Beyond Either/Or Theological Meltdowns – Brad Jersak

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Question:

Confusion, confusion. Please help! I am part of a weekly Bible study of various denominations who have been meeting weekly for decades. But the things we’re discussing now are tearing us apart. None of us are of the opinion that our ‘good deeds’ get us to heaven. We know the ‘work’ was done on the cross. But some believe salvation is a free gift for all even if one doesn’t choose to accept it or even want it, and others feel that salvation is a free gift but has to be accepted and acknowledged, thus giving us free will to choose heaven or hell. Which is correct? Are we all destined for heaven regardless of our will?

Response:

Thanks for your insightful question! I’ll respond bit by bit, interjecting throughout:

Confusion, confusion. 

Or could it be Mystery, Mystery (Hallelujah!)?

Please help! I am part of a weekly Bible study of various denominations who have been meeting weekly for decades.

That sounds wonderful… but…

But the things in this discussion are tearing us apart. 

Well, you can quote me on this: any theological discussion, no matter how ‘right’ anyone is, is still wrong if it tears you apart, because ‘love one another’ is the Royal Law of Love and Great Commandment of Christ… so ‘schism’ is actually the first heresy (even worse than getting faith and works wrong). So that’s where I’d start. The tensions in Philippi among some of the leadership there led Paul to remind them to be like Christ in his self-emptying humility.So when theological discussions get tense and strain relationships, I always remind my students: When we opine about the Mystery of Salvation, we’re like toddlers with blunt crayons scribbling a sketch of our ideas of God. Let’s never assume our scribbles are obviously right or that they are completely worthless… our Father in heaven takes great delight whenever we’re grappling with eternal and ineffable truths. But he warns in all sobriety, “Please, never use your crayons to poke each other in the eye.”  

None of us are of the opinion that our ‘good deeds’ will get us to heaven. We know the ‘work’ was done on the cross. But some are of the belief that salvation is a free gift for all even if one doesn’t choose to accept it or even want it, and others feel that salvation is a free gift but has to be accepted and acknowledged,…

This is where either/or thinking gets us in trouble. The Scriptures and the Mystery of salvation are much more interesting than that… you can make a case for either opinion (which is the problem… our propensity to ‘lawyer’ a position and reduce it to a doctrine. Instead, I recommend asking how each assertion is true in its own way. 

  • Christ’s finished work is for the whole world. Yes.
  • Christ’s finished work is a finished work, whether you receive it or not. Yes.
  • Christ’s finished work frees and empowers us to turn toward Christ and receive his gift. Yes.
  • Freely choosing the gift for everyone leads us into a direct experience of his gift. Yes.

In other words, Christ’s saving work extends to all people (“I will draw ALL people to myself” and the only condition is, “If I am lifted up,” speaking of his death). AND ALSO, those who turn to Christ in this life enter the experience of that salvation. They come to know and believe that they are beloved, forgiven, and being saved in real life through redemption from fear, shame, hatred, and all the binds us.  

So the first truth (“God so loved the whole world”) is an objective reality for all, and the second (“as many as received him”) is a subjective experience for those who entrust their lives to God’s grace. And there are MANY Scriptures that support each of these important truths. We are all God’s children and some experience it. We are all the beneficiaries of God’s saving work through Christ, and some come to enjoy it. The prodigal son was ALWAYS a son and the Father ALWAYS loved him, but in coming home, he entered the joy of his inheritance rather than living in the poverty of imagining wrongly that he was on his own. 

…thus giving us free will to choose heaven or hell. 

I am convinced that this last statement is incorrect. Salvation is not about us choosing heaven or hell. Salvation, AKA Eternal Life, is defined by Jesus as knowing God and his Son (in an experiential and relational way – John 17:3). And perishing is not a forthcoming threat to unbelievers. It is a human predicament that is very much already happening here and now (as you can see on the news every night), so the choice is NOT heaven or hell, but turning toward the love of God now and experiencing God’s love versus turning from God’s love and continuing to perish. 


What’s a bit more complicated is that I see many Christians who believe the right doctrine yet turn away from love and don’t seem to know God (see 1 John 3-4) and I see many non-Christians who are turning to the Light, who don’t yet know Jesus but are being transformed, as in 12-step recovery groups. So the claim to be Christian and have the right doctrine is really questionable when the fruits of knowing him don’t match the claim (“Many will say, Lord, Lord, BUT…”). 

Which is correct? Are we all destined for heaven regardless of our will?

We are all destined for eternal life as God opens our eyes to voluntarily receive him. This is the way Jesus can “draw all people to himself” without violating human freedom. It’s less about my capacity to choose rightly and more about divine grace opening our eyes to see behold the Light of Christ (like Paul on the Road to Damascus and his reflections in the first paragraph of 2 Corinthians 4). For that to be true for everyone, it needs to include an opportunity at the final judgment, when everyone finally sees and kneels and confesses (exactly as the NT foresees), but for that to be true, death can’t be the decisive moment, and it isn’t, because Christ has conquered death. So why share the Good News now? So that people can know the joy of experiencing Jesus now and enjoy his salvation today and how he rescues us from the path perishing in this life. 


Thanks for asking!

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