The Doctrine of Salvation
Salvation – to make sound, heal, restore, preserve, to keep from death. The word salvation is used to convey the process by which a Holy and Just God makes it possible for a filthy and sinful people to be brought into a life generating and sustaining relationship with Him.
Soteriology
Salvation comes from the Greek word soteria, which is derived from the word soter meaning “savior.”
Source of salvation: It took all three members of the Godhead to accomplish this:
The Father: desired, initiated, planned, and willed this (idea/plan)
The Son: came to earth to provide, accomplish, and pay for this (provision/sacrifice)
The Holy Spirit: does the needed work and sustains this. (Accomplishment/work)
The problem of forgiveness
How can a just God forgive us?
If God is just, (which He is) then He cannot simply look past our sin and forget it.
Forgiveness is not owed to us, and not earned. There is nothing we can do to change the fallen state of man by ourselves.
Why doesn’t God overlook our sin (like a grandmother)? Because His holiness and His justice will not allow it
Why punish Jesus for our sins? For there was no other way, nothing else could atone for our sins. Our sin was too great for anything else to atone for it.
How was that fair to Jesus? It was not fair but it was just
That is why Jesus had to come as a man, live a perfect life and be willing to take our place. That is why Christ (God) had to join Jesus (man) so the sacrifice would be sufficient. The perfect man as Jesus and the sufficient sacrifice of God as Christ.
God must satisfy Himself-Self-satisfaction by self-substitution- Expiation (process), propitiation (price)
The conflict is within God himself due to His two great motives or attributes; Love vs Holy (Hos. 11:8-9)
The plan of salvation is entirely of God, no human intellect or human intelligence assisted God with the planning of salvation. Mankind will spend the rest of eternity trying to grasp why/how God chose to save us.
Why doesn’t God save everybody? (Universal salvation)
Better to ask; why does He save anyone?
God chose some for His own good pleasure and glory
We don’t know why God only chooses some and why He chooses who He does
We do know He chooses few (narrow gate) whom are weak to demonstrate His grace
What does it mean to be saved? To repent and willfully submit Christ as Lord over your life.
How is salvation obtained? Through faith and total surrender to Christ. We are not saved by works, but works are evidence (fruit) that we are saved. Faith without works is dead. (James 2:14-26)
Different facets of the doctrine of salvation:
Doctrine of justification:
-The doctrine of justification concerns God’s gracious judicial verdict in advance of the day of judgment, pronouncing guilty sinners, who turn in self-despairing trust to Jesus Christ, forgiven, acquitted of all charges and declared morally upright in God’s sight.
Doctrine of sanctification:
-Sanctification is typically talking about a progressive aspect of growing in Holiness
(often referred to as our growth in Holiness)
Term used to consecrate us in “holiness” that we have in Christ through our union with him.
Doctrine of propitiation:
Propitiation means “averting the wrath of God by the offering of a gift.” It refers to the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by God’s own provision of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Propitiation refers to the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. “Propitiation is used in the New Testament to describe the pacifying, placating, or appeasing of God’s wrath”
Doctrine of redemption:
-Refers to the saving work of Christ
-Redemption means to secure the release of recovery of persons or things by the payment of a price. It is a covenantal legal term closely associated with ransom, atonement, and substitution.
Key salvation terms:
Justification: just as if, pardoned/forgiven (Romans 3:24-25)
Propitiation– the idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically towards God. It is two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended being and being reconciled to them. (Hebrews 2:17)
Substitionary Atonement– reparations for a wrong. Christ being the substitute for sinners. (Isaiah 53:5)
Holy– to be set apart, like no other, there is no comparison (1 Sam. 2:2)
Just- meaning God is perfectly righteous and correct in His treatment of his creation.(Psalm 89:14)
Sin– rebellion against God (Joshua 1:18)
Questions to wrestle with:
-Can someone lose their salvation?
-What role do I play in my salvation? What role does God play?
-Is it possible to walk away from the faith or was someone never truly saved to begin with?