We are saved by God's holy calling — which comes not through our works but through His own purpose and grace in Christ Jesus.
The Bible plainly states that God 'hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works' (2 Timothy 1:9). Les Feldick teaches that our merit means nothing — God did not call us because we earned something, but according to His own purpose. The grace that saves was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began, so salvation is entirely God's sovereign work.
2 Timothy 1:9 — This verse directly answers the question: God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to works but according to His own purpose and grace given in Christ Jesus before the world began.
Ephesians 1:11 — Shows that believers are predestinated according to the purpose of God, who works all things after the counsel of His own will — the passage Les points to when explaining God's sovereign purpose.
Scripture's clearest answer is 2 Timothy 1:9: 'Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' The verse explicitly rules out works as the basis of salvation and grounds the calling in God's own purpose and grace — a grace given in Christ Jesus before the world began. Ephesians 1:11 adds that believers are 'predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.' The calling that saves is part of a purpose that God works out sovereignly. Scripture also shows how God's calling reaches people. Romans 10:14 asks, 'How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?' And Paul's own testimony in Galatians 1:15 is that God 'separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace.'
Les Feldick teaches that God 'hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works' (2 Timothy 1:9). He emphasizes that our merit means nothing — God did not call us because we earned something. Instead, believers are children of God because it was in the purpose of God, and every believer was already in the mind of God before He ever created Adam. According to Les, this calling is rooted in an eternal purpose: before anything was ever created, the triune God agreed on creation and the plan of salvation, with the Son coming to die and rise again. The grace that saves us was given in Christ Jesus before the ages began. Les calls this 'past human understanding' — we are not accidents in time but are here according to God's divine and eternal purpose. He uses Paul as the supreme example: a persecutor who did not deserve salvation, yet God saved him by grace and called him with the purpose of revealing His Son in him. Les also acknowledges the tension between God's sovereignty and human responsibility, teaching that it is not either/or — the Holy Spirit woos and calls human beings, and God has ordained that human witnesses will promote His salvation.
The holy calling is God's own call to salvation. Les Feldick points out that 2 Timothy 1:9 says God 'hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works.' He stresses that our merit means nothing — God did not call us as people who have earned something. Instead, the calling rests on God's own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
Yes, according to both Scripture and Les Feldick's teaching. Second Timothy 1:9 says the grace of our calling 'was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.' Les describes an eternity-past meeting of the triune God in which creation, mankind's sin, and the plan of salvation were all determined. He concludes that every believer was already in the mind of God before He ever created Adam, and that we are not an accident in time but part of God's divine and eternal purpose.
Les Feldick does not teach that God's sovereign calling eliminates human involvement. He notes that God has ordained that human beings promote His salvation, which is why Romans 10:14 asks how people can call on the Lord without a preacher. He also says the relationship between God's absolute choosing and human free will is not either/or — the Holy Spirit woos and presents the plan of salvation while God remains sovereign.
Les uses the apostle Paul as the clearest demonstration of salvation by calling. Paul was a persecutor who hated Jesus of Nazareth with a passion, yet God saw fit to save him — not because he deserved it or earned it, but because of grace. God formed Paul in the womb and called him by His grace, and His purpose was to reveal His Son in him.
God's Sovereign Purpose
Les uses the potter-and-clay picture from Jeremiah to show God's sovereign control over His people, then points to Ephesians 1 as the answer to why God's purposes unfold as they do.
Called by God's Purpose, Not Merit
Les teaches that God called us not because we earned something, but because it was in His purpose — every believer was already in God's mind before He created Adam.
The Eternal Purpose of the Triune God
Les explains that the triune God planned creation, mankind's fall, and the plan of salvation in eternity past — that is the 'own purpose' of 2 Timothy 1:9.
Purpose and Grace Before the Ages
Les emphasizes that the holy calling is not according to our works but according to God's own purpose and grace, given us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.
God Uses Human Witnesses
Les teaches that God has ordained human beings to promote His salvation — the call of God comes to people through other people, not angels.
Sovereignty and Free Will: Both/And
Les teaches that God's sovereignty and human will are not either/or — the Holy Spirit woos the human race with the plan of salvation even as God remains sovereign.
Grace Given Before the World Began
Les proclaims that the grace that saved us was given before the world began, making believers recipients of God's divine and eternal purpose — not accidents in time.
Paul: Called by Grace
Les uses Paul's conversion to show that God calls by grace, not because of merit — Paul was a persecutor whom God saved and called with the purpose of revealing His Son in him.
2 Timothy 1:9: Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
This is the key verse answering the question — salvation and the holy calling come from God's purpose and grace, not works.
Ephesians 1:11: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Shows that believers' position is according to God's purpose — the passage Les points to when explaining God's sovereign control.
Romans 10:14: How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Shows the human side of the calling — people call on the Lord through hearing the Word proclaimed by human witnesses.
Galatians 1:15: But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
Paul's testimony that God called him by grace — used by Les to illustrate calling apart from merit.
Jeremiah 18:4: And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
The potter-and-clay picture Les uses to show God's sovereign right over His people.
The holy calling is God's call to salvation. Les Feldick teaches that it is 'not according to our works' — our merit means nothing. The calling rests on God's own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
Les teaches that God's sovereignty and human free will are not either/or. God is sovereign in salvation, but He has ordained that human beings promote His salvation — people must hear the Word and call on Him in faith (Romans 10:14). The Holy Spirit woos and presents the plan of salvation to the human race.
Scripture says it was 'given us in Christ Jesus before the world began' (2 Timothy 1:9). Les explains that the triune God planned salvation in eternity past and that believers were already in God's mind before He ever created Adam.
Les says God saved Paul not because he deserved it, but because of grace. God's purpose was to reveal His Son in Paul. Paul is the ultimate example that salvation is by God's purpose and grace, not works.
Watch the Teaching: Does God Harden Hearts? Romans 9:18-24 and the Potter's Clay