Getting Out of the Way, Allowing God to Work
Balancing the concept of self-reliance
When it comes to salvation, Calvinistic teaching eliminates a person’s responsibility. All activity is assigned to God. Men and women are helpless to resist God’s call – persons play no role whatsoever. As the Restoration Movement leaders and influencers taught during the mid to late 19th century, they rightly insisted on human free will in choosing or rejecting God’s salvation call. However, some tended toward the other extreme by almost wholly removing God out of involvement with salvation – insisting on the Word alone. In this belief, the power for salvation resides in words, logic, and reason, which influence a person to have faith and repentance.
This belief fits in well when operating from the perspective of works and performance-based salvation, which has characterized many Christians in the Restoration Movement over the last 250 years. God’s grace and involvement in redemption almost seem to end at the cross, after which a person must rely on his reasoning skills and strength to get through life’s challenges and temptations. God is there mainly to judge, not to provide help. There is never any security in this perspective because one is always left to wonder, am I doing enough? There are always more commandments and laws to keep … and it’s all up to me to get it done. This is self-reliance … not God-dependency.
This emphasis on self-reliance has contributed to a lack of education on how God works through the Spirit who dwells within and by His providence in the day-to-day matters of life. While never negating the principle of personal responsibility and diligence to submitting to the Spirit’s work (2 Peter 1.5), we must learn to ask for and look for God’s helping hand first. God lives to help. He loves to help.
You gave me life and faithful love, and your care has guarded my life.
– Job 10.12
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.
– Isaiah 41.10
The Lord gives his people strength; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
– Psalm 29.11
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
– Hebrews 13.5-6
casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.
– 1 Peter 5.7
Truth is never in extremes. There has to be a balance. God works for our salvation. We work for our salvation. As we do, we rely upon His strength and help via the Spirit and the work of providence to get us through the rest of this life and home to heaven.