In this lesson, Pastor Dave Capoccia begins going over the fundamental truths of salvation according to the Bible. In part 1, Pastor Dave considers what role God has in salvation and examines the following topics:
1. Man’s Condition
2. Salvation’s Connected Process
3. God’s Foreknowledge
4. God’s Reason for Saving
5. God’s Sovereignty vs. Man’s Responsibility
6. Order of Salvation
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but we’re going to officially start so welcome thank you for coming back to the fundamentals that face Sunday school course we are looking at Salvation part one today and got a lot of good things to talk about if you have questions if it’s quick you can raise your hand during the lesson but if it’s a longer question hold it to the end that way we can make sure to talk about all the things we need to talk about in the lesson today but let me pray and we’ll get into it Lord God your salvation is so great I pray Lord that we would see it afresh today and Lord we would see especially how wonderful it is all the things that you do in Salvation how many be able to explain it and attune our hearts Lord to be able to listen and to be impacted by this truth in Jesus name amen all right as I said fundamentals of the faith salvation part one that’s our topic for today we talk a lot about salvation as Christians and in church we’re going to talk more about it today and to get us thinking about why this is an important topic for us to focus on I want to start off by asking you a somewhat strange question if our clicker will cooperate it was working and then when I started it decided not to work I think it’s a little temperamental well I’ll just tell you the question and maybe it’ll get on the screen the question is what truths from the Bible do some Christians say that you should not mention in your evangelism what truths from the Bible do some Christians say you should be careful not to include and you’re proclaiming the gospel to win people to Jesus what’s one of them yeah Leela okay God’s sovereignty and election what else Eric hell God’s judgment what else sin okay so questions having to do with Free Will and sovereignty yes what else yeah I think he hit a lot of the main ones sin Miracles hell God’s judgment God’s Wrath the exclusivity of Salvation that it’s only in Jesus that people are saved repentance persecution and the cost of following Jesus and certainly God’s sovereignty and salvation now why not mention these truths if they’re in the Bible what’s the reasoning it’s going to offend people and why is that a problem okay yeah so certainly it’s going to challenge what a lot of people think naturally it’s going to offend them but again why is that a problem because they won’t want to get saved that’s the issue you’re going to turn them off from coming to Jesus so you give it these uncomfortable truths you’ll just be on you’ll come across as old-fashioned and judgmental people won’t like you people won’t listen to you and worst of all they won’t get saved they won’t commit to Jesus they won’t make a decision for Jesus these are heavy doctrines these are uncomfortable truths of the Bible you can mention them later but let’s get them into the kingdom first let’s talk about the things that are more comfortable let’s talk about love prosperity Heaven that’s going to be more effective more enjoyable that’ll get people to come to Jesus that’s the thinking that you sometimes hear or maybe even sometimes think yourself when it comes to evangelism but you know what’s interesting about this advice is the example of Jesus himself in the Bible considering the uncomfortable truths that I’ve mentioned to you these forbidden topics which of them did Jesus raise in the Bible with unbelievers he certainly raised repentance is that the only one of the list I gave you how many from that list all of them he talked about all of them and what about the apostles which of the Forbidden topics that we’ve mentioned did they raise with unbelievers all of them again and you’re curious about that you can just do some more Bible study but yeah all of those topics God’s sovereignty God’s judgment Miracles they talked about them all with unbelievers Jews and Gentiles so why is there such a discrepancy between the way that Jesus and the apostles evangelize and the way that many Christians want to evangelize today you know that’s a question that could have a number of answers but one important answer that I want to point out for you right now is that clearly there is a profound difference between how some Christians today understand salvation that is how God Saves the person and what role man has in Salvation and what Jesus and the apostles understood there’s a clear difference in the understanding of Salvation in many Christians today and what Jesus and the apostles understood so that means we need to make sure that we understand if we are to evangelize Faithfully as we have been called to do and perhaps if we are to be saved ourselves we must understand the fundamentals of Salvation according to the Bible which is why we’re looking at it we’re going to talk about this topic in two weeks and overviewing the Bible’s teaching of Salvation we can divide it into two main categories what God does in Salvation and what man does in Salvation this week we’re just going to focus on what God does in Salvation next week we’ll look at man’s side and to be more specific about our agenda today we’re going to first review just a little bit about man’s condition that requires God’s salvation we’ll see how God’s salvation is a guaranteed and connected process investigate what it means for God to foreknow what’s God’s foreknowledge we answer why God chooses to save at all we’ll consider the connection between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility and then finally we will overview the order of Salvation from God’s perspective that’s a lot to do if we can’t get to all of it today we’ll pick up some of it next week that’s all right we’ll see how far we can get but let’s start by talking a little bit more about man’s condition such a temperamental little clicker okay there we go well there are several parts to what happens in Salvation how much does God do when it comes to Salvation what percentage of Salvation is accomplished by God 100 percent why why must God do it all why doesn’t man have anything to contribute to his own salvation because he’s dead in sin this is something we’ve already talked about in this course right Mark in the in the talking about Christ’s work went over this but we just want to review it a little bit man was in great need of Christ’s work because what was and is man State outside of Christ he is hopelessly corrupt and lost he is dead in sin he is spiritually unable to do anything think of what we hear in Romans 3 10 to 12. I won’t ask you to turn there but just think about those verses how many people are naturally good and without need of God’s salvation none how many people are seeking God on their own none how many people understand the truth about God and how to become saved on their own none Israel emphasized in that passage of Romans there’s none good there’s no one who seeks for God or think of Ephesians 2 1-3 I think Mark definitely went through this one think about all the different chains that have bound a person that bound us before we came to know the Lord prevented us from doing anything related to Salvation we were dead in trespasses and sins we were caught in the same course of the people of the world we were firmly under the authority of Satan the prince of the power of the air we were driven always to indulge the desires of our flesh and of our mind and we were by Nature we were by Nature children of Wrath we were born to destruction even as the rest now how can anyone bound with those five chains ever come to God ever find his way to Salvation and the answer is you could never he could never now what Christian doctrine what Christian doctrine summarizes the biblical truth about man state before God’s intervention total depravity or radical corruption if God does not intervene to save men how many people will be saved zero would that be just of God it would be but would that be terrible for mankind absolutely but here’s the beautiful revelation of the Bible I might just have to give up on the PowerPoint here’s the beautiful revelation of God’s Bible God has chosen to intervene to save the human race and specifically he has chosen to elect to choose individuals from the human race to be saved to know God to inherit eternal life this is God’s doing and it comes down to God’s choice and don’t misunderstand salvation are rescuing from sin our deliverance from death and the penalty of sin salvation is not merely a process that God kick-starts while man does the rest okay nice that’s not right I want us now to consider the connected process of Salvation and this you can turn to a passage of the Bible looked at Romans 8.
Romans 8 verses 29 to 30.
Romans 8 29 to 30 these two verses come after one of the most famous Promises of the Bible Romans 8 28 .
all things work together for good for those who love love Christ to those who are love God those who are called according to his purpose that last phrase is what leads right into verses 29 and 30.
and those who are called according to God’s purpose is explained a little more in these next two verses so let’s read them Romans 8 29-30 For Those whom he foreknew he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and these who he these whom he predestined he also called and these whom he called he also Justified and these whom he justified he also glorified now this was one of the passages from the homework notice the phrase he also he also appears four times in this verse but who’s the he God God also what’s significant about connecting the actions the verbs here with the phrase he also or God also what does that tell us about salvation yes that it is a connected process whatever God did in the beginning he also continues until the end God did all the actions and what is it that God did well let’s briefly look at each one of these verbs it says Those whom he foreknew what does it mean to foreknown okay God he said okay nice you mentioned the Jeremiah verse we’re gonna come back to that but for knowledge uh glad to connect it with another verse that says known before the foundation of the world God knew before the foundation of the world he also predestined what does it mean to predestined whoa go back don’t give away my stuff okay what does it mean to predestined yeah it’s the determined beforehand uh to ordain to make sure it’s going to happen and this is what God did For Those whom he foreknew notice it says that he predestined them to become conformed to the image of his son these people were predetermined to predetermined by God to become like Jesus Christ and those he predestined he also called wasn’t mean to be called say that again okay chosen all right so what kind of call is this well let’s just get a basic definition here call to be commanded to be drawn after and specifically here that would be to be drawn after Christ and is this a general gospel call or is this an effectual internal call we’re going to talk more about that difference in just a second but considering the link with the other verbs here this must be referring to an irresistible internal call of God God commanded he drew after he called Those whom he foreknew and predestined and Those whom he called he also Justified what does it mean to justify all right so given a nice theological definition according to the Scriptures it is to declare righteous it is to pronounce as righteous acceptable before God free from sin’s penalty free from sin’s guilt free from God’s Wrath righteous acceptable Justified God did this For Those whom he foreknew predestined and called and Those whom he justified he also glorified it says what does it mean to glorify and when you get okay does have to do at the end does have to do with heaven okay it does connect also with becoming more even fully conformed to the image of Christ but again we can make this a little bit more basic to glorify means to exalt or to lift up an honor and it says God did that For Those whom he foreknew and notice what verb tests are all these verbs past tense what’s the significance of these being spoken of in the past tense it’s already done and yet we don’t see ourselves fully glorified we don’t see ourselves fully conformed to the image of Christ so how do we resolve that that’s right from God’s perspective this is set this is a done deal this was established Before Time began in eternity before the foundation of the world is going to set there’s no uncertainty about this salvation process with God it’s in a sense already done it’s already done we’re going to see it fulfilled we’re going to see it manifest but it’s already set it’s a done deal it’s a package deal really whoever God has chosen whoever God has called into salvation will for certain according to these verses receive all this and from whom from themselves by their own effort no from God he also he does each one of these things theologians sometimes call Romans 8 29-30 the golden chain of redemption or the golden chain of salvation as change shows us not only that God is Sovereign over the salvation of every saved person it comes down to his gracious choice but also that every part of the process is God’s work and is guaranteed there is no one who is foreknown by God who will not fail to be saved Sanctified and glorified it’s pretty amazing now here’s where someone might say though wait God simply foreknew who among men was going to choose him this is how God’s election and the Salvation works he chooses those who choose him or rather who would choose him God’s looking in eternity path down the corridor of time he’s looking at all the people he sees who’s going to choose him and then he responds to them God really responds to man in initiating the golden chain of redemption once he says yeah that guy’s going to choose me boom he’s now part of the chain this is what some Christians say but this position is not faithful to the Bible as we can even tell from what we’ve already seen in the first part of our class we started today by considering man’s natural state of sinful corruption if God looks down the corridor of time to see who would believe without his intervention how many people is God going to find Nine Zero no one does good or seeks for God Romans 3 again so the fact of radical human corruption already shows us that this proposed idea of God’s foreign knowledge cannot be correct and we could also add in what we’ve already seen about God’s attributes Greg taught on this according to the Bible God is not simply omniscient it doesn’t simply know all things past present and future but he determines all things he upholds all things by his Sovereign power thus God foreknows because God foreordains if he doesn’t do it it doesn’t happen man does nothing unless God ordains it including believe but we could add one-third I feel like this thing is clicking without me clicking all right we can even add a stop that okay we could even add a third reason we can just oh okay okay it’s like it has a mind of its own okay no that’s good that’s good thanks Chris I didn’t realize there is somebody who has a mind of his own he’s helping me okay thanks Chris um but if we just look at actually the word that’s translated for knowledge the Greek words translated for knowledge or for no in the New Testament we would see that God’s foreknowledge is not as some Christians say simply looking ahead to who would believe in God on his own consider this passage itself verse 29 says For Those whom he foreknew he also predestined this is an unbreakable chain right there’s no one who is foreknown by God as indicated In this passage who will not also be predestined and conformed to the image of Christ yet if God’s for now it simply means knowing beforehand and doesn’t God simply know all people beforehand I mean that’s how the view of Salvation according to God responding to man that’s how it works God foreknows everybody he sees who’s going to believe and then he elects those people to Salvation in response but if that’s the way that God foreknows then would it not justly follow from Romans 8 29 that every human being is going to be freudescent to be conformed into the image of Christ because God foreknows everybody and the chain of Salvation cannot be broken whoever’s foreknown will be predestined will be called will be justified will be glorified so is everyone going to be saved and glorified by God certainly that makes nonsense out of verse 28.
and it contradicts the multitude of other Bible passages that indicate that not everyone will be saved so just from this verse we know that foreknown cannot simply mean that basic definition of to know before as used of God in the New Testament but this isn’t the only passage that shows us this what about some other passages we can go to the next slide there are only seven New Testament occurrences of the verb for no or for knowledge in the New Testament this is from the Greek word progenosco pragonosco kind of sounds like prognosticate right our English cognate in two instances of this verb in the New Testament second Peter 3 17 and Acts 26 4 and 5 prognosco indeed has the sense of Simply knowing facts beforehand say oh Dave doesn’t that contradict what you’re just about to try and prove ah well crucially these two passages they refer to human for knowledge what man knows beforehand the other five passages including Romans 8 29 they all refer to God’s foreknowledge I want you to look at these passages with me and tell me what you notice in common from these verses we’ve already read Romans 8 29 we’ve noticed about that but let’s go to the next one Romans 11 1-2 Romans 11 1-2 it says I say then God has not rejected his people has he may never be fry two women Israelite a descendant of Abraham of The Tribe of Benjamin God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew or do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah how he pleased with God against Israel let’s stop right there who or what is said to be foreknown by God here his people and in particular this context which people people of Israel Paul goes on to prove that God has not utterly rejected his four known people Israel how does he prove that again okay he will talk about how yes even In this passage all Israel will be saved but even more locally verse 3 and following he says we know that God hasn’t forsaken his foreknown people how do we know that first of all there’s the Old Testament reference to Elijah remember God tells Elijah you think you’re the only one left who’s following after me I told you I’ve reserved a certain number of people I forget it was 7 700.
7 000 okay thank you seven thousand people who have not bowed the need to bail and who have not kissed his image I’ve kept them for myself I will keep them for myself those people of Israel says look that’s what God did in the past clearly he hasn’t forsaken his people whom he foreknew in fact even now what is there a present Remnant where is it um verse 5. even now there is a present Remnant reserved according to God’s gracious choice so God is Not forsaken his people whom he foreknew let’s go to another one acts 2.
Acts 2 22-23 it’s just backing up a tiny bit there you could uh Advance it just one Chris Acts 2 22-23 says this is Peter’s Pentecost sermon men of Israel listen to these words Jesus Nazarene a man attested to you by God with Miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst just as you yourselves know this man delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God you nailed to a cross by the hands of Godless men and put him to death right who or what is foreknown by God here Jesus Christ in particular in his crucifixion his intercessory death what concept is mentioned right alongside God’s foreknowledge his predetermination his predestination all right go into the next one first Peter First Peter 1 verses 1 to 2.
First Peter 1 1-2 Peter introduces his letter in this way Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ those who reside as aliens scouted throughout ponce’s galatia Cappadocia Asia and bithynia who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father but the sanctifying work of the spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood May Grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure all right who or what is foreknown by God here yeah they are strangers these are scattered people say that again okay they are elect um are these Believers or unbelievers yeah these are Christians these are Christians he he may not use the term believer here but talking all these descriptions make Grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure by the sanctifying work of the spirit chosen these are persecuted Christians that’s why they’re scattered and that’s what the rest of First Peter is going to talk about hey you Christians who are suffering unjustly let me give you some encouragement and instruction but he says you’re foreknown by God you scattered Christian believers and notice what concept again is mentioned right alongside God’s foreknowledge chosen well sanctification yeah we’ll talk about that chosen you were chosen by God you were elected by God and then even in the same letter we have one more the final instance of this term First Peter 1 verses 20 to 21.
First Peter 1 20-21 actually we’ll read a little bit of verse 19.
saying you were not redeemed with perishable things but with Precious Blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless the blood of Christ for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glories that your Faith and Hope are in God one more time who or what is foreknown by God here Jesus Christ Jesus Christ Our Savior and when was he foreknown from before the foundation of the world so let’s put this all together what do you notice about how the Bible speaks about God’s foreknowledge what’s in common these five verses okay Glenn is making a good observation so notice first of all that he foreknows people when the Bible speaks about God’s foreknowledge it specifically is about foreknowing people not events or facts certainly he knows that too but in terms of the way that God uses or the Bible uses the word foreknowledge it’s talking about foreknowing people and which people it’s a very particular set of people if it’s Christ Old Testament Saints or Jewish Saints and Scattered believers these are all people who belong to God foreknows only his people doesn’t speak it the Bible doesn’t speak about him for knowing any other people therefore no in these passages cannot simply mean to know beforehand because he does that with all people so what must foreno mean when it comes to God that’s right it’s an intimate kind of knowledge it is even the kind of knowledge that sets one apart to God and Glenda mentioned this concept previously by alluding to a certain verse in Jeremiah and I’ll bring that out to you now Jeremiah 1 5 this is what God says to Jeremiah as part of his commissioning Jeremiah as a Prophet Jeremiah 1 5.
before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you I have appointed you a prophet to the Nations it’s the same idea even though the word foreknowledge isn’t used there God doesn’t simply say oh I knew about you Jeremiah just like I knew about everybody he says I knew you in a special way and I knew you in such a way that I set you apart from others even to be a special servant for me it’s the same idea when we talk about God’s foreknowledge and salvation and consider how far this sense is from the idea of God responding to Man’s Free Will God didn’t foreknow all people in events so that God could then choose some for himself no God’s foreknowing is God’s choice he was setting apart from himself those he would love as I heard one preacher say to be foreknown by God is to be foreloved by God and if you know Jesus Christ that is true of you this morning you were foreknown by God you were intimately known by God set apart by God for a special relationship with him before the foundation of the world not because God saw something worthy in you or lovely in you in which he had to respond oh that one’s gonna believe in me nope nope you were corrupt had nothing to offer God but he foreknew you according to his gracious choice he said that one I’m setting apart for me so then I hope you see the primary truth that I’m trying to emphasize today God is completely Sovereign in Salvation man needs he requires God to do it all and God himself testifies that he indeed does it all but why does God do it if he’s not responding to Something in us why does God save well just to be super clear the reason is not because God needs something from us God is Not lonely God is not in need of worship we’re worshipers God is not missing some Glory that we are somehow going to give him his name according to the Old Testament is Yahweh after all and what does Yahweh mean you’re actually thinking of a a different title Yeshua uh means salvation or savior and God is savior Yahweh savior but Yahweh that corresponds to the Hebrew word he is and it’s commemoration the Revelation that God gave to Moses when Moses said who am I going to say sent me tell them I am who I am he is sent to you now I am who I am is an expression of eternality Independence self-sufficiency God needs nothing from anyone he needs nothing from outside himself and nothing outside himself can compel him to act and besides when it comes to things outside himself God says they already belong to him so that’s why he says in Psalm 50 verse 12 Psalm 50 verse 12 if I were hungry he’s talking to the people of Israel if I were hungry I would not tell you for the world is mine and all it contains don’t need anything from my creation he does not have a need outside of himself so why does he do it why does he elect why does he save D well what do the scriptures say just sample a few passages for you Psalm 115 3 and I’m going to do this quickly so don’t feel like you have to turn there Psalm 115 3 but our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases Isaiah 43 Verse 11 Isaiah 43 Verse 11 I even I am Yahweh and there is no savior besides me second Timothy 1 9 2 Timothy 1 9.
he has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and Grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity in Ephesians 1 5 and 6. a little bit of verse four Ephesians 1 5 and 6 in love he predestined us to adoption as Sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the kind intention of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved all right let’s summarize those verses if we can what does the Bible say in terms of explaining why God chooses to save okay it’s for his glory what else can we say okay according to his mercy and Grace or to expand that just a little bit according to his character it’s who he is can we say anything more yeah Ian that’s right that was what he willed to do it was his good pleasure to do so this really I think summarizes the whole Biblical teaching of why God chooses to save it was according to his own will it was in accordance with his perfect character and it was for his glory not the increase of it because it’s already infinite but for the further enjoyment of it for their further enjoyment of food God already is why did salvation have to be this way why save certain persons and not other persons well the specific answer to those questions is only known to God Deuteronomy 29 29 the secret things belong to the Lord the only answers that God does give us is what I’ve already stated God did it God Saves according to his good pleasure in accordance with his loving saving kind being and from the manifestation and enjoyment of his own Glory and what is the proper response of the redeemed to such a truth that’s right Thanksgiving praise ah even the trembling exclamation oh God why was I chosen why was I chosen to receive your salvation thank you God but now here’s the part that might really throw us for a loop even though the Bible declares God’s sovereignty over salvation it is not apologetic about that it is not hiding that fact God declares it in his Bible he’s Sovereign even declares that no one will be saved apart from his gracious intervention the Bible also declares that all Sinners are responsible for their own sin and for their willful rejection of Jesus Christ he says if you don’t choose to follow me well then you will be damned you will be condemned indeed let’s move over to talking about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility if we can I’m sure I look somewhat ridiculous the Bible presents the gospel invitation as open to all and God promises and this is a true sincere promise that any who come to him in genuine faith and repentance will be saved there’s no one who comes to God and they’re like God God please let me in he’s like sorry you’re not one of my elect he says you come to me in faith and repentance I will save you and I’ll just give you a sample of verses for this Isaiah 55 6-7 Isaiah 55 6-7 seek Yahweh while he may be found call upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh and he will have compassion on him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon John 3 16.
for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life whoever believes whoever believes Romans 10 11-13 Romans 10 11-13 for the scripture says whoever believes in him will not be disappointed for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for the same Lord as Lord of all abounding in riches for all who call on him four whoever will call in the name of the Lord will be saved this is an invitation this is sincere invitation that is open to all if you will come to God meet these conditions call upon his name in Repentance and faith you’ll be saved and if you don’t do this if you end up condemned damned forever in the fearful punishment of God for sin you have no one to blame but yourself it was your own foolish rebellious choice and again this is all over the scriptures John 3 18 John 3 18. you can advance just two clicks there he who believes in Him is not judged he who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God you don’t want to believe in them you’re going to be condemned second Thessalonians 1 8-9 second Thessalonians 1 8-9 speaking about God’s judgment against those who persecute Believers dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus is a matter of obedience or Disobedience if you do not obey verse 9 goes on to say these will obey the penalty of Eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power one more or we could add more but just one more Matthew 23 37 Matthew 23 37 this is Jesus speaking Jerusalem Jerusalem who kills the prophets and Stones those who were sent to her how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and you were unwilling you know it’s interesting if you just look at Judas the betrayer of our Lord he is an example of this strange connection between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility for Jesus says of Judas in Luke 22 22 Luke 22 22 for indeed the son of man is going as it has been determined this is ordained it’s gonna happen God’s Sovereign over this but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed Matthew and Mark add in their version of this statement it would have been good for that man if he had not been born Judas betrayed Jesus because it was ordained yet God is just to judge Judas for doing it for choosing it woe to that man of course the natural response to this is to say but how is this right how can God hold people responsible when he ultimately a sovereign they didn’t turn because you didn’t intervene how is God just just to do this well some teachers some Believers have endeavored to explain in Long detail and careful logic why God is still just to do this and I don’t I don’t think that’s evil I don’t think that’s wrong I actually heard a good version of this I think I recommended it to you before Pastor Mike McCarty at Grace Community Church in Los Angeles preached a sermon one time called God and Evil and the subtitle is why the ultimate cause is not the chargeable cause very helpful very clarifying you can look that up on Google if you are so inclined it’s at gracechurch.org the longer answer the short answer I can say right now how is God just to do this even if we cannot fully understand the Bible presents God as just both of these things are true God’s totally Sovereign and yet he is not unjust to hold man responsible for man’s own choices God is Sovereign yet man has real agency that deserves the recompense of God these realities may be intention but they are not truly in contradiction we are to accept them both by faith since they are both in God’s perfect scriptures and if that answer is not good enough for you just remember Romans 9 19 to 21.
that God is like a Potter and you are like clay you cannot demand an explanation from God or tell him that he’s done wrong is Clay going to do that to the Potter what does clay know if you do find yourself in this position of demanding explanation from God you only show yourself to be ridiculously arrogant God’s complete sovereignty does not nullify Man’s real agency and responsibility but it exists alongside and you know what’s really interesting you see this literally in the words of Jesus listen to how Jesus affirms God’s sovereignty in Salvation in Matthew 11 verses 25 to 27 Matthew 11 25-27 at that time Jesus said I praise you father Lord of Heaven and Earth that you have hidden these things the things related to the kingdom and salvation from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants yes Father for this way was well pleasing in your sight all things have been handed over to me by the my father and no one knows the son except the father nor does anyone know the father except the son and anyone to whom the son Wills to reveal him I mean that’s pretty clear right Jesus says God must choose to reveal himself to people so that they might be saved and if he doesn’t reveal himself and not going to be saved they won’t come all comes down to God’s sovereignty yet that statement is followed by one of the most beautiful gospel invitations in the Bible Matthew 11 28-30 come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is life wow this is an invitation there’s an invitation calling for a response from the will calling for a choice and from whom from man from people and if you don’t respond if you don’t choose Christ if you don’t come you have no one to blame but yourself it was your own choice it’s what you wanted but if you do come who gets the credit who gets the glory God does because just as Jesus said before nobody comes unless the father reveals himself or rather the son chooses to reveal the father to him this is a great mystery a humbling mystery but one that should lead us to awe and praise God does it all in Salvation no speaking of all can we be more specific from the Bible about all that God does for man well yes yes we can and with our final topic today we’re going to look at the specific steps or the order of salvation theologians sometimes call this by fancy Latin term the Ordo salutis which just means order of Salvation And there’s some debate on the exact order and number of steps because the Bible speaks of many of these happening at the same time or very close to one another but for those who take a reformed Protestant view of Salvation and not an Armenian one there is General agreement on the order as I presented here so I’m going to list the steps of Salvation And I’m going to briefly Define each you can advance the next slide and I’m also going to give a few supporting verses by the way Romans 8 29 to 30 does give a condensed version of these with its five but this is a slightly expanded list so what are the steps and what is the order of all that God does for man and salvation number one election or predestination you can advance these as I say these Chris Before Time Of The World began God chose who he would save and who he would pass over and leave to judgment this Choice was not based on anything in us but only in the mysterious will and good purpose of God Ephesians 1 3-4 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him number one number two atonement in time God sent his son to live a perfectly righteous life and to die a sin bearing death so that all those who believe in Jesus would be completely saved from the holy wrath of God that is due sin the Sun not only accomplished this Redemption mission but he rose from the dead and descended into heaven to show that his work was accepted and is effective for all who believe in him so First Corinthians 15 3-4 First Corinthians 15 3-4 fry delivered to you as the first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures it’s number two number three gospel call God arranges for each one he has chosen that the gospel of Christ will be preached to that person for when God’s wisdom he has ordained that people will not be saved apart from the hearing or reading of the Gospel exhorting Sinners to repent and believe in Jesus Romans 10 verses 14 to 15.
Romans 10 14-15 how then will they call on him on whom they have not believed how they believe in whom they have not heard and how are they here without a preacher how they preach unless they are sent just as it is written how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things God uses the gospel number four the inward call though God arranges his General gospel call to go to many people even All Peoples of the Earth the preached gospel will not prove effective for a person unto salvation unless God also works in a person’s heart to call and draw that person toward himself and when God calls inwardly that call is always effective it will not be resisted First Corinthians 1 23-24 First Corinthians 1 23-24 but we preach Christ crucified to Jews the stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness but to those who are the called the Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God when God calls in the heart the gospel proves effective to save but how can that be how can a spiritually dead person respond to God’s inward call to believe well number five regeneration regeneration God not only calls and would leave but also by his Spirit he breathes his own spiritual life into a person so that person is reborn he’s cleansed in heart he’s made a new creation and now he is both able and quite willing to respond to God’s internal call to Salvation in Christ Titus 3 4 and 5 Titus three four and five but when the kindness of God our savior and his love for mankind appeared he saved us not on the basis of Deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to his Mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit of course we’ve talked a lot about this recently from John 3.
and where this true regeneration of heart takes place there will always be one response from man and that is number six conversion conversion also known as repentance and faith conversion is the event at which a person turns from his sin and his self and he turns to Christ a person repents he believes and is saved experientially crossing over from the domain of Darkness under the god under the wrath of God into the kingdom of Christ and inheriting and experiencing eternal life but can man take credit for this step can he take credit for his own conversion his responding to God and repentance and faith no for the Bible says that even these are the work of God they are a gift to those that God has chosen Ephesians 2 8 Ephesians 2 8 for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God and second Timothy 2 25 speaking of how leaders in the church are to conduct themselves with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition if perhaps God May grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth God must give the faith God must give the repentance even though this is a part that man participates in it is all the work of God and upon conversion God immediately acts to fulfill the next four parts of salvation number seven justification upon repentance and faith God justifies the believer that is God pronounces that believer legally righteous and acceptable to God on the basis of Christ’s work on the believer’s behalf this is another way to say that God imputes or he accounts Christ’s own righteousness to the believer that’s the only reason that believer becomes acceptable Romans 5 1 Romans 5 1 therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ something else number eight adoption upon repentance and faith God also adopts the believer and endows them with all the rights and privileges of a child of God including the father’s loving care and listening ear all throughout that believer’s life as well as the internal inheritance that belongs to a child of God which is ruling and reigning with Jesus Christ God’s son John 1 12 John 1 12 but as many as received him talking about Jesus to them he gave the right to become children of God even to those who believe in his name now the final two parts of what God does in Salvation are begun now in part but they await the future for their complete fulfillment number nine is sanctification sanctification upon repentance and faith God positionally sanctifies or sets apart a Believer as totally holy to God however practically speaking the believer is not yet fully holy in his thinking words and actions thus upon conversion God begins the process of progressive sanctification or making the believer gradually die to sin and live to righteousness to become more and more like Jesus Christ this is a process that continues throughout the rest of a believer’s life but it is brought to completion at death after which the believer is entirely Sanctified and freed from sin forever praise the Lord Romans 6 22.
Romans 6 22 but now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you derive your benefit resulting in sanctification and the outcome eternal life then finally number 10.
glorification glorification upon repentance and faith God immediately exalts the believer to position of highest honor an abundant blessing in Christ however the believer only experiences this glorification in part when a Believer dies or when Christ comes the believer will experience in full the promise of glorification in which the resurrected believer will dwell with enjoy and reign with God forever Ephesians 2 6 and 7.
speaking about what God did for those who were dead in sin he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come he might show The surpassing Riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus so that’s it these are the steps this is the order of salvation but perhaps some of you veteran students of the Bible might ask but where’s Union with Christ you can advance one more uh Chris where is Union with Christ when in Salvation is a person spiritually joined to Christ so that he is in Christ and Christ is in him the Bible does talk about this that’s a good question where does Union with Christ fall on the order of salvation you know what the surprising answer is all of it here’s something marvelous and the Bible speaks about what God does in Salvation each of the steps that I’ve outlined here are frequently described as taking place in Christ or in him just to give you some examples Ephesians 1 4 says that we are chosen or elected in him in Christ Romans 6 8 describes Believers as having died with and being raised with Christ Peter 5 10 says that Believers were called in Christ second Corinthians 5 17 says one has made a new creation in Christ repentance and Faith of course are exercised in Christ Corinthians 6 11 says that both justification and sanctification were accomplished in the Name of Christ that is in Christ Ephesians 1 5 says Believers were predestined to adoption through Jesus Christ in the second second Thessalonians 1 12 says that or talks about Christ being glorified in Believers and Believers being glorified in him until you see the truth is as Ephesians 1 3 says every salvation blessing has been poured out on us in Christ from our being elected in Christ before the world began to our glorification with Christ and in Christ in eternity ah though God does everything in Salvation the son Jesus Christ is the specific means that all the benefits of Salvation are given to us even before we know and experience those benefits when we come to believe in Jesus and this brethren is why we love worship and Obey Jesus Christ he is our Lord he is our savior he is our treasure he is our life every good thing we have excuse me my nose is losing it every good thing we have we have in and through him how amazing that God has poured out his love on us in Jesus Christ so there we have it what we’ve seen today is that God indeed does everything in Salvation he is completely Sovereign over who will be saved and when and every part of Salvation is energized by his power and guaranteed according to his will and that doesn’t mean that we do nothing in response no as God works in us we are obligated to respond and we will if we are his chosen what is man’s part in Salvation how does a man how does a person become saved and how does he know he is saved well that’s the questions that we’re going to address next time have a couple of minutes any questions about what you’ve heard today yeah Leela yeah it’s not so crazy and mysterious and Leela mentioning Ephesians 1 4 saying that we were chosen in him quite fully understand this but we were in him even before we believed we didn’t experience in our lives the benefits of being in him and yet it was a fact God chose us in him we died and were raised in him that is amazing that’s why Jesus Christ is so precious another question or mark question foreign yeah yeah those are both yeah exactly yeah yeah those are both good observations Mark and I don’t have time for application questions but that was one of the things I was going to explore I started today by asking about evangelism and things you should not mention but clearly if all this is true that has massive implications for how we evangelize we don’t have to shy away from the truth of the scriptures rather we say what God told us to say and we know that it will prove effective for those that God has chosen now that doesn’t mean we become callous or annoying or um lazy about the way that we evangelize but does mean that we can trust God’s way to do the work that God’s chosen to do and if we go outside of that we may actually produce something that’s not really the work of God and when it comes to Assurance yes if you realize that salvation is all of God that should give you great assurance that your salvation cannot be lost for those who take the view that God oh he responds to you and that’s how he chooses to elect well what’s consistent in that theological system is that you can lose your salvation because if you stop believing in God well maybe God will stop believing in you God will unelect you and some will then will actually teach that but that’s not that’s not the case I think what’s also connected with that is a misunderstanding of how people are actually saved we’re going to talk more about this next week the human side of it when people think it is a prayer that they prayed or some other work that they did then that rather than assuring them it it results in a lack of or it can often result in a lack of assurance because they say well I don’t know if my prayer was right or if it was good enough I got to pray again and that’s why you have people who are constantly going forward and getting saved because their thinking comes down to work that they do but we’re going to talk more about that next week but good comments thank you for your participation today let me close this in prayer I hope you’ll be back next week Lord it is as your word says in John 3 when we come to you we do not boast and say look what I did I’m I’m one of the ones who found God but we say no all of this was God’s work Christ you found us Lord God thank you for Jesus Christ thank you for electing Us in him before the foundation of the world thank you that we can never be taken oh we can never be parted from him or from his love thank you for salvation we don’t know why you chose us we don’t know why you chose us as opposed to other people except that it was part of your good character it was according to your good purpose and will and it is for the enjoyment of your glory so always say God is thank you and help us to live worthy to put your name as high before all people and the way that we live in Jesus name amen thank you all