Questions on Christianity

Steve Tobak is a businessman who writes a blog on business topics but occasionally addresses cultural issues.  In a recent posting he decries one behavior he sees in our society.

. . .people talk a good game but their actions tell a different story. . .of all the cultural trends that threaten the integrity of our society, the most insidious , I think, is all the talk about doing good, aiding causes, and changing the world, while our actions show the selfish greed and narcissism that’s in our hearts. [1]

Unfortunately, we Christians are part of this trend.  Our doctrine of salvation says all we need to do is to believe in Jesus and his death for our sins to be saved; all we need to do is say the right words.  Our doctrines say precious little about changing our soul so it becomes like God so we continue to exhibit “the selfish greed and narcissism that’s in our hearts”  We call ourselves Christians but are not Christ-like.

Will we continue to participate in this “culture of duplicity” that Tobak describes or will we follow the example of Jesus who did more than believe in God but who did God’s will?  Maybe a start is to rethink our doctrine of salvation.

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[1]   Steve Tobak, “A Culture of Duplicity”, http://stevetobak.com, November 2, 2016.

World Magazine recently ran an article about the problems the native Alaskans face.  Part of their problems stem from the history of injustice they suffered through the hands of the non-natives that came to Alaska.  The injustices they endured included “an educational system that separated native families and banned native languages”, sexual abuse, and the constant denigrating of their culture in favor of the culture of the foreigners. [1]

Some Christian missionaries participated in dishing out this injustice.  The question we must ask is:  Why?  In our blog of September 20, 2011 we discussed the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in1994 when Christians killed thousands of other Christians simply because they were of another tribe. [2]  And then we have the on-going story of the Roman Catholic priest’s sexual abuse of children.  Why do Christians act so unlike Christ?

Yes, we all are not perfect and we do make mistakes but mistakes of this magnitude?  Maybe part of the problem is that we subscribe to a religion that only requires that we profess faith in Christ.  As long as we say the right words, as long as we have the right beliefs we will go to heaven.  Our doctrine of salvation says nothing about how we are to live our lives.

If Christianity taught that salvation is the change of our soul so we become more like God do you not think our behavior would change?  Do you think we could participate in the injustices described above if we believed the core of Christianity is that we should love others as God loves us?

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[1]   Sophia Lee, “Way up north”, World Magazine, October 1, 2016, pp. 48-53.

[2]   Emmanuel Katongole, Mirror to the Church, Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 2009.

Heresies “happen whenever there is ‘any [teaching] that leaves something important out or seriously neglected’”. [1]  What has been seriously neglected in Christian theology is the more than 70 verses in the New Testament that teach salvation is through means other than believing in Jesus.   For example the following passages teach salvation is through:

• Repentance of our sins or humility – Luke 18:11-14, 2 Corinthians 7:10
• Belief in God – John 5:24, Acts 10:34-35
• Our conduct or actions – Matthew 16:27, Romans 2:6-10
• Our pattern of behavior or persistence – Matthew 10:22, Hebrews 10:26-27
• Our talents or the use of what is given us – Luke 16:9-11,

There is no dispute the Bible teaches that salvation is through belief or faith in Jesus’ death for our sins.  However, if belief in Jesus is the only way to heaven, why did God include these verses in the Bible?  Either we must ignore these passages (that is essentially telling God we know better than he does) or we must deal with the issues they raise.  If we ignore these passages, what is to prevent us from ignoring any other part of the Bible with which we disagree or have a problem?  If we start down that road, we might as well ignore the entire Bible.  God put all these statement in the Bible for a reason.  It is up to us to determine what that reason is.

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[1]   Dr. D. Clair Davis as quoted by Andrée Seu Peterson, “Unstable elements”, World Magazine, September 5, 2015, p. 75.

In the last post we noted that regardless of one’s view of salvation all require that we take action to be saved.  Confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our savior are actions and according to Christian doctrine are actions we must take to be saved.  So can we really say that salvation is a free gift?

The only Christian group that is consistent in their doctrine that salvation is a free gift is the universalists who believe everyone will be saved.  No matter what one does or believes, all will be saved in the end.  The problem with this view of salvation is that the Bible does not teach it.  The Bible teaches the reality of hell and that not everyone will be in heaven.

The view of salvation that we proposed in this blog and in my book resolves all the above issues.  We assert that Jesus died for the sins of the entire world.  The entire world’s sins are now forgiven and there is nothing that any of us did to receive this free gift and there is nothing that we need to do.  Once we have this free gift, the question becomes:  What we will do with it?  Will we use what we have been given to develop our soul so it becomes more like God or will we squander this gift and continue on our rebellious path?  It is this choice that will determine where we spend eternity.

Do we really believe salvation is a free gift?  Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary gives 49 definitions of “free”.  The definition that applies to the topic we are discussing is:  “given without consideration of a return or reward”.  Does God grant us salvation without the consideration that we will do anything in return?

Mainstream Christians believe that the only way of salvation is to confess our sins and believe in Jesus’ death for our sins.  But is not confessing our sins and accepting Christ as our savior taking action?  True this is just a one-time action but it is still an action on our part.  So does that mean we earn our salvation?

Mainstream Christianity considers that any other requirement other than faith in Jesus’ work for our sins is adding the “demands of obedience to the simple response of faith”. [1]  But is this criticism of other viewpoints on salvation valid given that they believe God has imposed the condition of accepting Christ as our savior before we are granted his “free gift” of salvation?

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[1]   Dictionary of Christianity in America, edited by Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Bruce L. Shelley and Harry S. Stout. © 1990 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.

Last week we raised questions concerning the belief that salvation occurs at one point in time, namely when people profess faith in Jesus.  Those who believe salvation is a profession of faith in Jesus criticize those of us who believe that salvation is a process of becoming more like God for “holding a ‘lordship salvation’ that adds demands of obedience to the simple response of faith”. [1]

Why do some consider that adding obedience to salvation is in error?  It is because of the belief that salvation is a gift from God and we can do nothing to earn it.  Requiring obedience for salvation appears to add an element of us earning our salvation.

The requirement that we become like God does not equate to us earning our salvation.  We had nothing to do with Jesus dying for our sins.  We did not request it.  If we were to be reconciled to God, he had to take the first step because we certainly would not do it.  Additionally, there was no claim we could present to God that would justify him taking such action.  It was solely God’s decision to make an effort to bring us back to him.

Once God decided to provide a way for us to return to him, he had to decide on a method.  One step was Christ dying for our sins which satisfied God’s need for justice.  But God also requires something from us.  Some believe what he requires is simply that we believe in Jesus’ death for our sins while other believe we must begin the process of becoming like God.

There are many problems with belief being the only requirement of salvation and we have detailed those in this blog and in my book.  To summarize:

1. A majority of people who have ever lived has never heard of Christ and therefore have had no chance of being saved. Is this the action of a loving God?
2. God made us finite. Being finite means we do not have definitive proof of Jesus’ death and resurrection for our sins.  How can God judge us for not believing if he did not give us the ability to know it is true?
3. There are over 70 verses in the Bible which state salvation is through means other than believing in Jesus. Why did God place all these verses in the Bible?

Are there any problems with salvation being the change of our soul so it becomes like God?  If you are aware of any problems, I would like to hear from you about them.

Christian doctrine maintains that we are sinful creatures which means we are opposed to that for which God stands.  If this is true, does it not make sense that if we want to spend eternity with God that God would insist we begin the process of becoming more like him while we are here on earth?

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[1]   Dictionary of Christianity in America, edited by Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Bruce L. Shelley and Harry S. Stout. © 1990 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.

The doctrine of salvation is a major doctrine within the Christian faith and so it is essential we understand it.  What does it mean to be saved?  Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines save as:  To rescue from danger, from possible harm.  It gives the theological definition as:  To deliver from the power and consequences of sin.

What is sin?  Webster’s defines it as “a transgression of divine law; a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.  Thomas Aquinas states:  “Sins are actions.” [1]  The original sin of Adam and Eve was a failure to follow God’s commands, not a failure to believe in God.

However, the Dictionary of Christianity in America states that:

Some evangelicals have maintained that salvation is granted to those who have trusted Christ for salvation at any point in their lives, regardless of their subsequent behavior or lack of faith. Those who show no visible signs of redemption, known as “carnal Christians,” nevertheless enjoy the benefits of an eternally secure salvation. [2]

These evangelicals evidently believe that salvation is not deliverance from the power of sin because they believe a “carnal Christian”, who obviously succumbs to the power of sin throughout their lives, is saved.

So what is salvation?  Is it deliverance from the power of sin (a process that will take our entire lives) or is it deliverance from the consequences of sin (eternal punishment in hell)?  Is salvation a new life God has planned for us, a new life that is evidenced by a change in our actions or is it a “get out of jail (hell) free card that we get when we, at one point in our lives, admit our faults and profess faith in Christ?

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[1]   Timothy McDermott, editor, St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiæ, Norte Dame, IN:  Christian Classics, 1989, p. 255.

[2]   Dictionary of Christianity in America, edited by Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Bruce L. Shelley and Harry S. Stout. © 1990 by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.