Is Materialism Eating our Souls? / Two-phase salvation / Was Jesus Soft on Sin?

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Two-phase Salvation

What does it take to become (and remain) a faithful follower of Christ? Many in the Christian world reject the place of “works” in our salvation, while others base their entire religion on their good deeds.

There is truth in both positions. What I will suggest today will sound strange to most evangelicals. It may make others uneasy, striking them as too “soft.” In brief, this is my understanding of “two-phase” salvation:

• Nothing is required of us before baptism, apart from faith (a new disposition towards God) and repentance (a decision to trust the Lord). There’s no need to “jump through hoops,” make a dozen personal changes, or so align our lives with Christ’s commands that nothing remains to change once we received the Spirit. In short, we are not initially saved by works.

• In baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16) we have received forgiveness for all past sins—not future ones. (I realize that this view conflicts with “Once saved, always saved,” a doctrine originating in Gnosticism and coming into some parts of the church some four centuries after Christ.)

• Once we are in Christ, cleansing continues as we walk in the light and confess our sins. (Presumably this means confession to God; James 5:16 is not confession for absolution.) “If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin… If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9).

• Although works are not required for initial salvation, the second phase of salvation is a life of faithfulness.

• Ignatius (c. AD 105): “The beginning is faith, but the end is love… No man who confesses faith will sin. Likewise, no one who possesses love hates anyone. The tree is made manifest by its fruit. So those who profess themselves to be Christians will be recognized by their conduct… It is better for a man to be silent and be [a Christian], than to talk and not be one.”

• 2 Clement (140): “Therefore, brothers, by doing the will of the Father, keeping the flesh holy, and following the commandments of the Lord, we will obtain eternal life.”

• Hermas (150): “Only those who fear the Lord and keep his commandments have life with God. As for those who do not keep his commandments, there is no life in them.”

• Justin Martyr (160): “Each man goes to everlasting punishment or salvation according to the value of his works.”

• Athenagoras (170): “In accordance with justice, each one will receive what he has done in the body, whether it is good or bad.”

• Clement of Alexandria (195): “God gives forgiveness of past sins, However, as to future sins, each one procures forgiveness for himself. He does this by repenting, by condemning the deeds he has done, and by imploring the Father to blot them out.”

• Clement of Alexandria (195): “When we hear, ‘Your faith has saved you,’ we do not understand him to say absolutely that those who have believed in any way whatever will be saved. For works must also follow.”

• Clement of Alexandria (195): “It is well-pleasing to him that we should be saved. And salvation comes through both knowledge and good works.”

• Tertullian (200): “Some think that God is under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy what he has promised [to give]. So they turn his liberality into his slavery… For do not many afterwards fall way? Is not this gift taken away from many? These, no doubt, are those who… after coming to the faith if repentance, build on the sands a house doomed to ruin.”

• Tertullian (200): “No one is a Christian but he who perseveres all the way to the end.”

• Hippolytus (205): “In administering the righteous judgment of the Father to everyone, Christ assigns to each person what is just according to his works. Those who have done good will be justly assigned eternal bliss. To the lovers of wickedness, there will be given eternal punishment.”

• Origen (230): “No one receives pardon of sins so that he may think he has been given the license to sin again. For pardon is given for past sins, not future ones.” 

• Novatian (235): “Whoever is willing to follow Christ and to be his disciple will obtain the reward of being able to see the Father.”

• Cyprian (250): “The person who follows Christ is he who continues in his commandments, who walks in the way of his teaching, who follows his footsteps and his ways, and who imitates the things that Christ both did and taught… To put on the name of Christ, and yet not to go in the way of Christ—what else is this but a mockery of the divine name! It is a desertion of the way of salvation. For he himself teaches and says that those who keep his commandments will come into life [Matt 19.17].”

• Cyprian (250): “[Jesus says] Depart from me, you workers of iniquity’ [Luke 13.27]. So there is need of righteousness, that one may deserve well of God the judge. We must obey his teachings and warnings, to that our merits may receive their reward.”

• Ambrosiaster (370): “Those who seek eternal life are not merely those who believe correctly, but those who live correctly as well.”

• Apostolic Constitutions (390): “If anyone follows unrighteousness and does those things that are contrary to the will of God—such a person will be considered by God the same as the disobedient unbeliever.”

• Theodoret (450): “We will be judged based on our works. Therefore, after our baptism, we need to patiently persevere in good works. It is not sufficient to haphazardly do righteous deeds. Rather, the eternal blessings are reserved for those who are willing to undergo the difficulties of walking with God throughout their lives. To be sure, judgment does not come on those who struggle with sin and are occasionally overcome by it. Rather, Paul speaks of those who are ‘contentious,’ fighting against God and pursuing sin.” 

One patristics scholar summarizes, “Works play no role in our initial salvation. However, God requires us to walk faithfully and obediently with him once we have been saved. God does not require perfection, only faithfulness. Our ultimate salvation will turn not only on our faith, but also our godly fruit or works.” – David Berçot

There is no exception to this teaching among pre-Augustinian Christians, unless we count the Gnostics. [Augustine lived 354-430.] None of these men taught that we have to do righteous works before we are saved, but all taught that a faithful, obedient life is essential once we are saved. The early Christians readily grasped this fact. Irenaeus (160) writes, in words that will feel alien to most Protestants, “In the exercise of his grace, Christ shall confer immortality on those who are righteous, holy, and who have kept his commandments and have persevered in his love… God confers his gifts upon those who deserve to receive them.”

Can the evil one use the truth to twist us up in knots of guilt and feelings of inadequacy? Of course—he twists the truth in any way he can (John 8:44). Let’s not allow him to deflect us from striving to live an obedient life. We trust in God’s grace and the blood of Christ to cover our failings.

Next week we’ll hear from Martin Luther (1483-1546), a man who vigorously opposed this teaching. This is important because he is widely credited as launching the Protestant Reformation.

Q&A: Was Jesus Soft on Sin?

In John 12:4-6 we learn that Judas Iscariot was keeper of the money bag—and a thief. Jesus and the other disciples must have known this, yet Judas was not challenged to repent, nor was he replaced in his role. Thus, Jesus was tolerating sin among his disciples. If this had become public knowledge, Jesus would have been condemned as a hypocrite for preaching repentance of sin but allowing it among his group. (This one really worries me.) — T.C.

Are you certain that the other disciples knew of Judas’s duplicity? Even “the disciple whom Jesus loved” was unsure of the identity of the traitor (John 13:25-27). Is it unreasonable to suppose that the group were unaware of Judas’s financial improprieties?

As to your question, I wouldn't say that Jesus was "tolerating" sin. The Lord doesn't always deal with sin on the spot or immediately. Some things come out later, and will be dealt with only at the judgement (1 Tim 5:24-25). Our sin will find us out—eventually (Num 32:23). There would be no need to be judged in the body (2 Cor 5:10) if everything were exposed and punished day to day!

Last, we should consider that Jesus was willing to be wronged by Judas. If he hadn't accepted the Father's will, where would you and I be?

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