In lieu of numerous doctrinal changes, the question about whether something is a “salvation issue” gets thrown around on occasion among several church circles. “Is the Sabbath a salvation issue?” “Is what you wear to church or the beach a salvation issue?” “Is makeup a salvation issue?” “Is church attendance a salvation issue?” Used this way, the phrase “salvation issue” (never found in Scripture) is engaged to describe an issue that Christians must get right to obtain salvation. What is salvation? What did God’s apostle teach us regarding this subject?
“Webster defines "salvation" as: ‘1. The saving of man from the spiritual consequences of sin; especially deliverance from sin and eternal damnation .... 2. Preservation from destruction, failure, or other evil.’ Now we need to learn the Bible definition of sin, and to see what the Bible reveals the spiritual consequences to be. Whatever the consequences, Webster says salvation is to save you from it -- and in this the Bible shows Webster was right. Also salvation means preservation -- and in this, we shall see the Bible affirms the definition. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So what do we learn? Our works do earn us something—what is it—it’s not salvation, but death. We also learn that salvation actually is “eternal life”—and it only comes as God’s gift by grace and through Jesus Christ. Therefore salvation actually is "eternal life." Salvation is a matter of what you become -- not where you shall go! God's purpose is to change you -- from your vile character to His glorious character—not to change the place where you are! So, finally, where are we, now? You have been converted -- changed in mind, concept, attitude, direction of way of life -- you are begotten as a child of God -- you have now eternal life abiding in you -- as long as you are LED by God's Spirit in God's way -- as long as you continue in contact and fellowship with God (I John 1:3) -- all by God's grace as His gift, and not anything you have earned by your works; and now if you continue overcoming, growing spiritually -- and all this actually through God's power -- you shall inherit the Kingdom of God, and be made immortal to live forever in happiness and joy!”
Think about it. Isn’t the thought of this theoretical distinction of whether something is a “salvation (eternal life) issue” outright arrogant? After all, does it really matter what we humans think is a “salvation issue?” “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isa. 64:6). Are we willing to embrace a pseudo-Christianity that categorizes certain doctrines of God as being either “important” or “non-important?” If there were such a thing as “salvation issues” vs. “non-salvation issues” who gets to decide?
What is doctrine and whom does God use to establish doctrine within His church—a committee? A doctrine is simply a point of truth from God‘s Word about the purpose and plan of God. Doctrines explain various aspects of man’s relationship to God (see Hebrews 6:l-2). How, then, can we know if a certain “doctrine” is really a part of God‘s Word? John wrote, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John v9-11). The true doctrine of Christ is the truth that He reveals through His Word (John 17:17). Unless every doctrine we believe fits perfectly and harmoniously into the whole of the doctrine of Christ (as revealed in the Bible)—unless what we have learned only further serves to clarify and explain the whole plan of God—then it is not “truth,” but error. Every “Christian” denomination has its own set of doctrines. How does Jesus Christ reveal the truth to the Church of God? The answer is through an apostle, which means "one sent forth." The New Testament Church of God received all its teachings and traditions from the apostles (the teachers), with Peter chief over all the others. And all members of the church were required by God to believe and speak the same thing! Let's get this straight! The source of the beliefs and traditions in the Church of God is God Himself! Not any man. Jesus said, "I have spoken nothing of myself" (John 12:49)—the Father had instructed Him! Jesus, in turn, taught His apostles personally! Notice Acts 15:1, “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’” Right here, mark well this point, these men were not apostles. What they taught was not from Jesus!
It seems the phrase “salvation issue” was coined in an effort to justify those who failed to believe what the Bible taught on a number of given issues through God’s modern-day apostle. “You can question a host of different biblical issues so long as you believe the trunk of the tree,” or so the argument goes. The term ‘salvation issue’ promptly pops up when individuals differ on a point of church teaching. One says, “Oh, this isn’t a salvation issue. Let’s agree to disagree on this.” The suggestion is that this particular doctrine is not important to one’s salvation, i.e. eternal life. Conversely, if something is a salvation issue, then we must get it right in order to “be saved.” With that being said, what issues can we label as being “inconsequential” to our salvation? Does any human being have the right to stroll up to God’s throne and tell Him to scoot over? In fact, if we disobey God regarding any issue He has addressed in His Word (either explicitly or implicitly) by His apostle, we are guilty of sin. Sin is the violation of God’s will on any given subject (1 John 3:4; 5:17; Jas. 4:17; Rom. 14:23; Prov. 24:9). All issues–from “big” matters to “little” matters – have the power of death (Rom. 6:23).
Jesus gave His disciples the true form of government for His church. The true gospel is the good news of the kingdom—the government of God. God is Supreme Ruler. From Him proceeds all authority and power. The true church is subject to God. The authority of God must be carried out in our church to which the gospel of the kingdom or government of God is committed. God's government in His church is merely His rule over our lives as we submit to it. How far does church government extend into your life? As far as you allow it! It is the means by which Christ guides the work of the church and perfects its members. Paul clearly explains this need, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13). Does God give each of us the individual right to compartmentalize issues such as marriage, the reward of the saved, prophecy or baptism as either “essential” or “non-essential” matters? Which of these are we willing to be wrong about and still be found pleasing to God—reconciled to God? We’re told in Matthew 5:19, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” It begs the question what is the least we must do to be pleasing to God? Does it not seem dangerous to compartmentalize things as “salvation issues” as it bolsters a sort of “checklist” mentality when it comes to church doctrine—“As long as I’m good on these things over here, I don’t have to be as concerned about those things over there?” That almost makes it sound like a merit-based Christianity. No, salvation is God’s free gift with some prerequisites—faith and obedience (Mark 16:15-16). If we deeply love God, if we are truly grateful for our calling and His revealed truths to us through His apostle then we should never try to categorize God’s doctrines into “essentials” and “non-essentials.” Jesus did rebuke the scribes and Pharisees for forgetting the basis from which their obedience was to spring—for “majoring in the minors;” yet, He also stated, “…not to leave the others undone…” (Matt. 23:23-24). Which doctrines can we sacrifice on the altar of relativism?
When we take matters on which God has spoken and depreciate them to mere “matters of opinion,” we have sacrificed the conviction that God revealed all His truths through His apostle (top-down government). On the surface “it’s not a salvation issue” seems innocent and well-intentioned. But ultimately it’s unhelpful shorthand. Many who use it believe that some biblical doctrines are more important than others. They use “salvation issue” to focus on God’s key commands, as they see it while creating freedom for others to have different views on lesser commands. However, using “salvation issue” as shorthand to separate important doctrines from lesser ones again begs the question: Who decides the list? “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write…” (Rev. 3:14-22). The ultimate sense of the “Laodicean” is the people rule or the people decide. It means "the (self-) righteous people." Who decides the list? Can we each decide for ourselves? In the absence of a biblical checklist, humans tend to make up their own based on any number of things including personal preferences. And then there is the trap of making light of matters, which are not on that list. If Sabbath attendance isn’t a salvation issue, why not skip some (or most) services? If church government isn’t a salvation issue, why not come up with our own? The fact that some doctrines are seemingly more important to us than others does not free us to focus on the former and disregard the latter. Having a list of “salvation issues vs. non-salvation issues” can thus foster a dismissive attitude toward other relevant doctrines.
In Romans 14, Paul admonished the saints at Rome to receive the "weak in the faith" and not to sit in judgment of them (verse 1). Some of those recently converted, not yet having grown strong in the faith, refused to eat meat and subsisted mainly on vegetables. Paul explains why in another one of his letters. Most of the available meat had been offered to idols. Some gentiles who had been converted and had come out of idolatry still held some superstitious beliefs. They thought that idols actually had power over their lives. Therefore, "some with conscience of the idol" ate meat "as a thing offered unto an idol" (I Cor. 8:7). Not only were there weak converts who were afraid of eating meat offered to idols, but there were others who customarily abstained from a particular food—they practiced a semi-fast or abstained from foods on certain days. Others regarded all days alike as far as eating was concerned (v5-6). The point in this regard is that this suggests what one may see as a “non-salvation issue” can be a “salvation issue” for others. We go in circles and confusion results! We need to be level-headed about this question. The first order of business is to get our baseline right: God, and God alone, gets to decide what is a “salvation issue.” True Christians, of course, have an obligation to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3). We’re to work out our salvation “with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil. 2:12-13). It is when we become dispassionate about serving God—categorizing His doctrines as “salvation issues” and “non-salvation issues”—that we jeopardize our salvation.
God’s Word can and should be known and understood for those whom He has called (John 6:44). God has never spoken out of both sides of His mouth on any issue. There is no biblical teaching about which all interpretations are equally valid. The true Church of God was founded and built by Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:18), who is its living Head (Col. 1:18). God's Church has existed continuously from Christ's time to the present, still teaching what Jesus taught (Matt. 28:19-20). The true Church of God supports all of its doctrines from the Scriptures. We are not given a license to believe whatever we want! God commands: "Lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:5). "The holy scriptures ... are able to make you wise to salvation," wrote Paul (2 Tim. 3:15). By studying the Word of God to prove all things, and by holding fast that which is good (I Thess. 5:21), we become fully persuaded in our minds concerning what God says. Does it make any difference to God whether we obey Him?
The Bible does not use the term “salvation issue vs. non-salvation issue.” Even the so-called not-so-weighty matters are not to be neglected. The fact that some doctrines are more important to us than others does not free us to focus on the former and disregard the latter. We’re called to uphold all of God’s truths as revealed to us through His chosen apostle and shun all sin—as all sin is a “salvation issue”—everything becomes a “salvation issue” when we stop seeking the truth and obeying God. Salvation is a dynamic process. We do well to walk in the light, abiding in Christ and being strengthened by the Holy Spirit, all to our Father’s glory.
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