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Examined Doctrine

Salvation

8 questions in this part of the map. Each one shows the views side by side, who holds each view, and their own words wherever they can be quoted.

  1. What did the fall do to us, and can we turn to God on our own?

    Original sin & the human will

    Nineteen of the 31 figures who answer say the fall left the will unable to turn to God until God frees it. The other twelve split three ways: human nature wounded but not destroyed, everyone given grace to respond, or the will still essentially free. What divides them is how deep the damage goes, and how much is left for the will to do.

    4 views: Unable until God frees the will; Wounded, not destroyed; Unable, but grace given to all; The will is still free · 36 figures placed

  2. Why does God choose some people for salvation?

    Election & predestination

    Everyone on this map who answers agrees that God chooses people for salvation. They split over what the choice rests on: God’s own free decision, or something God sees in advance in the person, such as their faith. Nineteen of 26 hold the first and five the second, while two hold God’s sovereignty and human responsibility together without choosing between them.

    3 views: God’s free choice alone; Based on foreseen faith; Affirmed, but not divisive · 28 figures placed

  3. What is saving faith, and why doesn’t every kind of believing count?

    The nature of saving faith

    All three views agree that believing facts about Jesus is not, on its own, the faith that saves. They split over what has to be added: trust alongside knowing and agreeing, trust as the whole of it, or love filling out the mind’s agreement. That gives three views.

    3 views: Know, agree and trust; Trust that takes hold of Christ; Belief made saving by love · 23 figures placed

  4. When God accepts a sinner, does he declare them righteous or make them righteous?

    Justification

    All three views say a sinner is put right with God by his grace. They split over what that is: a verdict that declares the sinner righteous, or a real change that makes them righteous, which the medieval writers describe as grace poured into the soul. That gives three views.

    3 views: Declared righteous; Made righteous, not only declared; Changed by grace poured into the soul · 29 figures placed

  5. Did Jesus die for everyone, or only for some?

    Extent of the atonement

    The question is whom Christ’s death was meant to save. Some on this map say the people God chose, some say everyone, and some say it is enough for everyone but saves only some. A fourth group never takes the question up in these terms, which makes four views.

    4 views: For the people God chose; For everyone; Enough for all, effective for some; Not asked in these terms · 28 figures placed

  6. Can someone who is truly saved end up lost after all?

    Perseverance & eternal security

    Some people who seem to be Christians later walk away. The views split over what that means: they were never truly saved, real believers can lose their faith, or lasting to the end is a separate gift God does not give to everyone he has made new. That gives three views.

    3 views: The truly saved can’t be lost; Real believers can fall away; Lasting is a separate gift · 30 figures placed

  7. When does the Holy Spirit come to live inside a person?

    Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

    Every view here holds that the Holy Spirit lives in believers. They split over what comes first: the Spirit giving new life, the person believing, or baptism as the means God uses to give him. That gives three views.

    3 views: At new birth, before faith; When a person believes; Through baptism · 23 figures placed

  8. How do Christians fight against the devil?

    Spiritual warfare

    Everyone given a view here treats the devil as a real enemy. Where they differ is in how believers have understood the fight itself: as carried on through the usual means of the Christian life, including asking God to deliver the afflicted, or also by commanding evil spirits to leave in Jesus’ name. A figure is placed in the first view for what they teach, and silence about casting out spirits is not read as rejecting it. That gives two views.

    2 views: Scripture, prayer and faith; Those means, and casting out spirits · 21 figures placed