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The true path to salvation is through Jesus Christ: our Lord and Savior.

Pascal's Wager states that whether God and heaven exist, it is better for us to accept the Holy Trinity. If God does exist, then we will go to heaven. If God does not exist, then no harm done.

The logical flaws are so obvious that they are not worth explaining.

The Atheist's Wager states that we do not have to accept the Holy Trinity but just be good people. If God does not exist, then no harm done. If God does exist, then would a benevolent creator deny the soul of a good person?

The Atheist's Wager is also wrong, however.

Salvation in Christ

Introduction

Pelagius, a British monk, settled in Rome around 400 during the early days of the Catholic Church. Most of his works are lost, but what survives by way of his pupil Celestius are six theses essentially denying original sin and the necessity of God's grace for salvation. From the perspective of Christian, Pelagianism is egregiously wrong in every aspect because there exists a clear and distinct difference between original and personal sin, a concept that Pelagius obviously did not understand.

In fact, deriving a refutation Pelagius is so simple that one need not seek the writings of Christian scholars or theologians for arguments. The answer lies in the Bible itself, and to refute the Bible's authority on its definition of original sin is to deny the word of God.

First Thesis

The first thesis of Pelagius is that even if Adam had not sinned, he would have died anyway. Clearly, this statement shows ignorance of the concept of the grace of God. God bestowed Adam with supernatural grace but not because Adam had any entitlement to it; God just made it so. Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Thus, when Adam was made, he was made to be “very good.” Adam did not have any natural rights to immortality or a fellowship with God, but rather, the graciousness of God allowed it to be so when He created Adam.

By eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam broke his relationship with God and became deprived of the supernatural grace that God gave him. God is just, and so Adam had to die. In Genesis 2:16-17, God says to Adam, “...You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” By this statement alone, there is no possible way to defend the first thesis of Pelagius.

Second Thesis

The second thesis of Pelagius is that Adam's sin only harmed himself and the human race is not affected. A Christian cannot possibly accept this statement if he understands that original sin and personal sin are two different things. First, one needs to understand the nature of original sin. Original sin is not a sin that we committed; it is the sin of Adam and Eve. Then why must the human race inherit the sin that created The Fall? We must because by breaking the fellowship with God, Adam has condemned all to be deprived of God's supernatural grace.

The second thesis of Pelagius is that Adam's sin only harmed himself and the human race is not affected. A Christian cannot possibly accept this statement if he understands that original sin and personal sin are two different things. First, one needs to understand the nature of original sin. Original sin is not a sin that we committed; it is the sin of Adam and Eve. Then why must the human race inherit the sin that created The Fall? We must because by breaking the fellowship with God, Adam has condemned all to be deprived of God's supernatural grace.

Therefore, by word of the Bible, the grace of God is a gift, and since Adam in his own free will rejected the highest gift from God, his children cannot inherit. God made Adam to be “very good,” but Adam is the one who fathered the rest of humankind.

Third Thesis

The third thesis of Pelagius is that newborns are born in the same state as Adam before The Fall. However, the Christian need only to refer to Romans 5:12 again to disprove this argument.

Moreover, St Paul writes in Romans 5:14, “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” Here, the logic is simple: Adam was made to be “very good.” If he broke his relationship with God, then he would die. If he did not commit original sin, then he stay immortal and retain his gift of supernatural grace.

Thus, Adam must have been born in a state of immortality. The rest of humankind was not born to be immortal. Therefore, children just born cannot be in the same state that Adam was in before the Fall. Therefore, Pelagius is wrong again.

Fourth Thesis

The fourth thesis is that the human race neither dies because of Adam's sin or death, nor rises through the resurrection of Christ. Both the former and latter parts of this thesis have already been disproven (Romans 5:12, 14, 15). The former part is quite literally refuted by Romans 5:12. However, St. Paul provides a thorough answer to the latter in Romans 5:18-21:

Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Law came in to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Essentially, humankind had two chances to receive the gift of God's grace. First was the Creation, but Adam lost his gift. The second is salvation through accepting Christ. Further proof of the case against Pelagianism is written in 1Corinthians 15:21-22: “For as a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.”

Fifth Thesis

The fifth thesis of Pelagius states that Mosaic Law is as good as the Gospels as a guide for getting into heaven. For a Christian to accept this statement, he might as well reject Christ and convert to Judaism. Clearly, Pelagius made this thesis because he does not understand the concept or nature of God's grace.

The age of Christians live in is the Church age, or the age of the Dispensation of Grace, because of with the coming of Jesus Christ, humankind has received the ultimate manifestation of God's grace. St. Paul writes in Romans 6:14, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” and again in Galations 3:10-14, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse... Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law... that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

The time of the Dispensation of Law began when God made His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Henceforth, all Jews would abide by Mosaic Law, which is comprised of moral, social and ceremonial rules. The Moral Law governed moral life for Jews in Israel (Exodus 20), the Social Law governed secular life for Jews in Israel (Exodus 21-23), and the Ceremonial Law governed religious life for Jews in Israel (Exodus 25-31 and Leviticus). Essentially, Mosaic Law serves as a guide for Jews to rule Israel. In this sense, the Law should and still remain for Jews.

Christians are not Jews. The coming of Christ marks God's second Covenant, for Christ has fulfilled the Law as stated in Galations 2:19: “For I (Jesus) through the Law died to the law, that I might live to God.” Christ has fulfilled the Moral Law by living a perfect and sinless life, He fulfilled the Ceremonial law by dying on the cross to show God's perfect justice and that sin must be judged, and He fulfilled the Social Law by showing man a new way towards salvation.

Since Christ has fulfilled the Mosaic Law, one cannot be saved, and consequently, get into heaven, by following the Law. In Galations 2:20-21, St. Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.” Since Mosaic Law will not grant humankind salvation into heaven, the Gospels are necessary.

Sixth Thesis

Finally, the sixth thesis of Pelagius is states that there were men without sin before the advent of Christ. As explained before, Christians must understand that original and personal sin are two separate things. Romans 5:12 already proves that all are born with sin.

However, righteous pre-Christian people such as Lot do not deserve to go to Hell; he never committed any personal sins. His only lost, as any Christian should know, is that he does not receive beatific vision, or the immediate sight and joy of God in heaven.

Implications

One of many logical conclusions that result from disproving Pelagius is that because faith and acceptance in the Holy Trinity is the only path to heaven, good works will achieve nothing. The Lutherans were and are right. We are no longer bound to Mosaic Law. The era in which we live in is the Dispensation of Grace, which will only end with the Rapture. One can cure cancer, end world hunger, live an austere, celibate life, and donate all worldly possessions to charity, but only through faith in Jesus will one find salvation. Let us look at Galations 3:10-14 a second time:

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse... Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law... that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Faith. Clearly, this second reading of the above passage carries far more implications than what was assumed initially.

The ultimate conclusion, however, is that Jesus has made humankind guilty for their trespasses. Traditionally, if one were to commit some transgression, the offender would technically be in debt to the offended. Either repayment comes in the form of equal material recompensation or in some form of physical punishment if the debtor cannot absolve the debt.

Hence, spending time in prison is commonly referred to paying one's “debt to society.” Since God has sacrificed His only Son for all sins, humankind can never repay God for their trespasses. Jesus Christ, who was Lord and the human incarnation of God, has already paid for our transgressions. We cannot equalize personally a debt that has already been resolved.

Consequently, Jesus Christ represents absolute mercy, which is essentially the idea that sins do not necessitate punishment if forgiveness can be bestowed. Hence or otherwise, mercy is a purely Christian moral.

With mercy comes another Christian moral: the notion of guilt. The unfulfilled but inherent need for equalization transforms the indebtedness of transgressions into guilt. (Freud and Nietzsche explored this idea extensively; the fact that if a sinner, who is seeking redemption, cannot receive external punishment, then the sinner will turn to self-punishment.)

We cannot pay for our sins by committing good works; we need the mercy of Jesus to remove our guilt. Until we have accepted Jesus, we will forever be guilty in the eyes of God.

Summation

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior?

Written by Dinah Cheshire, a Buddhist
Exclusive property of www.applesanity.com

Appendices

All Bible passages that were cited are from the 'Revised Standard Edition.' There is no particular reason why I chose this translation over others; it was just the one I had handy. That being said, stop reading the KJV - the scribes who wrote that do indeed deceive.