Decision Theology

One of the most prevalent issues in the modern Church is Decision Theology. Decision Theology states that in order to be saved (obtain eternal salvation) one must decide to accept Christ Jesus as one's personal Savior.

Why should this be a topic of controversy? All Christians uphold the fact that Christ Jesus is necessary for life everlasting. Let us take a closer look.

Jesus says, "You do not choose me, but I chose you..." (John 15:16). Further, Scripture tells us that all people are spiritually dead by nature (Eph. 2:1-3). If one is spiritually dead, how can one make a spiritual decision to live. The dead do not decide to live. The Bible goes on to say, "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:3, also see John 6:44). Conversion is done by the Holy Spirit. God alone saves. To contradict this is to say that we are saved--at least in part--by works and not solely God's grace. In no way do we save ourselves through any decision or by any other means.

How then are we saved? We are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith, like grace, is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9). We do not deserve it. No decision or action can help us to deserve it. A person does not choose to believe.

Does this mean that everyone believes and is automatically saved? In a word, no. Once faith is bestowed upon us, we have the free will to deny God's Word and reject God's grace. (This leads to a topic to be discussed later. It shall be called "Once Saved, Always Saved?")

So, if we have free will, and can decide to reject, why do we not also have the free will to accept? This is a very simple matter that often confuses people greatly. The answer is this, you can't accept something that you already have. For example, you have a nose (that is, most likely, and if not then just pretend that you do). It's already there. God gave it to you. You never decided to accept it, but it is there nonetheless. However, you can decide to deny yourself that luxury. You can have your nose removed. You can reject having a nose and all that is does. (If this seems too silly, you can substitute an arm or whatever).

Decision Theology is contrary to God's Word. It was started by a man named Charles Finney (8/29/1792 -8/16/1875) . Charles Finney affirmed that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, but also stated that we must accept Christ of our own free will in order to have faith by which to be saved (yes, he was self-contradicting). He did not understand that faith is a gift of God. And so, this was how he attempted to justify salvation through faith. I, personally, am amazed at how far reaching this obvious false doctrine has become.