Expert: Phillip Senn - 2/3/2006

Question
Your belief in Christ dying for all of man's sins is not founded in the Bible.

Why will people go to Hell? Answer: Because the wages of sin is death, and everyone has sin.

Why did Jesus go to the cross? To pay for the sins of some.

Will a person still have to go to Hell if Jesus paid for his sins on the cross? Answer: No, because this would not be consistent with a perfectly just God. Why would God have a person pay for their sins a second time if Christ has already paid for them?

Truth: Christ paid for the sins of the elect. Why would Christ pay for the sins of people He had absolutely no intention to save?

Contrary to what you and many think, we cannot save ourselves by work. The Bible clearly teaches that faith is a work, and that the faith of salvation is the faith of Christ (Galatians 2:15 or 16).

You stated that God cannot force eternal life on anyone, and that He cannot save someone who doesn't initially have faith. This is a works-gospel. What about atheists and Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and babies? What about people who have been in comas their entire life, or people who are mentally slow? How can these people have faith? They can't have faith (or they have faith in false gods).

God can save anyone. He does not require faith on the part of the person to save them. Romans 3: There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that seeketh after God, there is none that understands.

These verses are speaking of unsaved men before they become saved. They have unpaid sin on their spiritual record, so they're unrighteous in God's eyes, they don't seek God in a pleasing way, and they certainly don't understand God or salvation.

Since these verses are true, and since Ephesians 2 speaks about work being unable to save us (faith is work), then it's clear that man is hopeless. Only God can save. The reason why you and others neglect unconditional salvation is because you desperately want to be able to save yourself through your own belief.

But let me tell you, many millions of people believe in their own work for their salvation. But it can't save anyone. What makes us so special that we can get right with God simply by believing? How preposterous. We're all sinners heading to Hell, apart from the grace of God. And that grace is not dependent on anything we do, think, believe, say, or whatever. Work doesn't get us saved. It can't get us saved.
Followup To
Question -
My question is about election. I know that God elected certain ones to salvation. A person I am talking to thinks that our work can somehow contribute to salvation. He seems to think that we can get saved by our faith. He claims that the faith we have in Christ was given to us from God and that it will lead to eternal life.

But I know that this person is wrong. Salvation is not based on faith, it's only based on the grace of God. I quoted John 11 and Ezekiel 37. I'm very frustrated. Please let me know what the story is. Assuming you even believe in election, which I hope you do.
Answer -
John,

May I say that there are several things that you fail to recognize concerning the Lord's salvation.

1. That you have completely determined, before you have listened to other views, that you are absolutely correct in everything you believe concerning salvation. This is exactly the problem that Jesus faced with the Jewish religious leaders in His time.

2. You state that salvation is not based on faith. Scripture says that "by grace you are saved through faith". All of this is a gift of God, not just the faith, nor the grace. The salvation is a gift of God "by grace through faith". That is not works on our part coupled with grace on God's part. The term "grace" means "influence on the heart that is reflected in the life". It comes from the Greek term "charis". It is through "our believing" the promise of Eternal Life through the sacrifice of God's Only Begotten Son that God counts His righteousness to us as righteousness. Eternal Life cannot be granted to someone who does not have faith in the Only Begotten Son of God. If faith were not necessary, God would have to grant Eternal Life to all, without exception. God must influence our heart (that's grace) through our believing the Gospel (that's faith). If we never believe the Gospel, God can have no influence over our heart unto salvation. God does not force Eternal Life upon anyone. Jesus even said to Jerusalem as He wept over it, "...how often WOULD I (His will) have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and YE WOULD NOT(man's will)!"

3. You stated that you quoted 2 passages of Scripture (John 11 and Ezekial 37) to your friend. Many have made very grave errors by basing their whole belief system on just a few passages of Scripture. Scripture says plainly that man "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live".

Perhaps you have closed your mind to other passsages of Scripture that indicate that man must believe the Gospel to be saved? James writes under the inspirition of the Holy Spirit, "...without faith it is impossible to please God".

Lastly, you stated that you assumed that I believe in Election, which you hoped I do. May I assure you that I do believe in the Scriptural doctrine of Election. Notice I said the Scriptural doctrine. There are some that teach a non-Biblical doctrine called "unconditional election". In that they teach that God has predestined some for Heaven and some for Hell. Scripture clearly says that "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentence".

Based upon your closed-mindedness in your question, I am assuming you are not really interested in studying this topic, but were simply seeking someone to give you an answer that agreed with your points, so that you could show it to your friend. That is not the Christian attitude that a believer should have. I pray that your conversation would be that which would show the glory of God.

I sense a sincere desire in you to help others believe what you believe. Unfortunately, that is not what we have been called to do. Our mandate is to go and preach the Gospel (How that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose the third day according to the Scriptures) to all creatures... The results are up to God, who is Sovereign over all of His creation. May we both be steadfast in our faith and in practice sharing that good news to others. May He use us to reach others with that message, without adding all the extras (whether or not one is elect, whether or not they have been baptised correctly or even whether or not they are living their life in a God honoring way). The extras often cause us to separate from brethren that could use a little encouragement. I hope you have received such encouragement from what I have shared with you.

With Love In Christ,
Phillip Senn  

Answer
John,

While you didn't ask a question in your follow-up that seemed to require an answer (you appeared to try and answer them yourself), I am obligated to attempt to share what is in my heart concerning what you wrote.

You stated, "Your belief in Christ dying for all of man's sins is not founded in the Bible". May I offer Scriptural documentation for my belief which is found in 1 John 2:1-2? "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with  the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the  propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

You further stated that people go to Hell "Because the wages of sin is death, and everyone has sin". Jesus said people that have not believed are already condemned. Do you agree that, even after Christ died on the cross, that all that have not yet believed are already condemned? Before you believed the Gospel, were you condemned? Was the faith you had in Christ necessary for your redemption? If not, why do you care whether or not others believe the Gospel? Why do you take time from your busy schedule to seek to assist others in believing the doctrine you espouse? If in fact, faith has no bearing on Eternal Life, then you shouldn't care about what others believe.

You said Jesus went to the cross to die for the sins of some. I haven't ever seen that in Scripture. I noticed you didn't offer any Scripture to support that view, but rather simply offered rhetorical questions to seek to prove your point. You mentioned being saved by the faith of Christ as mentioned in Galations 2:16. Please read that passage again. It says plainly that we have believed in Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Man is not justified by the faith of Christ until he believes on the Son of God.

You seemed to indicate that "atheists and Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and babies" will all be saved even if their faith is in a false God. I cannot accept that babies should be included with those that have confidence in a false God. I believe babies are dealt with differently than those that trust in false gods. You seem to indicate it is all about grace. But you fail to acknowlege that Scripture says, "By grace through faith". It is actually about neither grace nor works nor faith. It is about the death of Christ for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day. We are saved by His work on the Cross of Calvary. It is our responsibility to make sure as many hear that message as possible, for it is through believing that message that they, as well as us, are justified before God, even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him for righteousness.

One of the passages concerning predestination that is often overlooked by those espousing unconditional election is Ephesians 1. The first verses of this passage (vv. 1-11) are often quoted by the "hyper-Calvinists", but the next ones are often left out (vv. 12-14). Notice there must be a hearing of the Gospel (the word of truth) and it must be believed in order that one be sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Otherwise you would have unbelievers being saved, which goes against everything Scripture says. Man's faith does not save him. Christ's atoning work is what saves him. But it is limited to those that believe on His name. The Scriptures make it clear that "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:9-13)

There are some that have not believed the record that God gave of His Son. According to this passage, they make God to be a liar, because they do not believe the record that God gave concerning His Son. If they don't receive the Son, they don't have the Eternal Life that is in the Son. Since man cannot see the Son, He must receive Him by faith (believing the record God gave concerning Him), and when he receives Him by faith, God seals Him with that Holy Spirit of promise unto the day of redemption.

Man must believe what God says concerning Jesus. If he doesn't he is already condemned. If He believes the record God gave of His Son, he has the witness in himself. He can have assurance that God will perform that which He has promised.

Respectfully submitted,
With Love In Christ,
Phillip Senn