Like many little girls, I took ballet lessons when I was a kid. I went pretty far, even graduating to pointe in middle school. While I have long since retired my ballet shoes, one lesson that has stayed with me is the importance of balance. Any dancer worth their salt will tell you that balance is key to a beautiful performance. Hours were spent at the balance bar where we would practice our pliés and turns. A lot of hard work goes into maintaining balance, especially for difficult positions and jumps. I was reminded of those countless hours when an old friend asked about something her pastor said.
This pastor used an interesting word to describe his view of the role of works with regard to salvation. He argued that salvation is by grace through faith alone, and not by works. Then, in the very next sentence, he argued that works are required for final salvation. Surprisingly, he did acknowledge that there is a problem with these contradictory statements. Admitting that there was a “rub” to them, he said it was a challenge to use the right words to capture the balance between grace and works.
In typical Lordship Salvation fashion, he went on to express his “balanced” view of salvation by both grace and works. GES has written extensively about Lordship Salvation and its many pitfalls. (Check out articles here and here for more information on that topic.) What struck me about this conversation was the use of the word balance. I had seen it used by Oswalt in his discussion of Isa 1:18. Regarding the forgiveness referred to in Isa 1:18, Oswalt states:
There is a delicate balance to be maintained here between human freedom and divine sovereignty. On the one hand, it ought not to be said that obedience produces forgiveness. God forgives and cleanses not because he must, but because he wishes to and has made a way for that to be done through the death and resurrection of Christ. But, on the other hand, it is also plain that God does not proclaim forgiveness to those who are unwilling to obey. All the rhetorical language of the prophets, urging people to obey, is in opposition to any position that God’s forgiveness can ever be experienced apart from a disposition to obey him. (John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, p. 102, emphasis added).
Oswalt equates forgiveness with eternal salvation. He views Isa 1:18 as addressing eternal salvation but can’t help but acknowledge the glaring inconsistency between the passage–which speaks of works and obedience–and the many Scripture passages that teach forgiveness and salvation apart from any work or obedience on man’s part (to see more on this passage see this article).
Incapable of harmonizing the contradiction, Oswalt, like my friend’s pastor, begins to speak in the language of balance. Oswalt sees eternal salvation as a balancing act in which the believer should maintain equal parts of grace and works. Like a ballerina, the believer should be careful to maintain this balance, for you must not tip too far towards either cheap grace or outright works salvation. Both are to be held in equal parts.
This is all nonsense. The word balance should be removed from conversations about eternal salvation and its relationship to works. It is a feeble attempt by works salvationists to add obedience to the saving message. Rather than keeping grace and works separate (Rom 11:6), they nullify grace. In addition, it’s not a term or concept used in the NT to describe the relationship between eternal life and works.
The word balance (which is also translated as scales) is used only once in the NT (Rev 6:5). It refers to the scales that an angel is holding. Similarly, it is used in the OT regarding scales used to weigh money or grain. It is never used in the Gospel of John when the Lord evangelizes unbelievers. Nor is it ever used with reference to the way believers should see the role of works in their lives. In contrast, the writers of the Scriptures see the gift of eternal life as a separate concept from the issue of works; they should be kept distinct from one another (Eph 2:8-9). Using the word balance incorrectly implies that eternal salvation is maintained by equal amounts of faith and obedience.
Finally, the word balance depicts salvation as being uncertain. As I think back on my days as a dancer, one of my most vivid memories is of getting my first pair of pointe shoes. What I remember most was how hard it was to maintain my balance, even after all my years of dancing. I was unstable and often fell during turns. Balance was a difficult thing to maintain, even for a seasoned dancer. If Bible teachers use this word to describe the believer’s eternal standing, instability will surely follow. In contrast, when the Lord spoke of the security of the believer, it was always on the sure foundation of His promise that the one who believes in Him has (present tense) eternal life and will never perish (John 6:47).
The eternal destiny of the believer should never be portrayed as something hanging in the balance.
