"For by grace you have been saved through faith," writes the apostle Paul to the Ephesians, "and that," having been saved, is "not [a result] of yourselves, [but] is the gift of God"; adding, "not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). So, therefore, keeping the Law of God, or trying to be a good and decent human being, will never merit anyone the grace of God toward salvation. Such a concept is not even possible for any individual born into the world: "For the mind set on the flesh," meaning the person born into the world in sin, who possesses a corrupted human nature, lets his sinful nature control his mind, and such a sinful state of mind "leads to death" (cf. Eph. 2:1, 2, 3); but "the mind set on the Spirit," meaning, letting the Holy Spirit control your life, leads to eternal "life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh [sinful nature] is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the Law of God" and "it is not even able to do so" (Rom. 8:6-7).
The person who is not yet born again does not subject him- or herself to God's Law and is not even capable of doing so (Rom. 8:6-7), but is spiritually helpless (Rom. 5:6), and is an active enemy of God (Rom. 5:10). Such a one is condemned (Rom. 5:18) and constituted a sinner at birth (Rom. 5:19; cf. Ps. 51:5 CSB). Therefore, when we encounter someone asking Jesus what must be accomplished in order to obtain eternal life and salvation, we must understand our inability to attain salvation on our own merit. We are not self-controlled to perfectly keeping God's Law and we are in no sense imaginable even capable of doing so (Rom. 8:6, 7). But Pelagius interprets this issue to the contrary.
THE MERIT OF MAN
Pelagius often refers to the parable of the Rich Young Ruler in order to advance his theology that, in order for one to enter Heaven, one must merit Heaven by keeping God's Law--something that Paul insists is impossible. Let Christ "instruct you, let Him teach you Himself who, when the young man in the Gospel [Matt. 19:16-26] asked Him what he should do to merit eternal life, straightway set forth His divine commands, showing us that we must do the will of Him from whom we also hope to receive rewards."1 Pelagius' error is failing to understand the purpose of the Law. For we know that the Law was not able to grant us salvation via regeneration (Gal. 3:21)--a spiritual change in one's nature that brings new life (Rom. 8:3-4). The purpose of the Law was to show us how despicable sin really is (Rom. 7:13; cf. Rom. 7:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) and how the effects of sin have separated us from God (Isa. 59:2), killing us spiritually (Eph. 2:1, 2, 3)--by which spiritual death we now need spiritual life, a regeneration that we cannot effect ourselves (John 1:11, 12, 13; Titus 3:5)--manifesting to each one of us that we, having been rendered entirely incapable of righteously keeping God's Law (Rom. 8:6, 7), need His monergistic and effectual grace (Rom. 2:4).
Will there not be rewards for our service rendered on behalf of others by our Lord and Savior someday? Absolutely (Luke 6:35; 1 Cor. 3:8; Col. 3:23-24; Heb. 11:6; Rev. 22:12)! Are we being rewarded with eternal salvation for trying to be good and by performing good deeds? No. Such is not even remotely possible. Moreover, such notions actually contradict faith, as well as Scripture. "So if you claim that God's promise [of salvation] is for those who obey God's Law and think they are 'good enough' in God's sight then you are saying that faith is useless" (Rom. 4:14 NLT '96). But God has chosen to justify the person who, by His grace, has faith in the atoning Work and Person of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28; 4:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10). "So that's why faith is the key! God's promise is given to us as a free gift" (Rom. 4:16 NLT '96).
Because Pelagius fails to understand God's purpose of the Law, he establishes damnable heresy, imagining that God's purpose of the Law is to actually bring merit to the one who keeps His Law. The problem is this: "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). You must keep God's Law absolutely perfectly or you will be forever condemned. But Pelagius believes that Jesus pointed to the Law so that those who obey may be saved: "That is why He bears witness in another passage: 'Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven' (Matt. 7:21). By this it is made manifestly clear that we do not merit a reward of such magnitude solely by confessing God unless works of faith and righteousness are added."2 If this is your hope then you are clinging to a false hope that will eternally damn your soul. Yes, ours is faith that works (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-26), but our faith works not in order to merit salvation but because we have been freely gifted salvation by God. Even faith in Christ itself is a gift of God: salvation is a gift, as grace is a gift, as faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8, 9); "To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:1 NASB).
But grace is not an actual thing, not a tangible object or force or mere concept, but a Person. Sinclair Ferguson reminds us that what can never be "repeated too often or too loudly" is that "in Scripture 'grace' is not a res," which is Latin for a thing or object or matter. Grace is "neither substance nor commodity outside of the Person of God Himself."3 Therefore Pelagius misunderstands not merely grace but actually our triune God. Understanding God's grace--that is to say, understanding God Himself4--is what undermines Pelagius' theology, as well as legalism, and Law-keeping in an effort to acquire the salvation of God offered freely to every person born in the world through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ--and this offer is genuinely displayed for every person ever to be born. But God's salvation cannot be bought, merited, earned by human effort. Salvation is determined by God's eternal covenant. Salvation belongs to Him. He is free to offer it to whomever He shall choose, to one person, or to the entire world of people. God will, truly, save anyone who comes to Christ. "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16-17).
THE MERIT OF CHRIST
Our passage at 2 Peter 1:1, regarding the faith of those who have received it, lagchanó, the Greek tells us that this faith is something that someone obtains or receives by the casting of lot--to receive by divine allotment (cf. Lev. 16:8; Prov. 16:33). "In the context of the New Testament," our Greek word "often refers to the divine or providential allocation of roles, responsibilities, or inheritances. The term implies a sense of receiving something not by personal merit or effort, but by a process that is beyond human control, often seen as guided by God's will."5 So, then, not only is salvation a free gift of God to give to whomever He wills; but even the faith required of God to justify an individual is a free gift of God to give to whomever He wills; and so we can echo Paul and insist that a person is monergistically saved solely by the effectual grace of God through a gifted faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8, 9). This sentiment is why Anglican Reformer William Tyndale could say:
THE MERIT OF WORKS
Pelagius repeats ad nauseam the notion that "faith alone" will not save a person unless that faith is a faith that works--and he is right to a certain degree (James 2:14-26). But he carries that notion to its fullest and eternally-damning implication:
The only merit known to or recognized by God is that of His Son Christ Jesus. If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). This being in Christ is solely from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord (2 Cor. 5:18). God the Father made Christ Jesus, God the Son, to be sin, or a sin offering, on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). There is no righteousness in us that God accepts. There is no merit in us that has God's approval. He approves of His Son (Matt. 17:5). If God is to approve of us then it must be in Christ (Eph. 1:4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 20; 2:6, 7, 10, 13, 15, 21, 22; 3:6, 21; 4:21, 32; 5:8; 6:1, 10, 21): it cannot be in and of ourselves. Pelagius admits: "God does not love the evil, He does not love sinners; whoever does evil is God's enemy; whoever is not without guile can have no part with Christ. ... Be blameless if you wish to live with God; be guileless if you wish to reign with Christ. ... If you wish to live [eternally with Christ], hear what the prophet says: If you love Christ's Kingdom, hear how you may become worthy to gain it."8
CONCLUSION
Of this you can be certain: all who followed this rule were found not in the righteousness of Christ but in their own fallen state. They did not attain the Kingdom of Heaven. "For not knowing about," or, in their case, not believing in "God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [or fulfillment] of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:3-4). Christ not only died to atone for our sins, and to redeem us, but He also lived perfectly to provide our righteousness. "For Christ is our righteousness and holiness and redemption. You are God's children through Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30).
Pelagius falsely instructs us: "Let that man deservedly judge himself to be a Christian who keeps these commandments, who is holy, humble, chaste and righteous, who spends his life in works of mercy and righteousness."9 For Pelagius, this is how one merits salvation. "I do not know whose servant he is who is seen to be doing neither evil nor good, or how he can hope for everlasting life from God, if he has not earned it by good deeds."10 He says that "whoever has not been good has not life; whoever has not performed works of righteousness and mercy cannot reign with Christ."11 Scripture says: Let the regenerate child of God lovingly obey Christ's commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23), to pursue Christ in holiness (Heb. 12:14), remain humble (Eph. 4:2-6; 1 Pet. 5:6-9), chaste (Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3), and let his works shine before the eyes of all so that God may be praised (Matt. 5:16)--doing all of this not in order to merit salvation, which is impossible, but because God has already granted you salvation by His own free grace through a gifted faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, changing your nature by the Spirit's regeneration (Titus 3:5), creating you in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10) to bring Himself His deserved glory (1 Cor. 10:31).
__________
1 Pelagius, "To Celantia," in B.R. Rees, Pelagius: Life and Letters (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 2.129.
2 Ibid.
3 Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance--Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), fn. 25, p. 110.
4 Ibid., p. 110.
5 BibleHub offers this cultural and historical background: "In ancient cultures, casting lots was a common practice used to make decisions or determine outcomes believed to be influenced by divine will. This method was employed in various contexts, including the allocation of land, the selection of individuals for specific roles and the distribution of inheritances. The practice is rooted in the belief that the outcome of casting lots was determined by a higher power, thus ensuring fairness and divine guidance." If faith in Christ is to be expressed then faith in Christ must be the allotment granted by God to a person via regeneration (Titus 3:5). We cannot believe because we are fallen and have become degenerate (John 1:11, 12, 13; John 6:27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 25, 27, 39, 44, 45, 63, 65; Rom. 5:6, 10, 18, 19; 7:5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14; 8:3, 6, 7, 8; 1 Cor. 1:23, 24, 30, 31; 2:4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; James 1:18). Regeneration by the effectual inward work Holy Spirit births faith.
6 Pelagius, "On the Christian Life," Rees, 2.123.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., 2.117-18.
9 Ibid., 2.119.
10 Ibid., 2.117.
11 Ibid.
The person who is not yet born again does not subject him- or herself to God's Law and is not even capable of doing so (Rom. 8:6-7), but is spiritually helpless (Rom. 5:6), and is an active enemy of God (Rom. 5:10). Such a one is condemned (Rom. 5:18) and constituted a sinner at birth (Rom. 5:19; cf. Ps. 51:5 CSB). Therefore, when we encounter someone asking Jesus what must be accomplished in order to obtain eternal life and salvation, we must understand our inability to attain salvation on our own merit. We are not self-controlled to perfectly keeping God's Law and we are in no sense imaginable even capable of doing so (Rom. 8:6, 7). But Pelagius interprets this issue to the contrary.
THE MERIT OF MAN
Pelagius often refers to the parable of the Rich Young Ruler in order to advance his theology that, in order for one to enter Heaven, one must merit Heaven by keeping God's Law--something that Paul insists is impossible. Let Christ "instruct you, let Him teach you Himself who, when the young man in the Gospel [Matt. 19:16-26] asked Him what he should do to merit eternal life, straightway set forth His divine commands, showing us that we must do the will of Him from whom we also hope to receive rewards."1 Pelagius' error is failing to understand the purpose of the Law. For we know that the Law was not able to grant us salvation via regeneration (Gal. 3:21)--a spiritual change in one's nature that brings new life (Rom. 8:3-4). The purpose of the Law was to show us how despicable sin really is (Rom. 7:13; cf. Rom. 7:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) and how the effects of sin have separated us from God (Isa. 59:2), killing us spiritually (Eph. 2:1, 2, 3)--by which spiritual death we now need spiritual life, a regeneration that we cannot effect ourselves (John 1:11, 12, 13; Titus 3:5)--manifesting to each one of us that we, having been rendered entirely incapable of righteously keeping God's Law (Rom. 8:6, 7), need His monergistic and effectual grace (Rom. 2:4).
Will there not be rewards for our service rendered on behalf of others by our Lord and Savior someday? Absolutely (Luke 6:35; 1 Cor. 3:8; Col. 3:23-24; Heb. 11:6; Rev. 22:12)! Are we being rewarded with eternal salvation for trying to be good and by performing good deeds? No. Such is not even remotely possible. Moreover, such notions actually contradict faith, as well as Scripture. "So if you claim that God's promise [of salvation] is for those who obey God's Law and think they are 'good enough' in God's sight then you are saying that faith is useless" (Rom. 4:14 NLT '96). But God has chosen to justify the person who, by His grace, has faith in the atoning Work and Person of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28; 4:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10). "So that's why faith is the key! God's promise is given to us as a free gift" (Rom. 4:16 NLT '96).
Because Pelagius fails to understand God's purpose of the Law, he establishes damnable heresy, imagining that God's purpose of the Law is to actually bring merit to the one who keeps His Law. The problem is this: "For whoever keeps the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). You must keep God's Law absolutely perfectly or you will be forever condemned. But Pelagius believes that Jesus pointed to the Law so that those who obey may be saved: "That is why He bears witness in another passage: 'Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven' (Matt. 7:21). By this it is made manifestly clear that we do not merit a reward of such magnitude solely by confessing God unless works of faith and righteousness are added."2 If this is your hope then you are clinging to a false hope that will eternally damn your soul. Yes, ours is faith that works (Eph. 2:10; James 2:14-26), but our faith works not in order to merit salvation but because we have been freely gifted salvation by God. Even faith in Christ itself is a gift of God: salvation is a gift, as grace is a gift, as faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8, 9); "To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:1 NASB).
But grace is not an actual thing, not a tangible object or force or mere concept, but a Person. Sinclair Ferguson reminds us that what can never be "repeated too often or too loudly" is that "in Scripture 'grace' is not a res," which is Latin for a thing or object or matter. Grace is "neither substance nor commodity outside of the Person of God Himself."3 Therefore Pelagius misunderstands not merely grace but actually our triune God. Understanding God's grace--that is to say, understanding God Himself4--is what undermines Pelagius' theology, as well as legalism, and Law-keeping in an effort to acquire the salvation of God offered freely to every person born in the world through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ--and this offer is genuinely displayed for every person ever to be born. But God's salvation cannot be bought, merited, earned by human effort. Salvation is determined by God's eternal covenant. Salvation belongs to Him. He is free to offer it to whomever He shall choose, to one person, or to the entire world of people. God will, truly, save anyone who comes to Christ. "For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16-17).
THE MERIT OF CHRIST
Our passage at 2 Peter 1:1, regarding the faith of those who have received it, lagchanó, the Greek tells us that this faith is something that someone obtains or receives by the casting of lot--to receive by divine allotment (cf. Lev. 16:8; Prov. 16:33). "In the context of the New Testament," our Greek word "often refers to the divine or providential allocation of roles, responsibilities, or inheritances. The term implies a sense of receiving something not by personal merit or effort, but by a process that is beyond human control, often seen as guided by God's will."5 So, then, not only is salvation a free gift of God to give to whomever He wills; but even the faith required of God to justify an individual is a free gift of God to give to whomever He wills; and so we can echo Paul and insist that a person is monergistically saved solely by the effectual grace of God through a gifted faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8, 9). This sentiment is why Anglican Reformer William Tyndale could say:
Now faith comes not of our Free Will but is the gift of God, given us by grace, before there is any will in our hearts to do the Law of God; and why God gives it not to everyone I can give no reckoning of His judgments. But well I know, I never deserved it, nor prepared myself for it; but ran another way clean contrary in my blindness, and sought not that way; but He sought me, and found me ... and therewith drew me to Him; and I bow the knees of my heart unto God night and day that He will show it to all others; and I suffer all that I can to be a servant to open their eyes. For well I know that they cannot see it of themselves unless God [grants them so] by His grace.This, too, is how Anglican Reformer John Wycliffe could say: "We should know that faith is a gift of God, and that it may not be given to men, except it be by grace. Thus, indeed, all the good which we have is of God; and accordingly, when God rewards a good work of man, He crowns His own gift." What is required for someone to be saved? Righteousness. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel," writes Paul, "for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it [the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous one shall live [have or possess eternal life] by faith'" (Rom. 1:16, 17). God is righteous: He is right, He is justice, He is perfection. If anyone is to to be redeemed for their sins then what is required of the individual is perfection, justice, rightness (righteousness). The very state of being that we need to be made right with God is the very thing we cannot attain, we cannot possess, we cannot present to God. So how is God to save us? By our attempts? By our works? By us in any way possible? No.
But now God has shown us a different way of being right, being declared righteous, in His sight [cf. Eph. 1:4, 5]--not by attempting to perfectly obey the Law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago: we are made right in God's sight, declared righteous by God, through faith in Jesus Christ; there is no distinction--no matter who we are or what we have done--for we all sinned and we all continuously fall short of God's glory--His perfect nature, His ways, His glorious standards--they are justified freely [declared guiltless even though guilty] by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as the Mercy Seat [the Place of Atonement / the Propitiation] through His blood, to be received by faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint, God passed over the sins previously committed. He presented Him [Jesus] to demonstrate His own righteousness at the present time so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26 my translation with CSB, ESV, NLT modified).When the apostle Paul admits that he has no confidence in anything he has done that could merit salvation, he insists that he, as well as all of us, must be found in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:20; 2:6, 7), not having a righteousness of our own that comes from attempts at perfectly obeying the Law, but that righteousness which comes to us through faith in Christ, the righteousness imputed to us from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:9; Rom. 3:4, 5). Righteousness is rightness, justice, perfect goodness without any taint of inner impurity whatsoever. No human being after the Fall of Adam and Eve possessed absolute righteousness except Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). This is why we must "be found in Him" because only in Christ Jesus can God impute our Savior's righteousness to our spiritual account. Only in Christ Jesus will God view us to be as righteous as Christ (even though we are not, in our sin, righteous at all). This is referred to as imputation: to attribute or credit a characteristic to someone. When God looks at us who are in Christ Jesus by His grace through faith, He sees Christ's perfect righteousness, and not us in our filthy sins. Rome can call this doctrine a "legal fiction" but no one under Her roof will ever be declared righteous outside of Christ's righteousness. This is why Scripture confronts the heresy of Rome: "even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe" (Rom. 3:22 NASB). Rome, like Pelagius, thinks that God will only justify the person who has actually become righteous. Now that is a legal fiction!
THE MERIT OF WORKS
Pelagius repeats ad nauseam the notion that "faith alone" will not save a person unless that faith is a faith that works--and he is right to a certain degree (James 2:14-26). But he carries that notion to its fullest and eternally-damning implication:
They are said to have believed to the extent that they also performed good works in the name of the Lord, but their faith alone will not profit them, because they have not done works of righteousness. So, if faith alone profits, why are those who are judged not for their faithfulness but for having done nothing that is good delivered along with Satan's angels to the fires of Hell forever, as it is written, "And the King will say to those at His left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food'" (Matt. 25:41, 42). Surely He did not say to them, "Because you did not believe in Me"; hence it is possible to understand that they are to be damned not because of unbelief but on account of their lack of good works.6He then writes: "Let no one therefore deceive another or mislead him: unless a man has been righteous, he has not [eternal] life; unless a man has kept Christ's commandments in all things, he cannot share with Him."7 Did Pelagius actually become righteous--righteous like Christ? If not then he is in Hell. Did Pelagius actually keep all of Christ's commandments in all things? If not then, by his own confession, he is in Hell. We know that some profess to have faith in Christ but who show not even the smallest amount of love for, devotion to, or worship of Him. We know that some profess to know God but deny that profession by their evil deeds (Titus 1:16). We know, too, that Christ will actually say to many on the Day of His Return: Depart from Me, I never knew you, you who practice lawlessness (Matt. 7:21, 22, 23). But Scripture is absolutely clear that no one will be saved by his or her own imagined righteousness (Phil. 3:9; Rom. 9:30), Law-keeping / good works (Rom. 3:20; 10:1-11; Gal. 2:16), or attempts at "being good" (Rom. 4:14). The Law cannot save you (Gal. 3:21), and the Law cannot sanctify you, either.
The only merit known to or recognized by God is that of His Son Christ Jesus. If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). This being in Christ is solely from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord (2 Cor. 5:18). God the Father made Christ Jesus, God the Son, to be sin, or a sin offering, on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). There is no righteousness in us that God accepts. There is no merit in us that has God's approval. He approves of His Son (Matt. 17:5). If God is to approve of us then it must be in Christ (Eph. 1:4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 20; 2:6, 7, 10, 13, 15, 21, 22; 3:6, 21; 4:21, 32; 5:8; 6:1, 10, 21): it cannot be in and of ourselves. Pelagius admits: "God does not love the evil, He does not love sinners; whoever does evil is God's enemy; whoever is not without guile can have no part with Christ. ... Be blameless if you wish to live with God; be guileless if you wish to reign with Christ. ... If you wish to live [eternally with Christ], hear what the prophet says: If you love Christ's Kingdom, hear how you may become worthy to gain it."8
CONCLUSION
Of this you can be certain: all who followed this rule were found not in the righteousness of Christ but in their own fallen state. They did not attain the Kingdom of Heaven. "For not knowing about," or, in their case, not believing in "God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end [or fulfillment] of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:3-4). Christ not only died to atone for our sins, and to redeem us, but He also lived perfectly to provide our righteousness. "For Christ is our righteousness and holiness and redemption. You are God's children through Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30).
Pelagius falsely instructs us: "Let that man deservedly judge himself to be a Christian who keeps these commandments, who is holy, humble, chaste and righteous, who spends his life in works of mercy and righteousness."9 For Pelagius, this is how one merits salvation. "I do not know whose servant he is who is seen to be doing neither evil nor good, or how he can hope for everlasting life from God, if he has not earned it by good deeds."10 He says that "whoever has not been good has not life; whoever has not performed works of righteousness and mercy cannot reign with Christ."11 Scripture says: Let the regenerate child of God lovingly obey Christ's commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23), to pursue Christ in holiness (Heb. 12:14), remain humble (Eph. 4:2-6; 1 Pet. 5:6-9), chaste (Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3), and let his works shine before the eyes of all so that God may be praised (Matt. 5:16)--doing all of this not in order to merit salvation, which is impossible, but because God has already granted you salvation by His own free grace through a gifted faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, changing your nature by the Spirit's regeneration (Titus 3:5), creating you in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10) to bring Himself His deserved glory (1 Cor. 10:31).
__________
1 Pelagius, "To Celantia," in B.R. Rees, Pelagius: Life and Letters (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998), 2.129.
2 Ibid.
3 Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance--Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), fn. 25, p. 110.
4 Ibid., p. 110.
5 BibleHub offers this cultural and historical background: "In ancient cultures, casting lots was a common practice used to make decisions or determine outcomes believed to be influenced by divine will. This method was employed in various contexts, including the allocation of land, the selection of individuals for specific roles and the distribution of inheritances. The practice is rooted in the belief that the outcome of casting lots was determined by a higher power, thus ensuring fairness and divine guidance." If faith in Christ is to be expressed then faith in Christ must be the allotment granted by God to a person via regeneration (Titus 3:5). We cannot believe because we are fallen and have become degenerate (John 1:11, 12, 13; John 6:27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 25, 27, 39, 44, 45, 63, 65; Rom. 5:6, 10, 18, 19; 7:5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14; 8:3, 6, 7, 8; 1 Cor. 1:23, 24, 30, 31; 2:4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14; Eph. 2:1, 2, 3; James 1:18). Regeneration by the effectual inward work Holy Spirit births faith.
6 Pelagius, "On the Christian Life," Rees, 2.123.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., 2.117-18.
9 Ibid., 2.119.
10 Ibid., 2.117.
11 Ibid.
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