second coming, final judgment, and reign.
So what makes a religious group non-Christian? In my opinion, any religious group who denies one of these 14 doctrines has placed themselves outside of orthodox Christianity and cannot properly call themselves Christian.
Does that mean that a person inside that group cannot be saved and spend eternity with God? No, because not all of these doctrines must be explicitly believed for a person to be saved. However, a person who belongs to a religious group who is denying one or more of these doctrines should want to remove themselves from that group and find a group of Christians who uphold these essentials.