God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

Salvation is earned

God’s grace gives us:

• a naturally free will, which enables us to choose either right or wrong.

• his revelation, so that we are able to understand right from wrong.

However, since every human is free by nature to accept or reject God and to obey or disobey his commands:

• those who accept God and obey him earn the grace of salvation.

• those who reject God and disobey him rightfully earn punishment.

Against Pelagius, the orthodox tradition of the Church asserts that our sin nature prevents us from taking any independent action to choose a relationship with God or to obey his commands. All people enter the world corrupted by sin. No person would acknowledge their need for God or desire to come into relationship with him apart from God’s prior action to call them to himself.

John 6.44 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day (cf. 2 Pet. 1.3).

The agency by which the Father draws people to himself is the Holy Spirit. This is the central premise of this segment. Without the working of the Holy Spirit no person would truly understand who God is, seek to know this true God, or acknowledge the true depth of their sinfulness and guilt before him. Therefore, faith, salvation, righteousness, and obedience come completely through the grace of God and can only be received as a gift not earned by human merit. The human will cannot and will not choose the true God apart from the gracious calling of the Father and the gracious empowerment of his Holy Spirit.