A Biblical Guide to Salvation: Rediscovering the Doctrine of Salvation as Taught by the Scriptures and the Early Church

By Nathanael Armendariz

Since its early beginning’s creation has been plagued by a sickness, the effects of which extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, so that none can escape it. For most, death is considered a normal part of life, something that we all must face. And while it is certainty true that no one can escape or circumvent their physical death, the Scriptures tell us that this life is but a shadow of the one to come, and that the decisions we make now will determine where we go from here: either into eternal life in the presence of the Lord, or into eternal death whereby we are permanently separated from our heavenly creator. This book seeks to address a series of key doctrinal issues with the intention of providing the reader with a consistent understanding of what the Scriptures teach regarding our eternal salvation and the role that we all must play in God’s redemptive plan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973668831

Nathanael Armendariz

Nathanael boasts no great accolades or credentials to his name, he is not the senior pastor of a large mega church, he doesn't have PHD's in theology or Biblical studies. He is, in every sense of the word, a layman. With a gift for writing and a passion for the scriptures, his words are to be taken not on the basis of his prestige or reputation, but on the content and strength of his reasoning alone. Driven by a desire for truth, Nathanael has devoted himself to studying the Bible and early Christian literature. A process which has in turn led him to question some of the traditional teachings found in the mainline Christian denominations today. His hope is that through his writings he can create an open dialogue that will in turn edify as well as challenge his readers as they seek to establish themselves in the word of God.

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Copyright © 2019 Nathanael Armendariz.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6882-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6884-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6883-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019909264

WestBow Press rev. date:  10/02/2019

Contents

Intro

The Law

Faith Worketh Through Love

Grace Upon Grace

Hold Fast

The Elect

I AM

Conclusion

Quotes from the Early Church

About the Author

Intro

While the blood of Christ and the cross which he bore are central to most self-professing Christians today, there is still a lingering debate within the church regarding the dynamics of the Christian walk and the exact role the individual plays in bringing about and maintaining their own salvation. The dominant overarching perspective since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century has been that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. Those who uphold this perspective generally assert that salvation cannot be merited by measure of good works or righteous conduct but is dependent solely upon our belief in Jesus Christ.

Although numerous books can be written dissecting and explaining the theological differences between the various Protestant denominations, they all rest upon these two core principles of sola gratia and sola fide. My goal in writing this book will not be to challenge these principles as the foundation of our salvation, rather I will seek to challenge what has become the mainstream interpretation of these principles within the Christian community. By examining them in light of their biblical context, I will seek to provide a balanced presentation of the Scriptures in order to try and delineate not only what it does and doesn’t mean to be saved by grace, but what it means to have faith in Christ as the authors of the New Testament define it. In connection with this, I will also be discussing the role that key biblical exhortations play in the Christian walk and how exactly they fit within the gospel message. Exhortations such as those centered around walking in the Spirit, abiding, obeying Jesus’s commandments, and loving our neighbor as ourselves will be among the forefront of our discussion.

When reading through the Scriptures, one thing we will find is that they’re not ambiguous regarding the source of our salvation. Apart from the love of God that was displayed to us through Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, there is no other means by which we may be saved; by his mercy, God offered his Son as a perfect sacrificial atonement for our sins, that we might draw near to him in the full confidence and hope of his eternal promises. Yet while the fundamental concept of the gospel message might be simplistic enough for even a child to understand, the mature teachings of the Scriptures, with regards to the working out of our salvation, is something that needs to be carefully examined and studied if we are to accurately understand the full counsel of the word of God. Throughout the pages of this book I will deconstruct what I believe to be the key structural components of our salvation in its entirety, a system orchestrated by God in which we are called to continuously draw near to him as we diligently uphold and rightly handle his word.

In addition to discussing the fulness of the gospel message and what it truly means to be a Christian, I will also be taking time to discuss the Law given by Moses to the nation of Israel, and how we are to understand it in light of what is the political landscape of the Kingdom of heaven post Christ’s death and resurrection. For although it is by no means necessary for us to grasp the simplicity of the gospel message or attain right standing before God, the Law of Moses, i.e. the Torah, is of particular significance in understanding how we get to the gospel message from both a historical and theological perspective. Additionally, it would be remiss of me if I were not to take time to discuss the nature and origins of the person that is Jesus of Nazareth, as the questions surrounding the deity and preexistence of Christ strike at heart of the conversation concerning our eternal salvation.

Now, in anticipation of our discussion on these matters I would like to quickly touch on a couple of basic hermeneutical principles, which some of you reading will have no doubt heard before but are nevertheless important to emphasize whenever examining the Scriptures. First off, we note that, unlike the books of the Old Testament, the majority of books from the New Testament were not written in the form of historical or literary works, but as epistles to a particular individual or group of people, often times with a very specific focus unique to the audience’s personal circumstances, strengths, or struggles. With perhaps some exception to the book of Romans, each epistle was not written as an exhaustive overview of the doctrinal beliefs of the early church. For this reason, the New Testament needs to be studied collectively, wherein we are drawing upon all twenty-seven books in order to establish a clear and consistent theological framework by which we can begin to better understand the mind and character of God.

Likewise, it goes without saying that while it’s important to reconcile the books of the Bible into one consistent teaching, in order to do so we must first begin to reconcile the chapters and pages within each book in order to reach an accurate and complete understanding of what a particular author, namely the Holy Spirit, is and isn’t trying to communicate. Because the books of the Bible were not initially written with chapters and verses, it’s important that we don’t isolate passages or chapters within a book outside of their greater context, but that we reconcile all Scripture together in order to form one seamless narrative from beginning to end. If part of our doctrine forces us to favor certain passages while shying away from others, or if there are certain inherent conflictions within our doctrine that we are forced to concede, then it is likely that our interpretation of the Scriptures needs to be reevaluated.

Lastly, when approaching the Scriptures, we need to take caution that we are not casually reading through them as though they were a mere 21st century novel. Approaching them instead as if they were in fact a series of sophisticated and ancient manuscripts translated across multiple languages over the course of thousands of years (as some of these things can be hard to understand). The purpose of reading the Bible is not just to read for the sake of reading, it’s to understand the counsel and knowledge of God that we might then apply it to our lives and walk accordingly. My desire in the subsequent chapters will be to share my studies over the last several years into a concise and systematic overview. And while I do not suppose that my views are somehow above scrutiny, I challenge the reader to sincerely consider the thoughts and arguments presented here as we begin exploring the Scriptures.

The Law

When we look back at the Sinai covenant and the Law given to Israel, we see that God had not only begun laying the foundation for a sacrificial system foreshadowing Christ’s atoning death on the cross, he also established a standard of holiness and purification, prefiguring the Spirit filled life of a believer.¹

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus reveals to the people of Israel that he didn’t come to depose the Law, but to accomplish that which no man was able to do by satisfying its righteous requirement: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5: 17). In order for us to better understand the Law and how exactly Christ fulfilled it, we can begin by breaking it down into two primary components: the moral law and the ceremonial law. While these specific categorical distinctions might not be found within the biblical text itself, they are often used throughout both Christian and Jewish literature as a means of highlighting the plain and consistent reading of the Scriptures as a whole—with the moral law being used primarily in reference to the principles laid out within the Ten Commandments, and the ceremonial law being used primarily in reference to the altar sacrifices and corporeal stipulations enacted under the Levitical system.

After their exodus from the land of Egypt, God led the Israelites into the Sinai wilderness wherein he decreed a set of basic instructional commandments to the entire nation.² For forty days Moses stayed atop Mt. Sinai as the Lord inscribed these Ten Commandments upon two tablets of stone—constituting the covenant between God and Israel. The following account was recorded by Moses himself in the ninth chapter of Deuteronomy:

When I went up to the mountain to receive the