The essay “The Great Unresolved Miscalculation That Condemns Many”, explores the theological tension between human worth, divine justice, and salvation, contrasting two views: humans have innate worth as God's image-bearers but face hell due to unrepentant sin, or humans must earn value through good works. Scripture, particularly Genesis 1:26-27 and Psalm 8, affirms intrinsic human worth rooted in the imago Dei, while passages like Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 3:28 emphasize salvation by grace through faith, not works. Hell reflects God’s justice for rejecting grace, not a denial of worth. The essay critiques the works-based view as undermining grace, arguing that faith, not works, enables salvation, with works as evidence of faith.
The essay further clarifies that salvation occurs not in the "terrestrial" (fleshly) state but in the spiritual state within the church. Faith, coupled with works within the church, binds believers to God’s grace, transforming them into a new spiritual identity. The miscalculation lies in believing salvation happens in the flesh rather than through participation in the church, where faith and works together manifest the spiritual reality of salvation as and in the church.
Without a true Biblical church being a reflection of faith to be saved in and through, salvation is made problematical.
