Part VIII: Comparative Summary Table

From Sovereign Grace and the Scope of Election: A Comparative Examination of Attainment Theology and Grace Theology, with Particular Attention to the Question of Whether God's Elect Are Found Among All Nations and Religions

| Question | Attainment System | Sovereign Grace | |---|---|---| | Ground of salvation | Christ's work plus repentance, faith, baptism, tongues, sanctification, overcoming | Christ's finished work alone | | Who chose whom | Believer's response decisive | God's unconditional election decisive (John 15:16) | | Scope of the saved | Effectively bounded by the movement's reach and tiers | The elect of every nation, era, and condition | | The unevangelized | Lost (except, inconsistently, infants) | Elect among them quickened by the Spirit without means | | New birth | Through hearing, repenting, believing | Immediate work of the Spirit; faith is its fruit | | Security | Conditional; can be forfeited | Preserved forever (John 10:28) | | Heaven | Four-plus tiers; Zion for its consecrated workers | One inheritance; every saint comes to Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22) | | The 144,000 | The attainment system's celibate ministers | Symbol of the complete, sealed elect of God | | Ministry | Celibate, communal, exclusive, revelatory | Married or single; supported freely, never for gain; no new revelation | | Evidence of the Spirit | Tongues | Love of the brethren, fruit of the Spirit | | Medicine | Historically renounced as lack of faith | A lawful mercy; God heals as He wills | | Other churches | Shunned; the movement alone the bridal church | Christ's sheep scattered in many folds and none | | Purpose of preaching | Instrument of regeneration and tier-attainment | Feeding, comforting, discipling the regenerate | | Basis of assurance | Performance and standing in the movement | The oath and promise of God (Hebrews 6:17-19) |