Re-Centering the Conversation: God's Initiative in Salvation

In the swirling debates between Dispensationalism, Covenant Theology, and New Covenant Theology, Christians often find themselves dissecting timelines, covenants, and dispensations to answer one pressing question: How does God save people across time?

But perhaps the more biblical—and more personal—question is: How does God save anyone at all?

Can we recenter our understanding of salvation, not on human response, but on God’s sovereign initiative: His foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification?

The Problem: People-Centered Theology

The modern theological landscape is marked by deep divisions over how salvation operates within different biblical frameworks. Whether it’s how Israelites were justified before Christ, or whether the Church is a parenthesis in God's plan for Israel, the emphasis almost always lands on what humans do:

• What did they believe?

• What dispensation were they in?

• What covenant were they under?

• Did they obey the law or trust a promise?

These questions, while not unimportant, share one dangerous trait: they make human action the focal point of salvation.

The Better Focus: God's Role in Salvation

When we turn to Scripture, we find a radically different emphasis:

“For those whom He foreknew He also predestined... called... justified... glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

Salvation is not primarily about what people do in response to God, but what God does in them and for them. If you are a child of God:

• Foreknowledge: God knew you before the foundation of the world.

• Predestination: He determined your destiny to be conformed to the image of His Son.

• Calling: He effectually calls you through the gospel.

• Justification: He declares you righteous by grace through faith.

• Glorification: He promises to bring you fully into eternal glory.

This isn’t a system or a schema; it’s a testimony to the mercy and sovereignty of God. It's a testimony of God's sovereignty over you and His mercy to you.

A Modern Temptation: Worrying About Others' Salvation

Much of today’s theological anxiety centers on how God saves other people:

• What about the unevangelized?

• What about Old Testament saints?

• What about other Christians?

• What about the Jews?

These are not irrelevant questions, but they often mask a more profound issue: we are more comfortable mapping salvation for others than we are examining God’s saving work in my heart.

Jesus addressed this temptation head-on when Peter asked about John’s fate: “What is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:22).

Theology That Worships

Theologies are helpful when they magnify the character of God. They become harmful when they reduce salvation to a flowchart of human decision points.

Dispensationalism emphasizes faith in each era. Covenant Theology emphasizes faith in the promise. New Covenant Theology emphasizes faith in Christ revealed.

But Scripture emphasizes that any faith that justifies is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), born of His call, rooted in His sovereign will, and destined for glorification.

Conclusion: From Systems to Sovereignty

The real dividing line isn’t between how they were saved and how we are saved.

It’s between those who believe they had something to do with it, and those who fall on their knees and say:

“But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

The more we try to explain God's plan for others, the more we need to return to this question: Has God called me? Has He justified me? Will He glorify me?

Only then will our theology move from debate to doxology.

Let us worry less about how God saves others and marvel more that He has saved us. Better yet, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7).