By Tradition

Each view is stated as fairly as we can, in the terms its own teachers would accept. Then we answer it. Disagreeing clearly is not disrespect. Telling people the truth about eternal life is the most loving thing we can do.

Roman Catholic

What they teach

Justification begins with grace received in baptism and grows through faith working in love, the sacraments, and good works done by grace. Grace can be lost through mortal sin and restored through confession. Most believers cannot be certain of final salvation.

The Free Grace answer

Grace that must be maintained by works is no longer grace (Romans 11:6). God justifies the one "who doesn't work, but believes" (Romans 4:5). Jesus said the believer already has eternal life and will not come into judgment (John 5:24). That leaves no room for losing it through mortal sin, and no need for purgatory, because Christ perfected believers forever by one offering (Hebrews 10:14).

Eastern Orthodox

What they teach

Salvation is theosis, a lifelong process of union with God through the Church, the sacraments, prayer, and ascetic struggle. It is not seen as a single moment, and assurance of final salvation is generally not claimed.

The Free Grace answer

Growing in Christlikeness is real and good, but Scripture separates it from receiving eternal life. Jesus said the believer "has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24), a finished event. Sanctification is the journey; eternal life is the gift you start the journey with.

not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:5 (WEB)

Reformed / Calvinist

What they teach

God unconditionally elects some, regenerates them, and grants them faith. All true believers will persevere in faith and holiness to the end, and perseverance is the evidence of election.

The Free Grace answer

We agree salvation is all of God and cannot be lost. We part ways on assurance. If perseverance is the proof, no one can be sure until death, and "temporary faith" makes every believer wonder whether his faith is the real kind. Scripture grounds assurance in the promise, not in our endurance. Whoever believes has eternal life (John 6:47), and God wants us to know it (1 John 5:13). The offer is to "whoever," and it is meant to be taken at face value (John 3:16; Revelation 22:17).

Lordship Salvation

What they teach

Saving faith includes repentance from sin and submission to Christ as Lord. A changed life necessarily follows. A professing believer without fruit has a dead faith and was never saved.

The Free Grace answer

This adds commitment and surrender to the condition Jesus gave. Faith is being persuaded that Jesus gives eternal life to the one who believes. Commitment is what disciples are called to after that, and many believers fail at it (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, 3:15). See our answer on Lordship and James 2.

Arminian / Wesleyan

What they teach

God gives prevenient grace to all, and anyone may believe. A believer remains free and can fall away through apostasy or continued sin and lose salvation. The warning passages are real warnings about hell.

The Free Grace answer

We agree that the offer is to all. But Jesus called the life He gives eternal, and said the believer "will never perish" (John 10:28). The warning passages are real, and they warn believers about discipline and loss of reward, not about losing eternal life. See Hebrews 6 and Hebrews 10.

Church of Christ

What they teach

A person must hear, believe, repent, confess Christ, and be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins. A Christian can also fall away and be lost.

The Free Grace answer

Every step past "believe" is an addition. Cornelius received the Spirit before baptism (Acts 10:44-48), and Paul separated baptism from the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17). See our answer on baptism.

Lutheran

What they teach

Justification is by grace through faith alone, a truth Luther recovered. Baptism is a means of grace that regenerates, especially infants. Faith can be lost by persistent unbelief, and with it salvation.

The Free Grace answer

We stand with Luther on faith alone. But if faith is the condition, then baptism cannot be a second one, and an infant has not believed. And if eternal life can be lost, it is not eternal. The promise is attached to the moment of believing: "has eternal life" (John 6:47).

Seventh-day Adventist

What they teach

Salvation is by grace through faith, but God's commandments, including the seventh-day Sabbath, are the standard of the investigative judgment, and keeping them shows who belongs to God.

The Free Grace answer

The believer "will not come into judgment" for eternal life (John 5:24). Paul told believers not to let anyone judge them about a Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16). See our answer on Torah keeping.

Latter-day Saint

What they teach

Through Christ's Atonement all people are resurrected. Exaltation in the highest degree of glory requires faith, repentance, baptism by priesthood authority, temple ordinances, and enduring to the end in obedience.

The Free Grace answer

The Bible knows no levels of eternal life earned by ordinances. Eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 6:23), not of works, so no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Lord Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6), and He gives life to all who believe.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 (WEB)

Jehovah's Witness

What they teach

Jesus is God's first creation, not God Almighty. His ransom opens the opportunity for life, which must be secured through faithful obedience and association with Jehovah's organization. Most will live on a paradise earth; a limited number go to heaven.

The Free Grace answer

Jesus offered eternal life now to whoever believes, with no organization in between (John 3:16, 6:47). And the One we believe in is God Himself in the flesh:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1 (WEB)

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28 (WEB)

Prosperity Gospel

What they teach

Faith is a force that releases God's blessings, health, and wealth. Giving and positive confession are keys to blessing, and lack of these blessings may indicate lack of faith.

The Free Grace answer

The gospel is not a promise of money and health in this life. It is the promise of eternal life to anyone who believes in Jesus. Paul, the greatest missionary, knew hunger and need (Philippians 4:12). Turning faith into a tool to get things misses the gift entirely.

Skeptic / Agnostic

What they teach

There is not enough evidence for God or the resurrection, and claiming certainty about eternal life seems arrogant. Doing good seems more reasonable than believing.

The Free Grace answer

The Christian claim stands or falls on a historical event: Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). That is testable, and we invite you to test it. And Free Grace is the opposite of arrogance: we claim nothing about our own goodness, only that Jesus keeps His word. If you are not sure, start with the Gospel of John, written so that you would believe (John 20:31). Then try our debate bot with your hardest question.