If salvation was really a choice that God left up to us, we’d have to start rewriting a number of famous hymns, perhaps starting with these two: Amazing Grace Amazing grace! How sweet the soundThat gave the choice to me!Though once lost, chose to be found,Was blind, but chose to see. How Hard You Tried… Continue reading “Free will” hymns
Category: Free will
Congratulations on your salvation!
You did it! You made the right choice! The smart choice! The wise choice! The humble choice! The choice that ensured your salvation! So congratulations on your salvation! Now you get to go to heaven, unlike the majority of people out there, who are going to suffer in fire for eternity instead because they haven’t… Continue reading Congratulations on your salvation!
Everything necessary to be saved
“He’s already done everything necessary for you and me to be saved,” I heard a street preacher say once again today. You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but it never ceases to be weird to hear “evangelists” say things they don’t believe. And it’s even weirder to know that they don’t realize… Continue reading Everything necessary to be saved
Are you preaching religion or are you proclaiming the Gospel?
“We’re not preaching religion,” the street preacher said. “Religion makes you self-righteous.” He was correct that religion can make you very self-righteous. When someone believes they’ve been saved because of their religion or because of some religious act or acts they’ve performed, it means they believe it was something inherent within themselves that was responsible… Continue reading Are you preaching religion or are you proclaiming the Gospel?
That’s just too easy
“So you’re saying I can be saved without having to do anything myself?” the bystander asked the street preacher. “There isn’t anything we have to contribute to our salvation? We don’t even have to choose to be baptized in water and we can still be saved?” “That’s right,” the street preacher replied. “As He died… Continue reading That’s just too easy
The salvation equation
Most evangelical Christians claim that the salvation equation is: Jesus + nothing = everythingJesus + sinner’s contribution = nothing However, if you pay close attention to what they’re actually teaching, it becomes clear that what they actually believe is: Jesus + nothing = nothingJesus + sinner’s contribution = everything Now, the sinner’s contribution can be… Continue reading The salvation equation
Beyond “free will”
I’ve begun to conclude that the whole concept of “free will,” particularly in discussions about soteriology, is simply an unnecessary distraction from the truth, and that it might be time to leave the phrase out of such discussions altogether in order to focus on what really matters. While believers within the body of Christ know… Continue reading Beyond “free will”
Having to choose to have faith is salvation by works
Most Christians believe that they can choose to believe the Gospel on their own, and in fact believe that one’s choice determines where they will spend eternity. The problem is, this idea is essentially salvation by works or salvation by self, and is really nothing more than humanism dressed up in religious garb. Yes, the… Continue reading Having to choose to have faith is salvation by works
Is God a gentleman?
“But God won’t force people to go to heaven to live with Him against their will,” he said when he found out I believed in Universal Reconciliation. “Forcing someone to do something against their will is called rape, and God wouldn’t do that.” “I should probably point out that I’m not saying He’ll let them… Continue reading Is God a gentleman?
Salvation by superiority
I’ve written about some of the street preachers of downtown Toronto before (see here and here), but I came across some of them again yesterday while on a walk, and once again the duplicity of the words they preached jumped out at me (although I believe they almost certainly had no idea how deceptive what they… Continue reading Salvation by superiority