Faith Bible Church: Test Answers

What Are the

"Doctrines of Grace"?

Part Two

Table of Contents

Part One: Take the "Test"

Part Two: Evaluating your Test

Part Three: You Answers in Church History

Part Four: Why is This Important to Me?

Part Five: The So-Called "Five Points"

Part Six: For Further Reading

Evaluating your "Test"

If you answered “True” to all or most of these statements, you are in abundant company today, but you are not in agreement with the evangelical church for most of its history. Based on their careful study of the entire body of Scripture, here is how most of the greatest Christian writers until the beginning of the last century would have answered the statements:

Question 1: Man, though he is born in sin, is never so completely corrupted by sin that he cannot believe the gospel unto salvation when it is put before him.
Answer: FALSE. The biblical doctrine of total depravity teaches not only that man is so depraved that he cannot save himself, but that his depravity extends to every aspect of his being (including his intellect and his will), so that he cannot even believe the gospel unless God enlightens him and draws him to Christ.

Question 2: The free gift of the gospel and all its benefits is conditioned upon man’s decision to accept it.
Answer: FALSE. The doctrine of unconditional election teaches that our salvation is determined by God before the foundation of the world (though all of the elect will indeed receive the gospel and believe), and not by our human decision. I.e., our decision to accept the gospel is a result of our salvation, and not its cause or condition.

Question 3: Regeneration, or the New Birth, is the result of our placing our faith in Christ.
Answer: FALSE. Once again, the historic Christian teaching is that the New Birth is the cause, not the result or effect, of our faith – i.e., we are regenerated, and thereby we are given the gift of faith.

Question 4: God's "election" (or "predestination") of those who would be saved simply means that He "foreknows" -- or knows before it happens -- that they will of their own accord believe the gospel.
Answer: FALSE. The Scriptures teach not merely that God knows who will believe and be saved, but that He determines the elect to salvation, according to His divine decree in eternity past. Thus, foreknowledge and predestination are true of God in the work of salvation, but they are two very different biblical concepts.

Question 5: Christ's sacrifice did not insure (make certain) the salvation of everyone for whom He died.
Answer: FALSE. The doctrine of particular redemption, or limited atonement, which was held by most of the great figures of Christian history, teaches that Christ’s atoning death for His elect insures that all the elect (thus, all for whom He died) will be saved. According to this view which has significant scriptural support, the atonement is limited only in its scope (by God’s determinate will), but not in its power.

Question 6: A Christian's "sanctification" (turning from sin) is determined by his or her surrender to the Holy Spirit, thus leading to a holy Christian walk.
Answer: FALSE. A true answer to this question is to accept the “holiness” view of sanctification, which gained popularity in the 19th century but was contradicted by most of the great doctrinal statements of church history. The historic view, often called irresistible grace(or effectual calling), is essentially that one’s salvation and one’s sanctification are two sides of the same coin; that sanctification is not the result of whether chooses to surrender; rather, it is God working in every true Christian “both to will and to do, for His good pleasure.”

Question 7: Because of the biblical doctrine of "eternal security," the backsliding Christian, though he may have departed from an obedient Christian walk, may still be assured of his salvation.
Answer: FALSE. The traditional, historic Christian belief was a deeper doctrine called perseverance of the saints, which taught that all true Christians will continue in the faith and ultimately be saved from judgment. Though a Christian may backslide, we do not know to what degree, and should never rest in fallen biblical characters like Solomon as a measure of how far we may fall and still be saved. In fact, backsliding in Scripture is a sober warning. The word "backslide" does not appear in the New Testament at all, whereas New Testament assurance of salvation always assumes a steadfast continuance in the Christian walk (1 John 2:3-6, 3:18-19).

Question 8: God does not determine to make anyone in particular believe the gospel.
Answer: FALSE. The traditional Christian doctrine of irresistible (or efficacious) grace teaches that God’s electing grace is always effectual in bringing one to a saving belief in Christ, for “we love Him because He first loved us.”

Question 9: Man is never so completely controlled by God that he cannot reject the gospel.
Answer: FALSE. The historic view is that man tends to give the power of his own choices too much credit. Because God decreed it, the Egyptians, who had just lost all their firstborn children because of the Jews and their God, willingly gave to the Israelites their wealth (Exodus 12:36)! The unsaved person rejects the Gospel by nature, so whether or not the lost can or do reject the Gospel is subservient to the biblical fact that not one of God’s elect will reject it.

Question 10: Christ's work on the Cross does not guarantee salvation for anyone, but merely the possibility of salvation if they believe.
Answer: FALSE. Once again, the old doctrine of particular redemption teaches that Christ’s work on the Cross was specifically for the elect, not for all, and that it does indeed guarantee the salvation of every elect individual.

Back to Table of Contents.



	What Are the "Doctrines of Grace"? Part Two Table of Contents Part One: Take the "Test" Part Two: Evaluating your Test Part Three: You Answers in Church History Part Four: Why is This Important to Me? Part Five: The So-Called "Five Points" Part Six: For Further Reading Evaluating your "Test" If you answered “True” to all or most of these statements, you are in abundant company today, but you are not in agreement with the evangelical church for most of its history. Based on their careful study of the entire body of Scripture, here is how most of the greatest Christian writers until the beginning of the last century would have answered the statements: Question 1: Man, though he is born in sin, is never so completely corrupted by sin that he cannot believe the gospel unto salvation when it is put before him. Answer: FALSE. The biblical doctrine of total depravity teaches not only that man is so depraved that he cannot save himself, but that his depravity extends to every aspect of his being (including his intellect and his will), so that he cannot even believe the gospel unless God enlightens him and draws him to Christ. Question 2: The free gift of the gospel and all its benefits is conditioned upon man’s decision to accept it. Answer: FALSE. The doctrine of unconditional election teaches that our salvation is determined by God before the foundation of the world (though all of the elect will indeed receive the gospel and believe), and not by our human decision. I.e., our decision to accept the gospel is a result of our salvation, and not its cause or condition. Question 3: Regeneration, or the New Birth, is the result of our placing our faith in Christ. Answer: FALSE. Once again, the historic Christian teaching is that the New Birth is the cause, not the result or effect, of our faith – i.e., we are regenerated, and thereby we are given the gift of faith. Question 4: God's "election" (or "predestination") of those who would be saved simply means that He "foreknows" -- or knows before it happens -- that they will of their own accord believe the gospel. Answer: FALSE. The Scriptures teach not merely that God knows who will believe and be saved, but that He determines the elect to salvation, according to His divine decree in eternity past. Thus, foreknowledge and predestination are true of God in the work of salvation, but they are two very different biblical concepts. Question 5: Christ's sacrifice did not insure (make certain) the salvation of everyone for whom He died. Answer: FALSE. The doctrine of particular redemption, or limited atonement, which was held by most of the great figures of Christian history, teaches that Christ’s atoning death for His elect insures that all the elect (thus, all for whom He died) will be saved. According to this view which has significant scriptural support, the atonement is limited only in its scope (by God’s determinate will), but not in its power. Question 6: A Christian's "sanctification" (turning from sin) is determined by his or her surrender to the Holy Spirit, thus leading to a holy Christian walk. Answer: FALSE. A true answer to this question is to accept the “holiness” view of sanctification, which gained popularity in the 19th century but was contradicted by most of the great doctrinal statements of church history. The historic view, often called irresistible grace(or effectual calling), is essentially that one’s salvation and one’s sanctification are two sides of the same coin; that sanctification is not the result of whether chooses to surrender; rather, it is God working in every true Christian “both to will and to do, for His good pleasure.” Question 7: Because of the biblical doctrine of "eternal security," the backsliding Christian, though he may have departed from an obedient Christian walk, may still be assured of his salvation. Answer: FALSE. The traditional, historic Christian belief was a deeper doctrine called perseverance of the saints, which taught that all true Christians will continue in the faith and ultimately be saved from judgment. Though a Christian may backslide, we do not know to what degree, and should never rest in fallen biblical characters like Solomon as a measure of how far we may fall and still be saved. In fact, backsliding in Scripture is a sober warning. The word "backslide" does not appear in the New Testament at all, whereas New Testament assurance of salvation always assumes a steadfast continuance in the Christian walk (1 John 2:3-6, 3:18-19). Question 8: God does not determine to make anyone in particular believe the gospel. Answer: FALSE. The traditional Christian doctrine of irresistible (or efficacious) grace teaches that God’s electing grace is always effectual in bringing one to a saving belief in Christ, for “we love Him because He first loved us.” Question 9: Man is never so completely controlled by God that he cannot reject the gospel. Answer: FALSE. The historic view is that man tends to give the power of his own choices too much credit. Because God decreed it, the Egyptians, who had just lost all their firstborn children because of the Jews and their God, willingly gave to the Israelites their wealth (Exodus 12:36)! The unsaved person rejects the Gospel by nature, so whether or not the lost can or do reject the Gospel is subservient to the biblical fact that not one of God’s elect will reject it. Question 10: Christ's work on the Cross does not guarantee salvation for anyone, but merely the possibility of salvation if they believe. Answer: FALSE. Once again, the old doctrine of particular redemption teaches that Christ’s work on the Cross was specifically for the elect, not for all, and that it does indeed guarantee the salvation of every elect individual. Back to Table of Contents.