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.” (1st
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.” (1st
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 21st 2020)
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