The True Catalyst of Eternal Salvation
In this sinful fallen world, God’s eternal decree of salvation is man’s only hope. The Bible clearly states that if a man has the Son of God, he has life, meaning eternal salvation (Jn 3:36; 1 Jn 5:12). Christ is life, and if He gives you life, then you have life indeed (1 Tim 6:19).
Not all people have this life, which is obvious to all. We cannot ask a man “why” he does not believe in Jesus. The reason is because the gift of God that grants a man faith, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus, if one has the Spirit of the Son of God, he has the Spirit of life…and he knows why he believes. If a man does not have the Spirit, he does not have the life of God, which is eternal life. If he does not have the Spirit, he does not belong to Christ (Jn 10:26; Rom 8:9, 11; 1 Cor 3:23).
Man is not the catalyst of his own salvation, despite the prevalence of this false teaching. When a preacher tells a man that all he must do is decide to let Christ save him, then you know he is false prophet with a false message. The reason: God is the Savior, who actually saves His people. He is not waiting for men to decide to accept Him.
If God turned the decision of who is saved, over to someone else, then He would no longer be the Savior, nor God. The other person, who now decides whether one is saved or not, has become God. God is Savior, so then the question becomes, “Who is this man, who decides on eternal salvation, and how did he become God?”
The allure for man to become God was there in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:5). The devil’s temptation for Adam and Eve came with the promise that if they used their free will to disobey God, they would become gods like God.
The allure for man to save himself, today, using the same “free will decision” would again make him a god, like God, who alone is Savior of sinners. People, today, are subject to the same temptation and sin as Adam and Eve. There is no new thing under the sun. The devil is still tempting the sons of Adam to use “free will” to become gods.
When a Spirit-filled preacher proclaims the Gospel, he is proclaiming that God, not men, is the Savior. Therefore, when a preacher does not herald, but sells the notion of salvation, as an offer from God to man, that must be decided upon, then he is a false preacher. In this subtle way of transferring the wisdom of God (knowing who will be saved) and power of God (ability to save) to man’s sovereignty, the false preacher serves in the capacity of the Satan-filled serpent in the Garden. Just as the serpent was a vessel of deception, so is the preacher offering god-like powers to men.
The subtlety of the deception demonstrates it is a work of Satan because the preacher appears as an angel (messenger) of light, “Wouldn’t you like to be saved? Then, do something about it…just decide!” This false light is pure darkness, for those blinded by the devil from seeing the glorious Gospel (2 Cor 4:4). With pride of prowess, these wise decision-makers claim it was their free will that produced faith — a self-generated faith, they claim has saved them. Are men saved by the catalyst of faith, or are they saved by the catalyst, the Holy Spirit?
If you have trusted in your free will, remember you are a slave to sin. You are not free. If you are trusting in your decision, remember God made his decision before creation. If you have trusted in your self-generated faith to save you, then you have become a god, like God. You, as god and savior, have used your wisdom and power to choose yourself for salvation. You elected yourself to be a living stone in God’s spiritual temple (Eph 2:11–22). Are you the Potter or the clay?
My task is to warn you that you have been deceived. You have been tempted by Satan to trust in yourself for salvation, which is really a decision for destruction, just as it was for Adam and Eve, only your enslaved-will decision is unto eternal destruction.
In conclusion, I am calling you to repent of your false faith in a fake savior…yourself. I am also calling you to believe in the true Gospel, the one which belongs to God (Ps 3:8; Jon 2:9; Rev 19:1), being a message of salvation from God, through God, to God (Rom 11:36). You must confess, it is the Holy Spirit who makes you alive (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13), not your fabricated faith, because you are not the catalyst for your salvation…He is, unless He is not your Savior.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
August 23, 2021
