REFORMED WITNESS
Volume X, July 2002, Number 7
Faith and Salvation
By Cornelius Hanko. From the August 1, 1987 issue of The Standard Bearer
Cornelius Hanko is a pastor emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches.See more articles by this author
The holy Scriptures teach us that salvation is by faith, and by faith alone. Of Abraham, the father of believers, it is said, "And he believed in the Lord: and he [the Lord] counted it to him for righteousness," Genesis 15:6. Jesus assured us, "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," John 3:36. Paul and Silas declare to the Philippian jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," Acts 16:31.
It is almost universally proclaimed and accepted today, that salvation is from the Lord, but each individual must accept by his own free will the salvation that is offered to him in the gospel. Without a personal acceptance by his own free will he cannot be saved. God is willing, it is said, to have all men saved, but this is impossible without man's acceptance. One minister wrote, "In John 3:16, where it is said, 'For God so loved ......., that he gave his only begotten Son,' you can write your name there, regardless of who or what you are." Or as another preacher put it, "There are enough seats about the table of the wedding feast of the lamb for every man, women, and child that ever lived upon the earth. If your place is empty, it is only because of you." Christ is standing at the door of your heart, so it is said, knocking, waiting, pleading to enter in, but the knob is on the inside, and only you can open the door. A mere sigh, some small expression of willingness is all that is necessary. But that is necessary on our part, without which God cannot save us.
It is hard to understand that those who love God can embrace such a God-dishonoring, Christ-degrading heresy. It is difficult to comprehend that anyone who knows his own sinful, rebellious heart, his stubborn nature, and his daily inclination to hate God and his neighbor, will assume that he of his own free will accepted Christ as his Savior. And it is equally hard to realize that those who profess from the heart that they love the Scriptures and the Reformed truth as expressed in the Five Points of Calvinism can adhere to a philosophy that God's love and desire can be frustrated by mere man, and that some of those for whom Christ died do resist the work of the Holy Spirit, or fail to persevere in the salvation merited for them.
The fact is that those who maintain that their salvation depends in part on their acceptance or upon their persevering unto the end, must always doubt, ever lacking the true assurance of faith. Either they may wonder whether they were really sincere when they accepted Christ as their Savior, or they must fear that the time might still come that they will fall away. The Canons state in V. 8, that if our perseverance in any way depended upon us, our backsliding would not only be likely, but would certainly happen. A Pelagian or an Arminian can never be assured of his salvation for the simple reason that a part of that salvation depends upon his faith. As is often said, a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. He may boast that he is saved by grace, but that boast can only rest in the hope that God will accept his "faith" as genuine and worthy of salvation. Paul on the other hand declares in no uncertain terms in Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
Let us take a closer look at this important passage of Scripture for a moment.
The 'for' refers back to the previous verse, where we are told that God wills to show the exceeding (the super-abundant) riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. God is the God of all grace. He Himself is the very essence of all that is beautiful, attractive, appealing. He is the God of infinite perfections, the ever blessed, adorable One. He reveals all His beauties and splendors in His favor to His people, His family, chosen unto Himself in Christ Jesus. He bestows the overflowing abundance of His grace in kindness upon such most unworthy and hopelessly lost wretches as we are. He changes children of Satan into sons and daughters, in His likeness to show forth His glory forever.
For by grace are ye saved! Our entire salvation is of God, through Him, and unto Him from eternity to eternity. "For whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified," Romans 8:29, 30. The past tense is used in each case, showing that with God all our salvation is complete in Christ, in no wise dependent upon us.
By grace are ye saved. In the first three verses of this chapter Paul reminds us of the horrible death that held us in bondage. "You who were dead in trespasses and sins." We were not like a lifeless corpse that does not stir, but we were dead in trespasses and sins. In all our desires, thoughts, words, and deeds we could only sin, ever increasing the measure of our sin and guilt. Our will was perverted, so that as enemies of God we despised all that was holy and took keen delight in transgressing God's commandments. We were like a child who is told not to do a certain thing, and therefore deliberately does it. Our minds were darkened, for we called good evil, and right wrong. All our words and deeds gave expression to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life that controlled our whole life.
We were children of wrath, even as the world round about us. The curse that rested upon Adam and his posterity also rested on us. In that respect we were no better than those who perish in their sins. We were sold under sin, in ourselves hopelessly lost.
But God! There centers our only hope of salvation. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us (notice the strong emphasis on God's love), even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," Ephesians 2:4-6. No, God did not love us as sinners. How can he love sinners and yet visit them with His wrath and cast them into hell? But God did love us in Christ, even when we were still sinners, so that Christ died for us when we were in our sins. God regards us eternally in Christ, as members of His body. We belonged to Him even when He groveled in Gethsemane, suffered and died on the cross. Our Communion Form states that we atoned for our sins in Christ, so completely as if we had borne the guilt in our own flesh. Therefore, when He arose, we arose in Him and were exalted to heaven in Him. Again, the emphasis falls on Christ's accomplished work that not only makes salvation possible, but actually saves!
Thus we are saved through faith. Faith is the living bond that unites us to Christ whereby we become conscious partakers of Christ and of all His benefits. Faith is the power line through which the Holy Spirit bestows on us the blessings of salvation, and whereby we appropriate unto ourselves these spiritual blessings in intimate communion of life with our God. Scripture uses the figure of the vine and its branches, for the branches bear fruit only as drawing life from the vine, John 15:1-4. "Without me," Jesus says, "ye can do nothing."
But the objector raises the question: Does not man believe? Did Paul not say to the Philippian jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved?" Acts 16:31. And did not Jesus say to the father of the demoniac, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth,'' Mark 9:23.
To that the fathers answered in the Canons of Dordt, III, IV Head of Doctrine, Article 14:
Faith is therefore to be considered as the gift of God, not on account of its being offered by God to man, to be accepted or rejected at his pleasure; but because it is in reality conferred, breathed, and infused into him.
That is explicit language. Faith is conferred, breathed, and infused into us. This, therefore, takes place at the moment of regeneration. The Holy Spirit implants in us the life of the risen Christ, whereby we become new creatures, capable of knowing that which is spiritual, heavenly, and eternal.
The objection is also raised that God gives the power or ability to believe, but we must still perform the act of believing. The activity is ours, a condition, or requisite unto salvation. To that the fathers answer in the same article, continuing:
Or even because God bestows the power or ability to believe, and then expects that man should by the exercise of his own free will, consent to the terms of salvation, and actually believe in Christ; but because he who works in man both to will and to do, and indeed all things in all, produces both the will to believe, and the act of believing also.
Returning now to the Philippian jailer - why then does Paul say: Believe and thou shalt be saved? The answer is that the Holy Spirit by the means of the Word arouses in him a conscious faith. He must have heard Paul preach, and that Word now becomes a power unto salvation by the operation of the Spirit in the jailer's heart. That was also the experience of the father of the demoniac, who burst forth in conscious assurance, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief."
The objection is raised, does this not leave a person like a stock and a block? Does this doctrine not make one careless and profane, taking the attitude, "If God will save me, I will be saved, but I can do nothing about it?" Never may we lay the blame of our unbelief upon God or the holy Scriptures. Nor may we in any way minimize the power of God in completely controlling our lives, and yet at the same time holding us responsible. "Who art thou, mere speck of dust, that repliest against God?" Romans 9:20. The sovereign God is able to control our lives in their minutest detail, and yet cause us to remain responsible as rational, moral creatures.
Let us consider something of a different nature, yet which still implies God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. Two young people are drawn to each other, are united in the bond of love, so that they vow to be faithful to each other as long as they live. This was their choice and desire. Yet, God had eternally planned this union, even as God brings to every man his own wife (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6). God is able to carry out His eternal counsel through the thoughts and deeds of all mankind. God is sovereign, and we remain responsible.
In that same way God carries out His plan in condemning the reprobate who dies in his sins, and in saving His elect through a conscious faith, which God works in us. Not faith is first, but regeneration. As new creatures in Christ we can say: I believe, and thereby also experience the joys of salvation in Christ Jesus.
That only increases the wonder: Saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of our sovereign God. To Him be the glory forever, world without end!
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