Canuckster wrote:Saving message?
I understand what you are saying but, to be technical, it is the Holy Spirit that regenerates and saves us based upon the finished work of Christ, isn't it?
Aren't we possibly in danger of attributing more to the intellectual belief of the one being saved then upon the actual work of Christ through the spirit?
What is the minimal belief that you believe the Scripture teaches that must intellectually grasped in order for salvation to occur?
Be sure to note that I've never said that salvation is by faith. I've said repeatedly that salvation is by grace, but that grace is applied though faith. The basis of salvation is, of course, the finished work of Christ. However, we do not acquire it based on the finished work, but we acquire it through our faith. The question is simple: what is your faith in? What are you trusting? What are you receiving? Jesus did all the work -- sinless life, death, resurrection, etc. -- so that He could purchase for us redemption. He now offers it to all freely. They simply have to believe in Him for it. The key, however, is that you have you to receive it on His terms. "God saves by grace or not at all," or put another way, "God saves on His terms, not ours." The terms of salvation are this: faith alone. The reason: God will be no man's debtor. Thus, we have to believe the saving message, not our own form of it, to be saved, and again, the saving message is that we can be saved by simply trusting in Jesus for it. Indeed, it is what we must do if we are to be saved.
As far as the question relating to intellectual belief, you have to recognize and understand what you are believing in. You have to believe in Jesus. Belief, of course, requires intellect. It is not, though, our intellect that saves us. It is Christ who saves us. We are simply asked to believe in Him, and if we do that, then He saves us. No more, no less.
Felgar, as to your wording:
Do you trust that Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life, and that his sacrifice on the cross redeems you of your sin, thereby securing your eternity with God?
I do take issue with this. Let me offer a rephrasal:
Do you trust Jesus as the Way, Truth, and Life, and that His sacrifice on the cross has redeemed you of your sin, and therefore your eternity with God is secured?
Now, of chief importance to me is this idea of "secured," but I suppose we can handle that as necessary. But, if a person believes
that, then they have believed the Gospel. However, Catholicism rejects that. Catholicism teaches that you must repent and stay in the faith. It is inherent in their understanding of the term "trust." Additionally, they would take issue with "your eternity with God is secured." They would add, "so long as you maintain this trust." Of course, now you have added a condition that changes the object of faith. The object has gone from Christ's promise to your commitment to His promise. In fact, even further, you have now rejected Christ's promise in it's entirety, which is that the moment we are saved, we are
actually saved, not potentially saved. Christ offers eternal security, not a state of grace. If, then, Christ does not offer a state of grace, then if you are trusting Him for a state of grace, then you have not received what He actually offers, which is salvation.
Again, there are three issues we have to keep in mind with reference to the Gospel:
1. The person offering salvation, which is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God,
2. The condition on which this offer is received, which is faith alone,
3. The nature of the offer, which is eternal security.
Thus, Jesus says in short, "He who believes in Me has everlasting life." John 6:47, NKJV
