TSW ~ E.W. King: Salvation, an act of God

Salvation, an act of God

By Eric William King

Today we hear many preachers say that; “You must accept Jesus Christ or be lost.” In one sense this is true but to really understand salvation you must understand that it is a complete work of God. In the fourth century the Christian church delt with the heretic Pelagius who taught that man has just enough good in him to choose God and love God correctly by himself…minus the Holy Spirit. He taught that after you accept God then God may do the rest.

Many Christian churches or “denominations” do not understand properly the doctrine of Original Sin. Original sin as taught in Scripture teaches that not even mans own will can properly accept Jesus Christ as savior. The Bible teaches that man is “spiritually dead”…and dead means dead. The whole man is lost, not just partially lost.

So the only way to truly be saved is by God. Man has free-will in basic decision making throughout his life regarding mundane things. We make decisions and choices every day. Regarding spiritual things man is dead. To truly understand spiritual things properly one must have the Holy Spirit’s revelation given to him or her. “However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1^st Corinthians 2:9,10 )

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1^st Corinthians 2:14)

The Bible does not teach that it is the human “will” that accepts Christ. This is difficult for many of the fallen denominations to understand. Those “reformed” churches that came after St Martin Luther’s reformation became lost in too much human reason and logic. They tried to explain the mysteries of God’s work through human understanding to the point that they lost touch with simple and true Faith (Sola Fide)

One must hear the message of the true Gospel in order to come to Jesus Christ. Also, the Holy Spirit must call one unto contrition and true repentance. The Bible states that faith comes through hearing the Word of God and the call of the Holy Spirit. These are the two means through which one is called unto salvation, the Word and the Holy Spirit.

Actually, ones acceptance of Jesus Christ as his or her Lord, God, and Savior is a secondary act to the call from God Himself. First it is God’s act to call and save…if one has been given the true gift of faith he or she responds with acceptance. This process of salvation in and of itself is a mystery of God.

The Holy Spirit does not come to us by the use of our fallen will. The Holy Spirit comes to us purely as a GIFT from God. One who is called may feel the “tug” from the Holy Spirit and if truly called will indeed accept the gift of salvation. It is always my hope that those who visit here begin to feel the tug and accept through the gift of faith our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

I have to admit that whenever I share the Gospel I hope that the person that I am sharing it with truly feels the love of God or what I call “the tug” but ultimately true conversion and salvation is God’s complete work minus our feelings. Salvation is a complete and supernatural work of God minus us.

This is so difficult for us in our fallen human pride to accept let alone try to comprehend. When one truly begins to know that they are saved he or she cannot help but say a thankful prayer in response. So I have offered what I have witnessed as prayers in others who have come to this accurate knowledge of the Truth in order to help explain but I myself must realize that feelings have nothing to do with true conversion.

Resting in Jesus Christ,

Eric William King (April 21^st 2020)

St. Martin Luther

"Regarding the Doctrine of Election"

"...whoever does not deny himself and does not learn to keep his thoughts in subjection to the divine will, never will find an answer to his questions. And that rightly so, for the foolish wisdom of the flesh exalts itself above God and judges his will, just as though this were of little importance... For this reason the Apostle refutes all objections with two brief statements [Rom 9:20 and 21].The third thought is that this doctrine is indeed most bitter to the wisdom of the flesh... But [the flesh] is fully defeated when we learn to know that our salvation rests in no wise upon ourselves and our conduct, but is founded solely upon what is outside us, namely, on God's election. Those who have the wisdom of the Spirit become ineffably happy through this doctrine...If one fears that he is not elected or is otherwise troubled about his election, he should be thankful that he has such fear, for then he should surely know that God cannot lie when in Psalm 51:17 He says: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Thus [the fearful] should cheerfully cast himself on the faithfulness of God who gives this promise... It is not the characteristic of reprobates to tremble at the secret counsel of God; but that is the characteristic of the elect." ~ Martin Luther