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Theology

1. Theology of Prayer

2. Grace and Works: a Look at Doctrines 5-10 of The Salvation Army

Theology of Prayer

 Prayer is an extremely valuable aspect of the LORD’s relationship to and with us. Without communication there is no relationship. It is an honour and a blessing that He has opened this window for us to communicate with Him. God uses our honest and fervent prayer to accomplish His will. He loves us and involves us in His plans; this I believe. This is opposed to us conjuring up His power like some genie or whose power is invoked to do our bidding: we cannot use prayer to overrule him. He is Lord, we are His servants. He is the Sovereign; we are not and I am grateful to Him for that because He loves us.

I believe that God uses our prayers to fulfil His promises and accomplish His perfect will. God promised Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan and He fulfilled that promise in spite of the faithless actions of Abraham's descendants. God fulfils His promises. One of the means (or ingredients) He engages in to fulfil His promises and accomplish His ends is our prayers. God is a loving father. He will keep his covenants in spite of anything that we do (Rom 3:3,4). He,  in so doing, will use our fervent and legitimate prayers to accomplish His Kingdom goals. The war after all was already won on the cross. He has already defeated sin and death. The mop-up battles (like the infamous and costly Battle of New Orleans, which needlessly took place after the war was already won) are not; if we strike out on our own without prayerful direction from the Lord (like the General who lead the attack on New Orleans), we will suffer the consequences. On the other hand if we seek direction from the Lord in all we do through prayer (and meditation on the Holy Scriptures) and then follow that direction, we will experience the victory: our prayers are our participation with Christ in his already won victory. 

Our prayers then are like when I read the Bible to my children. This is one of the most beautiful parts of our day. It is when we sit and look at the Scriptures together. It is a perfect closeness. This is what prayer is: prayer is us climbing up onto our Heavenly Father's lap and experiencing His great love for us and ours for Him as we discern His will in our lives.

Grace and Works: a Look at Doctrines 5-10 of The Salvation Army

By Michael Ramsay

“Grace and free will are not easily harmonised, and this has led some Christians so to emphasise the grace and sovereignty of God as to teach a doctrine of predestination that disallows free will. Such a doctrine implies that God alone determines who will be saved without the need for any co-operative response from us. Free will, in this case, is undermined. On the other hand, it is possible to forget that our God-given free will is itself flawed by sin. It cannot operate in true freedom without the grace of God.”[1]

In the time since I joined the Salvation Army, I have heard the accusation many times that it has merely a ‘works based theology.’ I have even struggled with and revisited this accusation, myself, in my time serving in this organization. As such, I find this a very important criticism to address and intend to show here, through a brief examination of Doctrines 5 – 10, that the Salvation Army has a good and right combination of a theology of grace and of works.

The fifth doctrine espouses a belief in a combination of grace and works. The claim that Adam and Eve were created in a state of innocency is one of grace (Gen, 2:4 ff). They could not possibly have contributed to their creation at all. The Salvation Army does not claim that man is God. This is neither radical nor particular to the Salvation Army: the creation of the earth and humankind was an act of grace on the part of God.

The ‘theology of works’ in the 5^th doctrine is represented in the claim that it was “by their disobedience, [that] they lost their purity and happiness.” This loss was a direct consequence of Adam and Eve’s work of disobedience (Gen. 3). This, however, is not a highly controversial or contested stand. “Original Sin” is an old[2] and common Christian doctrine[3] and most Christians acknowledge that humankind had to make the choice to disobey God (Gen 3:6).

Salvation Story expresses our relationship to original sin as such: “the term ‘original sin’ emphasizes the origin and radical consequences of the Fall. It reminds us that, although originally an intrusion, sin is innate. Our tendency is to sin. In that sense, we are ‘born in sin.’ This does not refer to the physical aspects of procreation. Human instincts are morally neutral and can be used either creatively or destructively. The phrase ‘born in sin’ rather refers to our condition under the dominion of sin. We have been subject to an invasion of evil from which no one is exempted.”[4]

Salvation Story further states relating to this doctrine, “God’s intention is the harmony of humanity with himself and all creation. We have been terribly scarred by sin arising from human disobedience. The consequence of sin is separation from God. This is our universal human condition.”[5] Sin certainly originated through humankind’s works (Romans 5:12).

The fifth doctrine does contain a more complex claim that relates to a combination of both the aforementioned grace and works: “in consequence ….all men have become sinners.” The consequence is a direct reflection of works: Adam and Eve earned their fall through sin. The phrase ‘all men becoming sinners’ in the doctrine reflects not a state that people have worked themselves into nor does it imply one of which one is able to work ones way out of. It seems indeed to be an inherited, rather than an earned state (Romans 5:12-14).

It is precisely because of this inherited state that we need salvation and “scriptural revelation and our personal experience confirm the powerlessness of human nature to achieve moral reformation. Our only hope is in the grace of God which issues from God’s will to overcome the separation caused by sin.”[6]

The sacrifice and general atonement stated in the sixth doctrine certainly reinforce the hope in that grace: the sacrifice was provided by God (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7). We did not do anything to merit this atonement: it was God, through His only begotten Son, Jesus, who was sacrificed to achieve the atonement for the whole world (John 3:16). This is a gracious answer to the inherited condition – as stated in our 5^th doctrine- of depravity. “God has taken the initiative in providing the way. It remains with us to respond to the divine provision in repentance and faith in order to experience the personal benefit of reconciliation to God and fellowship with him.”[7] It is “by dying on the cross, [that] Jesus made the atonement. The coming together of the Father’s dynamic gift and the Son’s loving response bridged the separation between ourselves and God. We are reconciled to God in Christ and our sins are forgiven.”[8] He did it; we did not.

A key phrase to the Salvation Army is the “that whosever maybe saved” of our sixth doctrine. This implies that some will not be saved even though, as is stated, Jesus died for the whole world. How then is it determined who, of the whole world, will be saved? Is it by works? Do we need to do something to be part of that ‘whosoever’ or is it purely by grace or by favouritism? On what basis and by what conditions may some not be saved?

Some of these conditions for Salvation are explicitly espoused as necessary in our seventh doctrine: repentance towards God, faith in Jesus, regeneration by the Holy Spirit. The former two seem to certainly be evidence of works while the latter one appears to indicate a gracious act on the part of God. “If we are to experience personally the saving effects of the atonement, we must respond to the grace of God as revealed in Christ’s sacrificial act. That response is repentance and faith.”[9] “Those who come to God in true repentance and faith discover the overwhelming reality of his freely offered forgiveness.”[10] Repentance towards God is a work that it would seem we perform, as would faith. However, even that repentance is initiated by God, for each of us “long to turn away from our selfishness and sin and towards the self-giving love of God. We are drawn to confess our sins, renounce selfish life-styles and to make restitution.”[11] The concept of prevenient grace is certainly evidenced here: God initiates all Salvation (cf. Heb. 5:4, Gal. 1:15, 1 Thess. 2:12).

Understanding then that “we consider the blessings received when, by our response to God’s grace, Christ becomes alive in us,”[12]our eighth doctrine is clearly one of grace. It is that grace through faith that provides the blessing of justification, not our works (Eph. 2:8-10, Rom. 11:16) for “although we are sinners, God declares us righteous because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We are accepted by God just as we are. We do not deserve such acceptance, neither can we earn it, or repay it.”[13]

Doctrine 9 may be read almost as a counter-balance to the justification by faith expressed in the eighth doctrine. It is one that will need to be explored a little more in depth. It is certainly one of our more controversial doctrines: continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. ‘Depends’ is the main point of contention in this doctrine. It is the lynchpin of many an argument made rationally and theologically that our position is purely a doctrine of works.

Does our Salvation depend upon our works? If it does, would it follow that we could earn our Salvation? This sounds like the debates of the first century Church pertaining to circumcision (cf. Acts 15, Romans 2-4, Gal. 5:1-5), meat sacrificed to idols (cf. 1 Cor. 8), and dietary laws (cf. Acts 10, 15; Gal. 2:11-21). Are we, by this doctrine, as some have suggested, “…putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear” (Acts 15:10). If so, it would seem to contradict The Salvation Army’s eighth doctrine. How can one be justified by grace and not have one’s salvation secured? Will God change His mind? Will He suddenly decide to ‘harden your heart’ (cf. Ex. 4:21, 7:3, 9:12) or send an evil spirit to torment you? (cf. 1 Sam 16:14) Will he say that he never knew you? (cf. Matt. 7:23)

Salvation Story offers an interesting response to this line of questioning: on initial examination it apparently, for our part, reinterprets the word ‘depends’ as ‘is evidenced by’ and leaves the conditional work entirely to Christ.  “We remember that an ongoing union with Christ depends on his work and not our feelings...Such assurance must be affirmed daily by obedience and never made an excuse for carelessness or complacent presumption. It is the changed life that is evidence for the work of grace within.”[14] ‘Obedience’ is mentioned in the preceding comment; ‘dependency’ - as our part - is not. The argument seems thus far to state that our continued Salvation depends not on our continued obedient faith but rather on Christ’s work. “We believe that God, who has accepted and saved us and given us eternal life, has given us also the assurance of our standing in him.”[15] These statements on ‘assurance’ appear to read more like an acceptance of a doctrine of ‘perseverance of saints’ than one of ‘conditional perseverance.’

            This assurance, however, is seemingly unsecured for “assurance does not mean that our salvation is guaranteed to us against our own free will. It is possible to cease to obey Christ and so to forfeit our hope of eternal life. This is consistent with our understanding of the grace of God, who always leaves us open to respond freely to him. Freedom to live by grace includes freedom to turn away.”[16] The Salvation Army then allows for the much accepted Christian doctrine of the eternal loss of the apostate. If one does not renounce God but displays no ‘continued obedient faith’, does one forfeit one’s salvation? How does it relate to backsliders?

            “Backsliding, then, is possible for true Christians. It can occur through the deliberate rejection of Christ, or, more insidiously, when we drift from the way of discipleship or neglect the means of grace. This does not mean that every time we sin we slide away from the grace of God. Even our many failures will not deprive us of the Holy Spirit’s presence if we turn to him for forgiveness and restoration. When we live a life of continued obedient faith in Christ we need not fall from grace and be eternally lost.”[17]

            This returns the discussion to an earlier question: does the Salvation Army really believe that one’s Salvation is dependent upon one’s continued obedience or - excepting apostasy - does it merely believe it to be evidence of one’s Salvation? “Our Salvation is assured as long as we continue to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. Such faith is expressed in obedience to his leadings, will and commands [1 John 2:3-6]. Obedience as a free-will choice is a consequence of faith, and without it, faith dies. Our conversion inaugurates a journey during which we are being transformed into Christ’s likeness. Thus Salvation is neither a state to be preserved nor an insurance policy which requires no further investment. It is the beginning of a pilgrimage with Christ.”[18]

            The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Salvation as a pilgrimage is a good analogy. It takes us from our initial contact with the Lord through to sanctification: “it was for [holiness] we were born and to fall short of this will be infinite, eternal loss, and doom us to an everlasting night of shame and contempt.”[19]  “Our walk with Him must be constant…or else we will seek for Him some day and not find Him.”[20]  We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified, and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.[21] The Salvation Army actually does then observe that a continuance in a state of Salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.[22]

            The Salvation Army’s doctrines, as has been argued here, present a mixture of both grace and works. Grace is reflected in doctrines 5-10 in that we were created by God; we inherited a sin nature after the Fall; we are unable to achieve moral reformation on our own but must rely on the grace of God who has already provided atonement for us through Jesus’ death on the cross. His prevenient grace is always at work even from (if not before) the time of birth. The Holy Spirit then provides the regeneration that leads to sanctification and ensures that we will not be separated from God for all eternity.

That being said, upon looking at our doctrines – and, possibly even more so, our expression of those doctrines - the idea that we have predominantly a doctrine of works has certainly been expressed by some. We do have works expressed in our doctrines. Some of the works expressed in Doctrines 5-10 include that it was mankind’s works that ushered in the original sin. The consequences of which were a direct result of an action on humanity’s part. As it is our choice to sin, so it is our choice to respond to the provision made for that sin through faith and by repentance. Our Salvation is not guaranteed to us against our own free will.   Freedom to live by grace includes the freedom to turn away from God.

            This Salvationist version of the Wesleyan-Arminian understanding of the interaction between God’s grace and our works is certainly not the only one. There are great names from historic Christendom who would very much argue against parts of our claim. John Calvin’s famous ‘TULIP’ (Total depravity, Unconditional election and predestination, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, Perseverance of saints), as can be readily seen without further explanation, certainly reflects a different view of the interaction of grace and works than our own. The great Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli argued, as did Calvin, in favour of a limited rather than a general atonement and Martin Luther “regarded Acts as a beautiful mirror in which one beholds the truth: Sola fides justificat.”[23]  By contrast, Luther argued that the book of James, due to it’s emphasis on works, was indeed a ‘straw epistle’ and “Luther’s harsh evaluation of James as a book bereft of the gospel and of Christ still lingers on in modern interpretations.”[24] The Salvationist would most certainly not so easily dismiss James. Our theology, in some aspects, is very much like that espoused by James. He is not arguing against grace but rather is “arguing for the inseparability of religious convictions (faith) and concrete behaviour (works) within the context of the messianic community.”[25] God’s grace, our faith and our works are very important to Salvationist theology.

The next important question to ask then is: are we correct? I would answer by saying most definitely we are. It is very important to recognise, as we do, that it was “by dying on the cross, [that] Jesus made the atonement. The coming together of the Father’s dynamic gift and the Son’s loving response bridged the separation between ourselves and God. We are reconciled to God in Christ and our sins are forgiven.”[26] He did it; we did not. The Salvation Army does not claim that we are saved by our works.

Works, however, are a natural outflow of our Salvation and indeed our continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. Faith and works are inextricably linked. In the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt 25:31-46), Jesus emphatically states that “… whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'  Then they [that did not do] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” As even Luther concedes, “Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace.”[27] Therefore, as is stated in Salvation Story, “Faith is expressed in obedience to His leadings, will and commands. Obedience as a free-will choice is a consequence of faith, and without it, faith dies…thus Salvation is neither a state to be preserved nor an insurance policy which requires no further investment. It is the beginning of a pilgrimage with Christ.”[28]