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“And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man who even forgives sins?’ And He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'” Luke 7:49-50
This is the story of the immoral woman who washed Jesus’ feet and anointed Him with oil. Jesus told the people who were in the house of the Pharisee at the time that her sins were forgiven her, and it was her faith that accomplished it.
I wanted to write about this to specifically address the notion that we have no choice about our salvation; that God chooses some and those He chooses have no choice but to be saved. The rest have no choice but to be condemned. In other words, there is no free will when it comes to salvation. I’ve had more than one conversation about this lately.
Jesus told the woman that her faith had saved her. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8 that we are saved by grace, through faith. So which is it? Are we saved by faith or grace?
Both. Without grace we cannot be saved, and without faith we cannot be saved.
There is a two-way dynamic that takes place when a person is saved. First, God must draw the person to Him (John 12:32) and reveal Himself (Luke 10:22). Grace is given to an individual to understand the saving message of the Gospel of Salvation (Heb. 6:4-5). The person at that time has a choice to believe or reject that message.
Of course, salvation can be a much more complicated and nuanced experience than the description above. It can take months or years for an individual to come to the realization or understanding of the truth, as well as the humility to accept it.
But at some point, that individual will come to a critical moment where the decision is now or never and God only knows that moment. I believe that is what Hebrews chap.6 explains.
Hebrews 6 is saying that there is a point where a person is enlightened to the extent that they actually taste the heavenly gift of salvation and partake of the Holy Spirit. They have been brought to a place where they completely understand the truth and ‘see the light’, and they can either reject or accept it.
If they accept it, they are saved by their faith. Their faith justifies their salvation (Rom. 5:1) and it is the power of God’s grace that seals them in the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13).
If they reject it, then they can not be brought back to that point again. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance, says the writer of Hebrews.
It is implicit in these verses that if your faith saves you, and if it is something that you can reject, then it is something you have a free-will choice about.
Jesus is clear when declaring to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you’. It was the woman’s choice to believe in Jesus as her Savior. He did not say, ‘I have saved you’. He could have, and it would have been accurate. But the fact that He told her that her faith saved her tells us that we have something to say about whether we live forever or we whether we are judged and destroyed.
Speaking of being judged, how can anyone be judged for their unbelief if they had no choice in not believing? How can anyone be guilty, if they had no other option but to not believe? Reformed Theology, or Calvinism, teaches that everyone is born into condemnation, which is true. But, they believe, God then chooses some out of that condition – without their consent – and the others will remain there and be judged.
But you cannot be rendered guilty for something you have no choice about.
Referring back to John 12, Jesus said that when He is ‘lifted up’, He would ‘draw all men to Himself’. Why would He say that He will draw all men to Himself if He is only going to choose certain ones for salvation? He would not. He “desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Tim. 2:4).
Whom does Jesus choose? Everyone who chooses to believe in Him!