Resolving the Do-Believe Paradox in Salvation Theology
The do-believe paradox in salvation theology refers to the apparent tension between the role of faith and the role of good works or human decision in achieving salvation. According to Protestant academic interpretations, salvation is a gift from God that is received through faith, not earned through human actions [1, 2]. Ephesians 2:8-9 emphasizes that salvation is by God's grace, through faith, and not by works [1]. This understanding is reinforced by Titus 3:5, which contrasts human actions that might merit salvation with God's grace, highlighting that salvation is through faith in God's mercy alone [2].
The paradox arises because the Bible also speaks of believers being "created anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us" (Eph 2:10) [3]. This suggests that good works are a consequence of salvation, rather than a cause. The transformation that occurs in believers is attributed to God's Spirit working through a renewed heart, producing a good life (Gal 5:22-23) [3]. The believer's new nature is a result of being "united with Christ Jesus," sharing in his resurrection and experiencing a transfer from the realm of death to life (Eph 2:6; Col 3:1-4) [5].
Reformed and Presbyterian traditions interpret this paradox as being resolved through the understanding that faith is not a work that earns salvation but rather the means by which God's gift of salvation is received. According to Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, the doctrine of justification by faith does not make void the law but rather establishes it, as faith is not a rejection of God's law but a reliance on Christ's fulfillment of it [7]. The paradox is further resolved by understanding that believers are "made the righteousness of God in Christ" (2 Cor 5:21), and thus, their justification is not based on their own righteousness but on Christ's [6].
The do-believe paradox is thus a tension between the indicative (what God has done for us in Christ) and the imperative (our response to God's gift). Believers are called to put off their old sinful nature and put on the new nature, allowing Christ to be Lord of their lives (Col 3:9-10) [4]. This transformation is a result of God's work in them, and their good works are a manifestation of their faith and union with Christ.
In this understanding, faith is not a human achievement but a response to God's initiative. As Tyndale House notes on Philippians 3:9, believers become righteous not by observing the law but through faith in Christ, which is God's way of making them right with himself [8]. This perspective underscores that salvation is a gift received through faith, and good works are a natural outcome of being in Christ.
Sources
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 2:5: 2:5 gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead (literally made us alive together with Christ): Joined with Christ, believers share in his resurrection, now and in the future (see 2:6; Rom 6:4-14; Col 3:1-4). • It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved: See Eph 1:2; 2:8-9.”
- Titus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Titus 3:5: 3:5 not because . . . but because: The contrast is between human actions that might be thought to merit salvation and God’s grace (see Gal 2:16). Salvation is through faith in God’s mercy alone (Eph 2:8). • He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth: See Ezek 16:9; John 3:1-15; Eph 5:26; Heb 10:22; 2 Pet 1:9. • and new life through the Holy Spirit: This signifies a complete departure from the life of sin and death and a transfer into the realm of life and purity (see also Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 5:17; Col 3:10).”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 2:10: 2:10 He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us: Good works are the result, not the cause, of salvation. God’s Spirit, working through a transformed heart, produces a good life (Gal 5:22-23).”
- Colossians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Colossians 3:9: 3:9-10 your old sinful nature . . . your new nature: Paul contrasts old and new identities (see also Rom 5:12-21; 6:6; Eph 4:22-24). Believers strip off their old life and put on Christ’s new life, allowing him to be Lord and to guide the way they live.”
- Ephesians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Ephesians 2:6: 2:6 united with Christ Jesus: Because of this union, believers share God’s glory and blessings, and experience resurrection both now and in the future (see Rom 6:4-14; Col 2:12-13; 3:1-4).”
- Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 3:26: To declare . . . at this time--now for the first time, under the Gospel. his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus--Glorious paradox! "Just in punishing," and "merciful in pardoning," men can understand; but "just in justifying the guilty," startles them. But the propitiation through faith in Christ's blood resolves the paradox and harmonizes the discordant elements. For in that "God hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin," justice has full satisfaction; and in that "we are made the righteousne”
- Romans (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Romans 3:31: Do we then make void the law through faith?--"Does this doctrine of justification by faith, then, dissolve the obligation of the law? If so, it cannot be of God. But away with such a thought, for it does just the reverse." God forbid: yea, we establish the law--It will be observed here, that, important as was this objection, and opening up as it did so noble a field for the illustration of the peculiar glory of the Gospel, the apostle does no more here than indignantly repel it, intending at a subsequent stage of his argument (Rom. 6:1-23) to resume ”
- Phil (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Phil 3:9: 3:9 Paul here summarizes the contrast between his understanding of salvation and that of his opponents (3:2). • Believers become one with Christ by trusting him for salvation and sharing his life (cp. John 15:1-5). • We become righteous, not by observing the law of Moses, but through faith in Christ. This is God’s way of making us right with himself: Salvation cannot be earned, but only received as a free gift (see Rom 1:17; 3:21-26; 4:5-8; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9).”