Who Wills to Confirm You to the End…Blameless?
There is a paradox in theological systems. Man-centered theology holds to the sovereign free will of man, in the process of salvation, where God responds to man’s choice, of each man determining to be saved or not be saved. God-centered theology holds to the sovereign free will of God, in the process of salvation, where man responds to God’s gracious choice, in God’s determination of who is the saved remnant (Rom 11:5). These two systems are diametrically opposed to one another.
Our title’s question is derived from 1 Corinthians 1:8, “…who will confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Who is it, then, man or God who wills this blameless end? The antecedent to the pronoun “who,” in this verse, is either God the Father or our Lord Jesus Christ. Either way, the answer is not “man.” It is not by the free will of man that a man chooses his participation or non-participation, at any point in the process of salvation (Jn 1:13; Rom 9:16).
Man does not elect his own self to be saved, by his own free will in eternity past. Man does not choose the acceptable means of atonement (the blood of Christ). Nor does man choose to persevere to the end. The Apostle Paul makes clear that it is the grace of God that accomplishes “everything (1 Cor 1:5),” so that the Christian is not lacking in any gift (1 Cor 1:7).
Pelagianism (5th century), as the basis for James Arminius’ man-centered theology revival (17th century), has man’s freedom as a primary objective. Ignoring the biblical fact that all men are called “slaves” either to sin (Rom 6:6), or to Christ (Eph 6:6), the Pelagian heresy positions man as God. The root of this false teaching is found in Genesis 3:5, where the Serpent taught Adam and Eve about their own sovereign free will and choice. Of course, this was a lie, and it remains a lie, today, and forever. Many are they who follow this way of trusting in themselves.
Is the operation of God, in preserving His elect, redeemed people ever dependent on the will of man? If God’s work in preserving His church were wrested from Him, or even given away by Him, the sovereignty of God would be no more. We would be left with a “wanting” or “wishing” or “hoping” God, who passively waits upon His lord, mankind, to judge Him and the merits of His works. This is not only and utterly backwards, the notion of it is utterly blasphemous.
Robbing God of the honor due Him, for His works, is the position of those who claim that it is each man’s free will to choose or reject Jesus Christ, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead (Rom 1:4). God has honored Jesus by giving Him the name that is above every other name (Phil 2:9), which is why every knee will bow at His name (Phil 2:10), when the rebellion of sinful man and devils is finally put to an end.
Insidious is the ever-flaring pride of man. In the name of freedom, slaves to sin promote the claim to control Almighty God, by their free will. They double-down and deny their treachery, when the rare agent calls them out, for their boasting in themselves and their sovereign choice, by which God’s success depends.
Even when the Arminian claims the doctrine of “eternal security,” what he is saying is that the condition for salvation, on man’s part, is to perform his duty until the end, wherein God is obligated to preserve him. It all depends on man’s will, to do or not do, what is required of him, by order of God.
This is not to say that man is a puppet or a robot with no will of its own. Man does have a will, and man’s will does make thousands of choices each day. Where the Pelagian is wrong about freedom and the Arminian is wrong about free will is that no slave has autonomy to reposition himself in righteousness.
The natural man is not right before God (Rom 3:10; 1 Cor 2:14). He does no good (Rom 3:12). Each work he decides to do is judged by God, to be “filthy (Is 64:6).” Why would any man boast in his decision to follow Christ, by his own act of choosing, especially considering what the Bible says about him? This is more grievous, in light of the testimony of Scripture that no man can resist God’s will in salvation.
In the end, no man will glory in himself, in God’s presence. Men boast in their own sovereign free will and choice, today, because they are deceived, blinded by the devil, and woefully lacking the knowledge of the revealed Word of God. The cure for man-centered theology is to further one’s study of the Scriptures. Men and pastors are too busy, distracted by the frenetic activity to do something for Jesus, who turns out to be the wrong Jesus. Salvation, therefore, includes being saved from the wrong Jesus.
True freedom comes when one is liberated from slavery to self. The freed man delights in declaring the excellencies of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:9), not himself or his own prowess in decision making (1 Cor 1:29–31). The saint will reject the temptation of glorifying others, who excel in securing glory, honor, and praise from idol worshipers. Who is worthy just because of their prowess in scoring points, making money, or accumulating power in the world? What does it profit these people, or the people who worship them?
O wretched man, forsake the testimony of your decision to follow Jesus. Revel in gratitude, giving thanks to Him who bought you for a price (1 Pet 1:19), if you belong to Him (Jn 10:26; 1 Cor 3:23), and who is able to keep His beloved from stumbling, making them stand in the presence of His glory…blameless, with great joy (Jude 1:24).
Yes, to Him alone be glory for willing and working the salvation of His chosen, redeemed, and regenerated people (Phil 2:13), who are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 5:23; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2), with the promise of being a finished product (Phil 1:6), in the hands of the Master Potter (Jer 18:4, 6; Is 45:19; Rom 9:21). He alone has the will, the choice, and the recognition for confirming His church, blameless, to the end.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
November 14, 2022
