Problem: According to this passage, the mystery of the church, the body of Christ, was not known in other ages. Yet the apostle goes on to say that it was revealed to the “apostles and prophets.” But the prophets lived prior to the time of Paul. How could the prophets have known if people in the OT did not know the mystery?
Problem: Jesus seems to say that He did not do away with the law, but Paul implies that Jesus did abolish the law. Is this a contradiction? Let’s consider the verses:
Problem: Are we saved from our sins by faith or by faith and baptism? Though the Bible says that baptism is a very important part of the Christian life, it is not necessary for salvation. The truth is that we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. Let’s take a look at scriptures used for both sides.
Problem: Many people in false religions teach that salvation and forgiveness of sins are obtained by faith and good works. Many appeal to Scripture to support this idea. But, when these verses are examined in context, they do not teach that works of any kind save us. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that were saved without the works of the law. This is because nobody can keep the Law perfectly. God requires holiness (1 Pet. 1:16), nothing less.
CLAIM: Some Calvinists teach that this passage supports the doctrine of irresistible grace. They argue that “faith” is the “gift of God.” Instead of exercising faith of our own freewill, God gives us the faith to believe in him, as a gift. Is this the case? Sproul writes, “The faith by which we are saved is a gift. When the apostle says it is not of ourselves, he does not mean it is not our faith. Again, God does not do the believing for us. It is our own faith but it does not originate with us. It is given to us. The gift is not earned or deserved. It is a gift of sheer grace.”[1] Is this the case?
Problem: Paul writes, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins… even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:1, 5). Calvinists sometimes argue that our human condition is “dead” in the sense of having a total inability to respond to God. Like Lazarus in the cave (Jn. 11), we needed God to impart spiritual life and call us from this corpse-like, dead state. Calvinists often argue, “Is a dead person able to respond to God or make himself alive? No! Therefore, God had to give us spiritual life before we could believe and respond to him.” John Calvin stated that this is “a real and present death.”[1] Wood states that this expression for death is not “merely figurative… The most vital part of man’s personality—the spirit—is dead to the most important factor in life—God.”[2] Is this the case?
Problem: The Bible repeatedly calls on the unbeliever to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and … be saved” (Acts 16:31). However, this passage declares that unbelievers are dead in their sins, and dead people cannot do anything, including believe.
Problem: Paul writes that the church “is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). John Calvin believed that we (the church) fill Christ: “Until he is united to us, the Son of God reckons himself in some measure imperfect” (Calvin on Ephesians 1:23). Is this the case?
Problem: Universalists claim that God will save everyone in the end, because Paul wrote that Christ will unite all things in heaven and on Earth. Is this the case?
Problem: Some Calvinistic interpreters argue that this passage supports the doctrine of unconditional election, where God predestines some for heaven and others for hell. Is this the case?