The Lord’s Prayer

Last week, an Atheist Under Ur Bed published What Must We Do To Be Saved on AnAtheist.net. In it, he goes through various passages in the New Testament claiming they present contradictory ways to salvation and eternal life.

Matt. 6:12,14-15 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This is not the sinner’s prayer (a prayer of salvation). As such, the theoretical speaker has already believed and been saved. The forgiveness here is not for salvation, but of post-salvation sins for the renewal of fellowship with God. Salvation does not perfect the believer. Believers still sin. Post-salvation sin does not condemn one to hell, but it does disrupt one’s communication with God.

Jesus briefly discussed this principle when he washed the disciples’ feet. When Peter protested, Jesus replied that those who were not washed by Him have no part with Him (they were not saved). Peter then requested a full washing. Jesus replied that someone who had already been washed (saved) does not need to be completely washed again (saved again), but merely to have one’s feet washed. (John 13:6-10)

In writing to the church,, John discusses the mechanics of this process in greater detail in 1 John 1:6-9:

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John declares that sin (walking in darkness) disrupts the believer’s fellowship with God. If we confess our sins (ask the Father to forgive our debts) He will “wash our feet”, cleanse us from unrighteousness, and forgive our debts. However, if one continues to be unforgiving of the slights of others, one has not stopped sinning and the confession is incomplete or false. In that case, “neither will our Father forgive our trespasses” because one’s heart is not right. Therefore, the forgiveness mentioned here is for neither salvation nor eternal life.

Justified by Words

Matt. 12:36-37 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

The passage essentially makes two statements. First, that men shall give an account for every idle word in the day of judgement. Second, that some will be justified and others will be condemned by their words.

Regarding the first statement, each unbeliever will give an account not only for every idle word, but for every work they did at the Great White Throne judgement:

Rev 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Ultimately, because their names are not in the book of life, they will all be condemned because “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) and “there is none righteous” (Rom. 3:10). No person has ever lived a perfect life and therefore no person will be saved by their works.

As for the second statement, the confession of sin and acceptance of Christ’s work, if accompanied by true faith in the heart justifies a person. Similarly, lifelong rejection often accompanied by verbal pronouncements against faith effectively condemns the unbeliever, for He has rejected the one way to justification. As it is written:

Rom 10:8-10 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This passage clearly does not contradict the simple message of the gospel: salvation is through faith in Christ alone. It does not proclaim a secondary path by speaking good words.

Condemnation for Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Mat 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

This also presents no contradiction for scripture. The Spirits ministry is convicting the world of the need for saving faith (John 16:8-12). As a result, those who blaspheme the Spirit are rejecting His message. Because they have rejected the means of salvation, that is, the source of forgiveness, they shall not be forgiven for they have rejected God’s forgiveness.

The Rich Young Ruler

Mat 19:16-22 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

An Atheist misinterprets this passage. Jesus is not telling the young man the way of salvation because that is not what the young man asked. The young man asked not “what must I do” but “what good thing shall I do”. The young ruler has asked how to earn entrance into heaven. Jesus gives the young man three answers. First, he tells the young man that only God is good. This should have informed the young man that the standard was God’s perfection and no man would ever measure up to that standard. This young man apparently ignored this so Jesus continued by pointing him to the Law. The Law was given as a perfect standard. By keeping it, one could earn salvation. However, no person besides Jesus Christ ever fully kept the Law. For those who make think that keeping a bunch of rules would have been possible for at least a few, the standard covered not only deeds, but thoughts:

1 Sam. 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

Mat 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Again the young man does not make the connection. He claims perfection in the keeping of the Law, but he still wants something more to ensure his merit. Jesus then gives him a final command: to give all he had to the poor and follow Jesus. Notice that Jesus prefaces the command with “if thou wilt be perfect”. Jesus is proving the young man’s imperfection to him by giving him something he will not do. This command is not a command given to Christians to follow in order to receive eternal life. It was a proof to a young man that one could not earn eternal life. Rather, the only way to receive eternal life is to accept God’s gift of salvation through the work of Christ. We are imperfect and therefore can not earn eternal life by doing good things.

Therefore, the story of the Rich Young Ruler also does not contradict the message of salvation as An Atheist claims. Instead, it highlights the need of every person for the work of Christ because no one save God is perfect.

Inheriting Eternal Life

Matt. 19:27-29 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Again An Atheist misinterprets the passage. This is right after the dialogue with the Rich Young Ruler. Jesus has declared that it is impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God on his own, but with God his salvation is possible (Matt. 19:23-26). Peter then asks what reward the disciples will receive for the deeds they had done. It is in response to that question that Jesus declares that every one who suffers losses for His name’s sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. Clearly, the assumption Christ is making is that the people in question have received the gift of salvation. By this they receive everlasting life. However, by their deeds (following Christ despite the losses) they shall inherit a hundredfold of what they lost in eternity. Salvation and accompanying eternal life are come free with the gift of salvation. An eternal inheritance, on the other hand, is earned by good works. It is that inheritance which Christ refers to here, not salvation alone.

Baptism

The Athiest then turns to Mark 16:16:

Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Baptism is an important ritual testifying to belief, a good work that we are commanded to perform. However, scripture does not teach that salvation is dependent upon immersion or sprinkling with water in this verse or elsewhere. It is important to note that the second part of the verse lists only lack of faith as leading to damnation. It does not say “but he that believes and is not baptized shall be damned”. Whenever salvation is associated with water baptism, it is always also associated with faith. Faith on the other hand is frequently associated with salvation without baptism.

Mark 16:9-20

An Atheist digresses from pointing out supposed contradicting ways of salvation to briefly claim that Mark 16:9-20 is “a lie”. He makes three arguments:

Only in Mark

This is a tired argument often used by higher critics to attack specific events recorded only in one of the gospels. If I wrote a book about my experiences during my 3 years at Western and someone else wrote a book about the same 3 years, perhaps even attending classes for the same degree, one would not expect our accounts to contain all of the same events. Nor would we claim that an event I wrote about did not occur merely because the other author omitted it. Additionally, if each book contained 100% of the same events and details, one would have a fairly solid case for collusion or perhaps plagiarism by one of the authors. Inclusion in only one gospel is not sufficient proof to reject an event.

Furthermore, the preceding verse, Mark. 16:15 is very similar to the beginning of Matthew 28:19. The exact words differ, but each mentions a commission from Christ to go forth into the world and preach. Matthew even includes a command to baptize them.

Omitted in the “Best” Manuscripts

According to McGee, two manuscripts omit this passage, the Aleph and the Vatican. On this issue, McGee says the following:

The omission of this portion from two of our better manuscripts is not sufficient grounds to remove it from Scripture, especially when all the other manuscripts and uncials contain it. The internal evidence is not enough to dismiss it either as the style is still that of Mark… [1]

Signs shall follow the believers

Finally, the Atheist claims that verses 17-18 are obviously lies because they are not fulfilled today. The Atheist comes to this conclusion by again misinterpreting the passage in an extreme way. According to the Atheist, for this passage to be true, any Christian living today would have to be immune to “arsenic-laced lemonade”.

However, the passage itself does not say that these signs will follow every believer. It merely says that these signs will “follow them that believe” (the group, that is, the church). Scripture itself records many of these signs being fulfilled. In Acts 16:18, Paul cast a devil out of a woman. In Acts 2:4 and in many other places, mention is made of believers speaking in other languages. In Acts 28:3, Paul is bitten by a poison snake and lives. Numerous healings by the apostles are recorded, including the healing of Publius of a fever by Paul (Acts 28:8), healings by the shadow of Peter (Acts 5:15), and healings by things that had touched Paul (Acts 19:12). I do not know of a reference to anyone drinking poison and living in the NT, but that does not mean it did not occur. No time frame is attached to these signs and many scholars conclude that they ended once scripture itself was completed.

The Conversion of Zacchaeus

Luk 19:8-9 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

Again, An Athiest misinterprets the passage. Jesus does not say that Zacchaeus was saved by the works which he declared that he would perform. Salvation is not about us doing something. It’s about faith in what Jesus did. Jesus, seeing his heart, saw that salvation (that is, justification by faith) had come to Zaccheus and his house.

Born Again

John 3:3: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

John 3:5: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 3:15: …whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Because An Athiest provides no analysis regarding the perceived problem here, I can only guess. I suspect his reference is to the difference between this method of salvation (whosoever believes) with the previous supposed ways to gain eternal life. However, as demonstrated again and again above, those alternatives are either references to the faith mentioned here or not true presentations of the way of salvation. Here again we see the true path to salvation, faith in Christ saves us from eternal death and grants us a new birth to eternal life.

Election

An Athiest moves onto Acts and other passages in the NT as well as Psalm 65:4 in the OT which some interpret as declaring that ultimately God simply chooses some to be saved and others to be damned. There is no way for any one to determine their ultimate destiny.

The key to properly understanding the detail of God’s election is found in Romans 8:29-30, which the Atheist cites. It declares:

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.

Notice that predestination is preceded by foreknowledge. The Election of the saved (and consequently others to damnation) is neither random nor merited by works. Election is determined by God’s foreknowledge of an individual’s faith (or lack thereof) in Christ. For a more detailed discussion on this topic, see my recent article on Salvation Mechanics. The ability of men to freely believe in Christ and receive salvation is unfortunately rejected by some believers. I am inclined to agree with An Atheist regarding the depressing implications of rejecting the concept of freewill salvation.

Closing Remarks

An Atheist then makes a general complaint regarding the lack of clarity in the Bible’s presentation of salvation. That someone determined to jump to the most damning, contradicting, and convoluted interpretations of scripture passages taken out of context for the purpose of justifying rejection finds confusion is unsurprising. However, as argued above, scripture is clear regarding the true way of salvation. God’s perfection is required to merit eternal life with God. Law and conscience reveal to each person personal imperfection and sin. Our only recourse is the grace of the perfect good works and atoning death of Jesus Christ. Only by faith in His work to save us from damnation can we receive the free gift of eternal life with Him. After giving us this free gift, God expects us to perform good works for which He offers eternal rewards (not damnation for lack of works).

Questions

The Atheist proceeds to list a series of questions for which he claims no good answers exist.

Loss of Salvation

1. One can lose salvation

   This view draws from several verses, many of them like Matt. 19:29 which refer to an eternal inheritance. This is often better understood as a loss of rewards, not salvation.

2. No

   The best answer to the question of losing salvation is no. Salvation is a gift. Since it is not earned, it can not be unearned. As Paul declares in Romans 8:33-39:

   Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
   Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Deathbed Conversions

Yes. A deathbed conversion is sufficient to receive eternal life. Again, this is because salvation is dependent not on our merit via good works, but on the work Christ has already done. However, like the Rich Fool, we do not know when we will die:

Luke 12:16-20 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

2Co 6:2b …behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Deathbed Denial

See loss of salvation.

The Real Illusion

The Atheist closes with the admonition to stop chasing illusory religious answers and find more productive ways to spend one’s time. However, the real illusion is that any of that matters in the cold, dead world of naturalism. To the atheist, we are all nothing more than cosmic accidents which happened to occur between a big explosion and a silent, dead cosmos. There is no absolute morality. There is no absolute value. Productivity is ultimately irrelevant and meaningless. To even make a judgement valuing one activity over another presupposes absolute standards which an atheist must logically deny. The real illusion is that any one can really live now without God.

[1] J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible Vol. 4. Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1983. pg. 234-235.