God has provided salvation, but when does it begin? What is required of us? Can we lose it? These and other disputed questions have divided Christians for centuries. Matthew W. Bates has already shown that the gospel is about King Jesus and that faith includes allegiance. In Beyond the Salvation Wars, he unpacks additional truths from the Bible and the early church to describe how salvation happens.
Bates offers a new model, encouraging Protestants and Catholics toward long-term unity. But his proposal contains strong medicine: it doesn't sugarcoat current Protestant and Catholic errors but diagnoses with precision for the future health of the church.
By using accessible writing and stories, Bates shows what Scripture teaches about baptism, election, regeneration, assurance, and justification. A companion to his previous book, Gospel Allegiance: What Faith in Jesus Misses for Salvation in Christ, this book will appeal to those who want to discover core truths about how we are saved—for their personal journey as well as for final Christian unity.
'Is faith in Jesus enough for salvation? Perhaps, says Matthew Bates, but we're missing pieces of the gospel. The biblical gospel can never change. Yet our understanding of the gospel must change. The church needs an allegiance shift. Popular pastoral resources on the gospel are causing widespread confusion. Bates shows that the biblical gospel is different, fuller, and more beautiful than we have been led to believe. He explains that saving faith doesn't come through trust in Jesus's death on the cross alone but through allegiance to Christ the king. There is only one true gospel and one required response: allegiance. Bates ignited conversation with his successful and influential book Salvation by Allegiance Alone. Here he goes deeper while making his acclaimed teaching on salvation more accessible and experiential for believers who want to better understand and share the gospel. Gospel Allegiance includes a guide for further conversation, making it ideal for church groups, pastors, leaders, and students.'
