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Salvation: Our Work, God’s Work, or Both?

Salvation: Our Work, God’s Work, or Both?

I’ve been in discussions with someone who believes that when a person has surrendered their life to Jesus and is maintaining a consistent walk with Him, but is severely challenged by life’s unfairness…

that Jesus lives out His righteousness in us for us, (Gal 2:20; 4:19; 2 Cor 13:5; and Col 1:27).  This is how the Father lived out His life in Jesus for Jesus.  (John 14:10)  It is Jesus who reproduces His character in us for us because we’re like the Ethiopian who can’t change the color of his skin and we’re accustomed to doing evil.  It is solely by faith alone in the righteousness of Jesus….there are no works of any kind involved.  This person believes this is the 3rd Angel’s Message of Rev 14, which is righteousness by faith alone in Jesus.

Does God do this supernaturally; for instance nudging the thought going down the wrong neuro pathway over into the healthier path or altering the law that governs the running of our brain.  It is their belief God does this especially for people so sin damaged and broken, with problems in their life so complicated, that they are so majorly challenged at their present that they can’t deal with the thought there would be works involved.  Because they have worked and worked and failed so many times they are either ready to give up or “go looney” or live a life of misery.  They are too damaged.  They have given their life to Jesus and they are waiting on God, like scripture tells them to do many times in the book of Psalms…..for God to supernaturally intercede in their brain circuits, otherwise if they didn’t have this hope, they are doomed to live a life of misery.

I’ve appear to have discouraged them when referring them to p 33 of your book, Could It Be This Simple, where you say “divine power enables (in this case it was a smoker) us to tolerate the agony of withdrawal and to experience eventual freedom from their cravings”.  I’ve thought God wants to restore our self control (one of the fruit of the Spirit).  Does He do this by supernaturally altering our brain circuitry, which is what it would seem to me if He nudged a thought out of the wrong path into the healthy path.

This person has such a strong desire to know truth, whereby they may be set free.  Can you help in this?  Thank you very much.  

A.M.


Great question and one of vital importance for Christians to experience genuine victorious living. First it is important to recognize the problem and then the solution and then we can understand our role in the solution.

The problem is, because of Adam and Eve, we are born infected with a terminal condition. Some call it sin or sinfulness or iniquity. Others call it fear and selfishness and some call it the survival-of-the-fittest instinct. Regardless of what we call it, we are “born in sin conceived in iniquity” Psalms 51:5. This is a terminal condition, but it is not our individual fault. Imagine two HIV infected people get together and have a baby who is born infected with the HIV virus. What did the baby do wrong? Nothing! Yet it still has a terminal condition that if not remedied will kill it. That is our condition since Adam and Eve sinned. We are born with a condition that needs curing.

Without going into the details of how Christ achieved our remedy to sin lets just agree that whatever was needed for the salvation (healing and saving) of mankind, Christ fully accomplished it at the cross. Consider you have HIV because both your parents were infected when they had you. If someone comes along with a cure, a medicine that will remedy your condition, do you have to know how the remedy was produced or do you have to know how the medicine works inside of you in order to benefit from taking it?  When taken doesn’t the medicine do something inside of you you cannot do for yourself?

Now even though you don’t have to know how the medicine was procured or works, you have to trust the doctor enough to take it, right?  When the patient follows the prescription and takes the medicine can the person say, “I have cured myself. I have worked hard and gotten myself well?” No, they are not saved by works but by the work of the doctors who developed and produced the medicine. Likewise, Christ has accomplished all that is necessary for salvation, but He does not force anyone to accept it. It is freely offered. And for those who are won back to trust by the truth Jesus revealed about God, the Holy Spirit is poured out and takes what Christ has achieved and reproduces it in us. We get new desires, motives, and attitudes, but we never lose control of our free will. The Holy Spirit will cleanse, renew, ennoble, enlighten, lead, and convict, but God nor the Holy Spirit will never actually choose the right for anyone. Each person must exercise their own will and choose yes to God, and then choose yes to His prescription.

If God’s prescription for a person’s life is that they cease using harmful substances, the Holy Spirit will enlighten, convict, and strengthen, but the Holy Spirit will not control the choice. The angels will not rip cigarettes out of someone’s mouth. We must choose for our lives what God has shown us and the Holy Spirit strengthens to follow through with the task.

When mankind fell into sin our situation was terminal. We could not save or cure ourselves nor remedy our situation. No amount of work by any human being could reverse the damage. Therefore, Jesus came and became human. He partook of our nature and our terminal condition.  Our iniquity was laid upon Him (Isaiah 53) and He overcame. He cured the condition! In His own personhood, He eradicated the infection from the species known as homo sapiens, that is, this single cured human being, Jesus, now becomes the source of salvation, the healing medicine, for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:8).

We never become puppets or robots controlled by God, because to do so would destroy our capacity for love. Love can only be freely given. Thus, in order to restore our ability to love, God has to restore our ability to be self-controlled, which is the last fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5, not God-controlled.

So the balance is as follows.

  • The Remedy to sin was fully achieved by Christ and no one else.
     
  • We can do nothing to add to what Christ has done to save mankind, but, each person now must choose to open their heart in trust to receive from the Holy Spirit the benefit of Christ’s victory in their life.
     
  • When we do this a supernatural transformation of character, desire, motive, and attitude takes place.
     
  • In this process there is a daily, ongoing, and constant cooperative work of the individual with the Divine in which the person chooses to continue to follow the direction of the Heavenly Physician until they are one day fully healed and set free to be self-controlled beings operating on the law of love, which has been fully restored into the heart. (Heb 8:10).
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Testimony 16

Your seminars are still inspiring and changing our lives and we continue to share the principles we have learned from you. Your ministry has changed our lives!

E.W.

 

Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA

 

Testimony 58

I have been watching your videos in The Power of Love seminar and I must say these have liberated me and have improved my relationship with the Lord. I am no longer terrified of him as I was before following your teachings.

Thando N., South Africa

 

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 22

I have found your Bible study class lectures to be very inspiring and useful as I prepare to teach class every other week. I subscribe to the podcast and download your notes on the weeks I teach. The audio and notes are such a great help in preparing. My own understanding of God’s character has grown as I teach the class. Commendations on the thought-provoking and well-prepared material Come and Reason provides. Personally, I get excited by the tie you make between the spiritual and mental/physical domains.

A.A. Corrales, NM, USA

 

Testimony 68

Your message of design law vs imperial law is so uplifting and makes so much sense- it is a game changer for me. The fact that Jesus’s death is not a big payment by an angry God is , quite frankly, a relief.

Laura G., London, Ontario, Canada

 

Testimony 73

I have been truly blessed by your blogs and other resources. They have helped me to see things in a much brighter light and to reason things out better. Thank you so much for your ministry. Whenever I have the opportunity I pass along your material to my friends.

R. Noseworthy, Newfoundland, Canada

Testimony 56

I cannot thank you enough for opening my understanding to the beautiful truth of God’s Law of Love and how it applies to everything. I have been a Christian for over forty years, but I feel like I am only now seeing with my eyes open. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

Tammy Cinzio, Australia

 

Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

I can tell you that this new, “present truth” message is far grander and life-changing than when I shifted from being an agnostic and then a nominal Christian. It has radically altered my worldview, because it reveals a God that makes sense. It is a revolution. I believe that Dr. Jennings’ message is the final message that must go to the world. If any message could be called “righteousness by faith,” as abused as that term is by the right and the left, this is that message, because Jennings’ biblical message identifies a God who is different, whose character isn’t an impossible contradiction.

I walk this path now without fear. I see people differently, and the Holy Spirit burns in my heart. Many call Dr. Jennings’ message false and compromising, but it isn’t false, because I’ve seen the fruits within my mind and body. It is not compromising, because in this message is the only road to holiness that makes any sense. No longer do I behold a pagan god who is always angry and suspicious. Instead, I behold a God who is freeing and loving, always working for our good, and giving me every reason to love my enemy even to my own death, just as Jesus pleads with us. God is good.

Anthony L., CA, USA

 

Testimony 48

I just want to tell you how blessed I have been reading “The Remedy!” It has become a daily part of my devotional relationship with God. In it I have found a God of love and a God that loves me! The bible has come alive for me! It is the first time that I can say that I have felt hope fill my heart as I have read God’s word. This is good news I can share! Thank you, Dr Jennings! Thank you for your heart for others. I can’t put into words how this has set me free! It has strengthened my trust and love for God.

Jason H.

 

Testimony 3

My husband is a pastor and I listen to your lesson almost every week. Thank you for helping me in my study life and to help me love the “real” God more.

C. F., NC, USA

 

Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

Testimony 53

I was so blessed by a friend who gave me your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” while I was sitting in church asking God to please help me learn more about Him and help me not to be so confused and scared. That was about 2 years ago. Your books have helped me to love God even more. I’m not confused or scared anymore! I have listened to all of your bible study classes and feel like I know the wonderful people that attend every week. Thank you for all that you’re doing in spreading the true message about God and His law of love. God bless you and your whole class.

Elssy P., Modesto, CA, USA

 

Testimony 27

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 46

Over the past couple of years God has been expanding my view of Himself and His character. Along my approximately 40-year journey, I have often had questions, but was hesitant to voice these and step outside the traditionally accepted thinking, for fear of admitting that I may in fact be eternally lost. In the recesses of my thinking has been the thought – if one blindly accepts (which is widely regarded as “real faith”) and does not question, is this really ‘truth?’ I often find it challenging to grapple with very theological ‘speak,’ but Dr. Jennings has a real gift of explaining spiritual concepts with clear practical examples. The weekly discussions are growing my Christian experience and slowly changing my view of how to live as a child of God in today’s complex world. Finally the whole Old Testament sanctuary teaching moved in my mind from fantasy to reality!

Beverly S., South Africa