The Ark of Safety: Is There Salvation Outside of the Church?

by Ryan M. McGraw

This book explores the Westminster Confession of Faith’s claim that “there is no ordinary possibility of salvation” outside of the church by asking what it means, whether it is biblical, and why it is important. The author concludes that the Westminster Confession rightly stresses the role of the church in bringing people to salvation without making this claim absolute. We should love the church because Christ loved it and gave Himself for it. He died for the church so that we might live in and with it. Let us study this subject with our Bibles in our hands, the Spirit in our hearts, prayer on our lips, and our forefathers helping us along. “Among the many teachings of Scripture that the Protestant Reformation recovered was a right understanding of the importance of the church to the Christian life. In The Ark of Safety, Ryan McGraw deftly reacquaints us with the rich heritage of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Reformed reflection on the church and rehearses its biblical foundations with clarity. I warmly recommend this book to any reader who wants to know better what the Bible says about the 'apple of [God’s] eye' (Zech 2:8).” —Guy Prentiss Waters, James M. Baird, Jr. Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi “For many years I have sought a theologically reliable, reader-friendly, and imminently practical work to address the vital relationship between 'the roll called up yonder' and the local church. My search has come to a delightful halt. In this brief treatment, Ryan McGraw expertly crafts persuasive answers to the pressing questions concerning personal faith and church membership. As he compellingly contends, every true believer is not only of the church invisible but must be in the visible church visibly! May our church rolls increasingly reflect the roll to be called up yonder!” —David B. Garner, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Vice President for Advancement, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

Genres: Theology

112 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2018

About the author

Ryan M. McGraw is the pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Sunnyvale, CA (http://firstopc.org/). He ministered previously to Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Conway, SC. Pastor McGraw is a graduate Cal State Fullerton (B.A.) and of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (MDiv and ThM). He obtained his PhD in historical theology from the University of the Free State (Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa). Ryan is Adjunct Professor of Systematic Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and he is a Research Associate for the Jonathan Edwards Centre Africa. He regularly contributes articles and book reviews to numerous publications. He is married to Krista, and they have three sons. You can listen to his sermons at http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_det...

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a fantastic little book. Ryan McGraw admirably and impressively packs a TON of theological and historical gold into 113 pages. Though McGraw eminently accomplishes his task of presenting the Bible doctrine of the salvific necessity of the church, he does so by/while cogently outlining the biblical distinction between the visible and invisible aspects of the church. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to get more of a handle on ecclesiology to the glory of God.

[Zack Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic, concise biblical-theological introduction to the Reformed visible/invisible church distinction, the absolute necessity of membership in the invisible church, and the ordinary necessity of membership in the visible church.

“The gates of hell will not prevail against God’s church. She cannot save us, but salvation lies within her walls. She is the ark of safety in a world that is drowning under God’s wrath. Should we not value her and love her as Christ loved her and gave Himself for her?” p. 83

[Peter F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good short work which shows why we should not be ashamed to confess that ordinarily there is no salvation outside of the visible church. This is not a holdover from a RC view of the church. McGraw helpfully shows how this was understood by different Reformed confessions culminating in WCF 25.2 and subsequently proves the proposition biblically. Very interested to read more from this series: "Explorations In Reformed Confessional Theology"

[Kelle Craft · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great little book! Concise and clear, yet packed in just over 100 pages a wealth of historical, exegetical, and theological analysis. Every believer should read this book.

[Andrew Hageman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely succinct and eloquent explanation of church membership, the visible and invisible Church, baptism, and how the Reformed tradition teaches these things.

[Jonah Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful. It is nice and concise (I finished reading it in one day).
McGraw knows his stuff. I appreciate his ability to unpack some of the rich historical/ecclesiastical issues between church fathers regarding this section of the WCF. If you are reading this review, I encourage you to buy the booklet (or ebook) and start reading immediately!

[Alex]

An edifying brief reading towards a better understanding of the visible and invisible distinction of the Church and how they relate.

[Adam Nesmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short volume is an excellent introduction to the Reformed doctrine of the Church. Methodologically, it is flawless: it starts by examining what is explicitly stated in the confession and then seeks to understand what the confession says through engaging with theologians who were writing around the time the Confession was written. Then to determine if the Confession is biblical, the author develops the ideas of the visible and visible church from the Old Testament and then the New Testament. Finally, he concludes with a practical application section where he draws out a major implication of the Confessions doctrine of the Church. The “works cited” throughout are extensive and varied, and the number of works cited is greater in number than books five time this volumes length.

My only complaint is due to its brevity, the author has to sacrifice extended wrestling with certain ideas for brevity. However, given the amount of other sources the author pulls from, a reader who wants to go deeper will have ample direction for the next book to read.

If you have heard of the “visible/invisible” church distinction or have heard the phrase “no salvation outside of the church”, this volume will be a great introduction.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Am I allowed to say, "too presbyterian"? I fully agree with what the book argues, and agree with most of his arguments, but a couple of issues that bug me. First, rather than going to the simple Bible passages that address the issue directly (which in my opinion would be the most natural and simple approach), McGraw argues for the theological system with great overlap between the chruch triumphant and the church militant, and based on the great overlap concludes, basically, that only those in the church trimphant can be saved, and as a general rule those in the church triumphant will be part of the church militant. Not a bad or unhelpful argument - just uses complex terminology of a theological system to answer what could be answered much more simply. Also devotes a good third of the book to discussing the history behind the Westminster's formulation of this doctrine.

If a reader wants a roundabout route with beautiful scenery along the way, I can heartily recommend this book. But if the reader wants the clearest explanations and Bible verses addressing the titular question... maybe just google it?

[Cory A Byrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good historical defense of the often misunderstood or abused quote.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and clear. Helpfully explains and provides historical sources and context.

[C.J. Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean... it's good, but I'm not Presbyterian, so obviously, I see many missteps in McGraw's theological formulations (of course, mostly with his defense of paedobaptism but also with his beliefs concerning the relationship between Israel and the Church). Presbyterians should love it though!

Nonetheless, the book is helpful in that McGraw shows us the importance of both the invisible and visible church, with inclusion in the former being "absolutely" necessary and inclusion in the latter being "ordinarily" necessary. He looks at the main question (see subtitle) from a historical-theological, biblical, and practical perspective.

This would be a good book to use if you're trying to work through how to convince a supposed believer who sees no necessity for participation in a visible, local church. However, the practical chapter is only around 10 pages long, and he doesn't work through next steps for how to convince someone.

In the end, we still can't be sure that just because someone does not participate in the visible church that he/she is not truly saved, but these people should "be worried" about their apathy toward the visible church, McGraw argues.

See my full review here: click here