StudyGrowKnow

Let Confusion Reign?

October 15, 2026 at 2:43 PM Leave a comment

If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that all of us believers have our own peculiarities and viewpoints when it comes to understanding God’s Word. Sadly, many beliefs often come from simply not being educated enough in His Word. The problem with that has to do with the amount of time we spend studying His Word and whether or not we are reading into His Word (eisegesis), or pulling from it (exegesis). Most of us have probably at one time or another, chosen to believe something about God’s Word based on how we feel about it, not based on whether or not the concept we’ve adopted is actually Scripturally truthful. It can happen to any of us.

For the past few months, I’ve been reading and studying the viewpoint of grace as it connects with becoming a believer and as it continues into our sanctification. Yet, the amount of vitriol in just this one issue is absolutely astounding to me. Those within the Reformed camp use pejoratives (like “easy believism”), in their effort to denigrate those within the Classical Grace camp. They might also say that the Classical Grace view is simply intellectual assent, versus actual faith.

It’s all about how a person comes to see Jesus. Is Jesus who He says He is? Did He do for us what we have absolutely no capacity to do for ourselves? If we say “yes” to these things, then it should be clear that the person has come to faith in Jesus or is about to. This is the example in the New Testament time and time again. A person’s spiritual eyes are open to the truth of Jesus and they embrace that truth. Leave it to God to make it that simple since He wants no one to perish and all come to repentance. Even so, the waters have been seriously muddied with the addition of many things that, though they have a place in our sanctification, do not determine whether or not we are authentically saved.

While most within the Reformed camp will acknowledge that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, these same individuals, while discussing our sanctification, will nuance things to the nth degree. In fact, it seems that the more confusing things get, the more “spiritual” it seems to become. If you question your salvation and generally feel as though you are not saved, you probably are saved, according to LS folks. So much for “living waters” flowing up from within.

So while they seem to agree with the free grace position in relation to our salvation, LS folks will also just as vociferously state that our “works” are most definitely part of the salvation/sanctification equation and they must be seen as evidence of salvation. They note that if a believer is not exhibiting any sort of “good works” in his/her life, chances are great that they’ve either seriously backslidden or they don’t actually possess true salvation in the first place. Bear in mind though, all of this is judged completely by externals. If good works are not visibly seen, permission is given to question or even deny that person’s salvation.

Let’s look at an example from Scripture that is seen differently with respect to the Lordship Salvation camp and the Classical Grace camp. Turn to Luke 19:1–10 and let’s see what happens there. I’m sure you’re familiar with the story, but let’s go over some details.

In the narrative, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was in town (Jericho), and his interest was piqued. He ran to where the crowds were and tried to see Jesus, but he was a short guy and couldn’t see through the throngs of people. So, he actually climbed a tree to get a good view of our Lord as He passed by beneath.

It was at this point that Jesus looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (v5b) Apparently, this overjoyed Zacchaeus and the text says, he rushed down (from the tree) and “received Him joyfully” (v6). It is interesting what follows. Apparently, “the people” all complained that Jesus was actually going into the house of a “sinner” (Zacchaeus). Oh horrors! My take is the people who complained were likely the religious leaders who seemed to follow Jesus around just to find something to complain about, wherever He went. I guess they had nothing better to do…

Zacchaeus’ response to Jesus is fascinating and this is where the Lordship Salvation camp takes it as a prooftext for their particular point about external works.

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” (v8)

It was at this point in Jesus’ reply that He states, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (vv9-10)

The problem here is that Zacchaeus appears to point to what he is willing to do, if he had actually done wrong, which makes those within the Lordship Salvation camp say, “See? True salvation prompts good works that can be seen by others!” They’d have a point if something else was not true. Of course, as a Jewish man, Zacchaeus was still living under the terms of the Old Testament covenant with God (until Jesus actually died and rose again, replacing the old covenant with the new), but this proves that he had a “change of mind” about Jesus.

Zacchaeus was quite possibly already recently a believer in who Jesus was because he longingly chased after Him when he learned Jesus was in town. To Zacchaeus, Jesus wasn’t simply some curiosity. He was clearly much more than that and he wanted to know Jesus better.

It seems that somewhere along the line, Zacchaeus’ life was changed so drastically by his literal change of mind (metanoia), where Jesus was concerned, that it practically affected his life. How did Zacchaeus hear about Jesus? When was that? We don’t know. Also note that Jesus said this to Zacchaeus, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham…‘” Was Jesus talking about Himself actually being “salvation,” was He talking about what Zacchaeus received or both? After all, Jesus is our salvation, isn’t He?

Because of Zacchaeus’ attitude and newfound outlook, all based on his then current view of who Jesus was, Zacchaeus was willing to right all wrongs that he might have committed. There is no indication from the text that he actually did any of the things he said he would do, which may mean he had not done anything wrong.

Lordship Salvation folks come along and point to this situation as a prooftext for their view that external works are not only important but absolutely necessary to cement the deal so to speak with respect to salvation and sanctification that follows. Is it possible that people who are saved might react as Zacchaeus did, with joy and a determination to do what is right? Yes, absolutely, but not everyone who becomes a Christian necessarily reacts like that.

Last night, the pastor of a local church taught a lesson on repentance as it is used in the Old Testament versus the way it is used in the New Testament. It was a fascinating study. In essence, Israel was a nation that God raised up and that first generation of Israel’s leaders entered into an agreement with God on the Mount. Essentially, the people agreed that everything God had said, they would do. From that point onward, God had every right to discipline and chastise that nation when they went astray because they failed to keep their word regarding the covenant they made with God. This is true of any legally binding agreement between two parties. Try not paying your mortgage for a while to see what happens.

The word repent as used in the Old Testament is far different from the same English word(s) used in the New Testament. While the two Hebrew words most used in the Old Testament (shub and niham) can mean either “a return to something previously held” or “to be remorseful or sorrowful over wrong actions,” the word mostly used in the New Testament is metanoia, which simply means a “change of mind” about something. This may or may not include an emotional response.

So with Israel, they had entered a covenant relationship with God. When they broke that covenant by going astray, God had every right to chastise them and send things their way that were designed to cause them to turn around back toward Him. The agreement between Israel and God was that they would keep the Law as provided to them through Moses. It is important to understand that no one was ever saved by keeping the Law because no one (except Jesus), could keep it perfectly. Had any other human being apart from Jesus been able to keep the Law perfectly, they would have been saved. But Paul makes this very clear in Romans alone that it is impossible for us to keep all points of the Law all the time. The Law never saved anyone, but that was the covenant Israel entered into with God. It was how Israelites were to approach God. That does not apply to Christians or the Church today. We approach God through Jesus, not the Law.

For unbelievers today (who might eventually become believers), they are not in any type of covenant with God at all. If He chooses to open their eyes to the truth about Jesus and what He has accomplished for them/us, and they see that truth and have a “change of mind” about Jesus, henceforth forever seeing Him as Savior of humanity, they then receive salvation, which includes eternal life and the assurance of it. The new believer becomes adopted into God’s family, which cannot be undone.

When Israel strayed from obeying the Law, they reaped the consequences of their failure to live up to that covenant. With unbelievers who have not entered into a covenant with God, but one day they realize their need for a Savior and come to understand that Jesus is that Savior, they receive the free gift eternal life. They did no work to earn it. They can do nothing to maintain it either. Absolutely, believers should cooperate with His work in our lives, but to not cooperate does not mean we either do not have salvation or we have somehow lost it. If I disobey my earthly father, I do not stop being his actual son.

To sum up, in the OT, Israelites returned to a right relationship with God by keeping the Law. Again, this did not save them at all! What saved them was when they believed God and it was counted to them as righteousness (Noah, Abraham, etc.). This is the exact same thing that saves us today, our faith in God in Christ and what He accomplished on our behalf. He died so that we do not have to face eternal condemnation. Believing in His life and work on our behalf (and His keeping the Law at all points perfectly), is what makes salvation possible for us  at all.

Because there are so many weeds if you will being taught to people within Christendom today that get in the way of the actual Gospel message, new believers are often frustrated not long after they come to realize who Jesus is and what He accomplished for them! These additions to the Gospel rob people of their newfound joy in Christ. They begin to see a certain amount of drudgery within Christendom and if they don’t measure up along the way, they will lose any assurance they have gained they believe. But salvation can never be lost.

If Satan cannot keep someone from receiving salvation, he will often keep them from understanding and appreciating the salvation they have received. Satan wants believers feeling defeated and incapable of living a life that glorifies God. He wants believers to be overwhelmed by life’s circumstances so that they fail to grow and actually go backwards. If he can steal a person’s assurance, he is well on his way to that. Believers may even come to a point where they believe they are not Christians at all and may never have been.

This is why Paul and other NT writers stress the need for believers to be encouragers and prayer warriors for other believers. We need to learn to build one another up and help believers focus on the truth of their standing before God since we have a new identity in Christ. As believers focus more and more on the truth of their new identity in Christ, this truth will extinguish  the darts of the enemy. It is truth through faith that dispels the enemy’s fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).

Salvation, for those who see it for what it is, grants us eternal life and assurance of salvation. Satan will do anything to keep us from understanding that we actually have assurance of the faith. He does this by adding to salvation many works that are emphasized to make us think that if we simply keep our eyes on ourselves and our works, we will gain the assurance we seek. The opposite happens. However, once we understand who Jesus is, what He has accomplished for us and the fact that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39), this in and of itself provides the assurance we gain when we receive salvation. We may need to keep going back to that truth repeatedly.

If you do not have assurance but you do believe you have salvation, the problem may be that you do not understand what salvation has provided for you. You might mistakenly believe that it is your external and ongoing works that provide the assurance you seek. Yet, you know you fail at external works and it becomes a terrible barometer for assurance because God never meant us to focus on our works at all as any type of gauge of our spiritual condition. People can do all sorts of “good” works with improper motives, but their works look good.

If salvation is a totally free and unearned gift, it makes sense that assurance is included in that transaction. It could very well be that Satan has been busy causing you to think that something more is needed, which it is not. Please don’t get me wrong…all believers should pursue good works, but this is not for our salvation or to prove we are saved. It is the result of our salvation and should come naturally, just as it did with Zacchaeus.

Entry filed under: christianity, Emotional virtue, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, sanctification.