On Salvation

While browsing Vindicated: The Amazing Blog of Kyle Potter I found some comments concerning salvation. Specifically, a couple of comments to a post dealt with the question: “What is salvation?” Of course we all know that there are myriad ideas concerning this ever important concept. We have all heard the familiar slogans: sola fide, sola gratia, “no salvation outside the church”…just to name a few.

As I was raised as a Southern Baptist from childhood, let us first discuss the common Protestant Evangelical doctrine of salvation. St. Paul said that salvation was not due to our own works or merit, but by grace through faith [in Christ Jesus]. He also said that, in order that we could not boast on any level that we had any hand in our own salvation, that faith, which brings God’s grace to us, is a gift from Him. Let’s break this down a bit. Salvation (deliverance, rescue, recovery, escape) is a result of [undeserved] grace (kindness, favor, mercy, charity…) made possible by our faith (trust, reliance, belief, devotion, loyalty)[in Christ], which is given as a gift from God. Basically, it is all God’s doing. We cannot even boast that the required faith is of ourselves. So, if we can’t even be counted upon to provide faith for our own salvation, how can anything else we could possibly do contribute in any way toward our salvation? I am at a loss as to how that could be accomplished. Also, let me say that I agree with this, as far as it goes anyway.

Most Protestant Evangelicals stop just there. In fact, that is precisely where I stopped when I was approximately twelve years old. This is how it went for me: I was sitting in the pew in Sunday worship, listening to the pastor’s sermon. At the end of his sermon, just as every other sermon, there was an “altar call.” For those who have no idea what that means, in the church where I grew up, this meant that the piano and organ would play and the congregation would sing a hymn while the pastor pled with any and all for them to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior by reciting a prayer and walking forward to make a profession of faith. This particular Sunday, I felt more than heard that still, small voice calling me. I prayed that prayer, asked God to forgive me of my sins, and, with tears in my eyes, walked to where the pastor was standing just below the pulpit. There was the announcement that I had become a child of God, there was much shaking of hands, the proud parents were called to stand with me, and I was baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity by full emersion at the following Wednesday-night service. It was at this point, as stated earlier, that my growth in the kingdom of God ceased.

While I called myself a “born again Christian”, there was nothing in my life to show this. In answer to that famous question, there was not enough evidence in my life for a court to convict me of being a Christian. This brings me to another question: What does it mean to be “born again”? In the tradition of the church catholic, it is believed that one is born again at baptism. It is through this sacrament that grace is imputed to the baptized from the Holy Ghost. It symbolizes our identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord in that we die to sin, are “buried” under the water, and are raised up as new creatures in Christ. But what if there is more?

Our Lord said that if our righteousness is not greater than that of the Pharisees, we will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. What does that mean, considering that the Pharisees were known as the most righteous people on earth? It was their sole ambition in life to keep the Law perfectly…they were legalists. What’s more, their righteousness was not enough. How could one be more righteous than a person who lives a lifestyle of righteousness? Evangelical theologians have used this to support the idea of sola gratia, grace alone. If in order to be saved one must be more righteous than the most righteous people on earth, there is no way for any to be saved…except. Except that upon our acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord, we receive and are covered by His righteousness. This is a grand thought, that He loves us so much that He, knowing that we cannot do it ourselves, does it for us. He knows that we do not have enough righteousness of our own, so He gives us His. But what if there is yet more?

What if the “our righteousness” means just that…not His righteousness? What if He meant that, after being born again, we receive the grace to have that righteousness? Or if you do not like that one, try this: The Pharisees’ righteousness was for their own sakes. While they may have begun with proper intentions, by the time of our Lord’s earthly ministry they did it for the recognition it brought them. What if God gives us the grace to seek righteousness for His sake? That would make our righteousness greater than the Pharisees’. Or would it? What if it is a combination of both?

We know that we are saved by grace and that works play no part in our salvation in that works do not save us. However, there is too much mention of works for there to be no connection. Our Lord said that those who love Him will keep His commandments. Love denotes faith, which would mean that faith requires action in keeping the commandments of Jesus. He said that he would separate the sheep from the goats according to their works. James (for our Roman Catholic friends) said that “faith without works is dead”. These are just a few of the references to the necessity of good works in relation to salvation. Are good works required for salvation? Not according to St. Paul, but St. Paul's writings agree with the others that they, good works, are required of the saved.

Finally, in case you are wondering after all of this questioning on my part, I am in total agreement with St. Paul. We are saved by grace through faith to do good works. As to the question of righteousness, I know without doubt that I am wholly incapable of righteousness without the grace of God. I believe that what makes our righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees is the fact that by the grace of God our quest for righteousness is for His sake and not our own, which makes us to strive for more. I believe that our good works are part of that righteousness, and that God works through our deeds to bring others to Himself. Do I think that these works, this “social gospel”, are a substitute for the True Gospel as some would have us believe? Heaven forbid! Lest we forget that one of the commandments of our Lord was to preach the Gospel. And as for my over use of the very Protestant term “acceptance”, I firmly believe that a conscious decision of acceptance must be made. Remember I said that faith requires action? Just as we are given the opportunity to decide not to accept the gift, we are required to decide to accept the gift if we are to see the kingdom of God. I found in my own experience that, just as I made that choice in the Baptist church of my youth, I choose everyday to follow the path set before me by our Lord. I choose to seek His face instead of the face of the world. I choose to strive for righteousness for His sake. I choose Him because He chose me. Amen.