2025-08-02 Michael Cocchini: Salvation Theology Simplified Through Exodus Framework
Author: Dr. Michael Cocchini (The War Within)
Source: YouTube Video - "I Just SOLVED Salvation 🤯🤯🤯"
Date Processed: August 2, 2025
Type: Theological Exposition, Biblical Exegesis
Overview​
Dr. Michael Cocchini presents a systematic theological framework for understanding salvation through the Exodus narrative, emphasizing the proper relationship between grace, faith, and works while addressing common theological controversies around Catholic vs. Protestant soteriology.
Core Salvation Framework​
The Simple Formula​
Primary Statement: "We are saved by grace through faith, not by or through works. For every good work as evidenced by a turning from sin."
Relational Translation:
"God first loves you. You love him back. You begin to love what he loves. There's your good works. And hate what he hates. There's your turning from sin. And that's it. That's the salvation message. Anything else is heresy."
The Four-Step Process​
- Grace: "God loves you. That's grace."
- Faith: "Then you love him back. That's faith."
- Good Works: "As you begin to receive God's love better, you begin to love what he loves"
- Turning from Sin: "And hate what he hates"
Theological Corrections and Clarifications​
Against Works-Based Salvation​
Catholic Critique: "The Catholics say, we're saved by grace through faith in love. That's like Scott Hans Rome sweet home. And what he means by in love is works... The problem is if you just read the next sentence, works is already clarified. You don't need to try to add it into the faith category."
Biblical Precision: "It says you're saved by grace through faith, not works. So not by works and not through works. So you can't add it to the by category or the through category."
Repentance Redefined​
Clarification: "Repentance is not a turning from sin. It's a change of mind. And that change of mind is evidenced by a turning from sin and abundance of good works."
The Word Game Theory​
Devil's Strategy​
Core Insight: "The whole thing's a word game, right? The Bible's many things, but it's also a dictionary that preserves the original meaning of what God says these terms mean. The devil gets in and he plays word games."
Historical Pattern: "He did it with Christ in the desert. He did it with Eve in the garden. The definitions of the words changing changes everything."
Strategic Importance: "That's why the devil's so particular about messing with the definitions and clarifying the nuance as they say the devil is in the details. And so there has to be a clean reset back to what is actually true."
New Covenant Transformation​
Heart and Mind Renewal​
Metaphor: "If you didn't notice, your heart and mind are the two tablets that the law of God is written on. Now, the first ones were made of stone and they broke. The law broke, but now the law is written on your heart and your mind, the new tablets."
Process: "This is what the renewing of the mind, the mind of Christ and the heart of flesh is about."
New Definitions of Good and Evil​
Transformation: "As you love what God loves and hate what he hates. Loving what he loves is the new definition of good. And hating what he hates is the new definition of evil. And so what this does is it replaces your damaged definitions of good and evil from the tree of knowledge of good and evil."
Authority Structure: "This glorifies God in that definition because it says that God is the arbiter of what is good."
Rich Young Ruler Case Study​
The Missing Element​
Jesus's Assessment: "Jesus tells him the law, which is love God and love your neighbor... And the guy says, 'Look, I hate what God hates. I've kept the law.' And what does it say? It says Jesus loved him... But Jesus effectively said, 'Yeah, you hate what God hates. And that's great, but you don't yet love what God loves. So go give your money away to your neighbor.'"
Diagnostic: "He hated what God hated, but he didn't love what God loves."
Modern Christianity Parallel​
Two-Sided Problem: "And there are some people who love what God loves, but they don't hate what God hates. This kind of sums up Christianity, right? People who are like crazy Torah observant, but they show no love. And then people who are like super loving and into the worship, but they're not super strict on their sin life."
Exodus Metaphor Framework​
The Desert Journey Commands​
Strategic Guidance: "When you're in Egypt, flee. When you're in the desert, resist. And when you're in the promised land fight."
The Blood on the Door​
Salvation Simplicity: "The only thing they had to do was make the decision to put the blood on the door. Everything else was automatic."
Finished Work: "The angel of death was pacified once and for all. It is finished by the blood on the door, which is Christ on the cross. That's what it means to be saved. That's justification."
Endurance vs. Preservation​
False Dichotomy Resolution: "So that's like, but it says I have to endure through the desert or else the angel of death is going to come get me. But it also says if the angel of death comes back a second time, there is no sufficient sacrifice to pacify him a second time because there was already one sufficient sacrifice."
True Preservation: "It's the garments that endure, not the people. Remember what Moses says to them. All this time I gave you garments that never wore out and sandals that never wore out. This is the measure of faith God issues to each of us. It represents your faith being preserved."
Practical Application​
The Only Requirement​
Core Focus: "All you have to do is put the blood on the door. Everything else is automatic. All you have to do is focus on receiving God's grace. Everything else is automatic, including your faith back."
Love Reception: "All you have to do is focus on receiving love. It will be automatic that you love God back in return for it. That's the first step. That's all you have to do."
Divine Responsibility: "Enter into salvation. God will take care of everything else, including preserving your faith."
The Central Issue​
Root Problem: "It shows that there's an issue with receiving God's love. That's the only thing you really have to do because once you receive God's love well, then you automatically love him back. And so the issue is always going to be receiving God's love well."
Key Theological Insights​
Perseverance of Saints​
Calvinist Alignment: "It's what the Calvinists would call perseverance of the saints."
Practical Meaning: Faith preservation is God's work, not human effort - represented by the indestructible garments in the wilderness.
Love Relationship Dynamics​
Natural Flow: "We love because he first loved us... Because we love him, we start to love what he loves. There's your abundance of good works that flows from salvation. You begin to hate what God hates. There's your turning from sin as evidence of salvation."
Enemy Love Through God​
Transformation: "And you love your neighbor who in the flesh would be your enemies. So now you love your enemies. This is what it means to love what God loves."
Summary Statement​
Dr. Cocchini's framework presents salvation as entirely grace-initiated, with human response (faith) leading naturally to transformation (works and repentance) as evidence rather than cause. The Exodus metaphor emphasizes God's complete responsibility for preservation while human responsibility centers solely on receiving God's love - everything else flows automatically from that reception.
Final Formula: "We are saved by grace through faith for works as evidenced by a turning from sin. Or the same exact thing is God loving us, us loving him in return, us therefore loving what God loves, and therefore hating what God hates."