Christ, Salvation and Eschatology · whom the Father has given Him, in virtue of which there is an...

Systematic Theology 3

Christ, Salvation and Eschatology

Soteriology

The Doctrine of the Application of Redemption

Introduction to soteriology

Soteriology bridges the gap between Anthropology and Christology.

Anthropology is concerned with man’s being made in God’s image and yet having been rendered totally depraved by sin and being under the wrath of God.

Christology is concerned with the Person of Christ, and the work of Christ, including the accomplishment of the atonement by Christ 2000 years ago.

Soteriology, then, is supremely concerned with the application of that atonement to actual men and women in space and time.

The Ordo Salutis (‘Order of Salvation’)

“God is not the author of confusion and therefore He is the author of order. There are good and conclusive reasons for thinking that the various actions of the application of redemption take place in a certain order, and that order has been established by divine appointment, wisdom, and grace. It is quite apparent to everyone that it would be impossible to start off with glorification, for glorification is at the far endof the process as its completion and consummation, and it is scarcely less apparent that regeneration would have to precede sanctification. Aman must surely be born again before he can be progressively sanctified. Regeneration is the inception of being made holy and sanctification is the continuance. Hence it requires no more than the most elementary knowledge of these various terms to see that we cannot turn them around and mix them up in any way we please. But we may also look at a few passages of Scripture to show that there is clearly implied an order or arrangement in the various steps of the application of redemption.”

- John MurrayRedemption Accomplished and Applied, 80

“Various theologians have given specific terms to a number of these events, and have often listed them in a specific order in which they believe that they occur in our lives. Such a list of the events in which God applies salvation to us is called the order of salvation and is sometimes referred to by a Latin phrase, ordo salutis which simply means ‘order of salvation.’”

- Wayne GrudemSystematic Theology, 669

The ordo salutis in Reformed soteriology

1. Foreknowledge 2. Predestination3. Union with Christ4. Calling5. Regeneration6. Conversion (Faith and Repentance)7. Justification 8. Adoption9. Sanctification10.Perseverance 11.Death

12.Glorification

“Reformed Soteriology takes its starting point in the union established in the pactum salutis (Covenant of Salvation) between Christ and those whom the Father has given Him, in virtue of which there is an eternal imputation of the righteousness of Christ to those who are His…They begin the ordo salutis with regeneration or with calling, and thus emphasize the fact that the application of the redemption work of Christ is in its incipiency a work of God. This is followed by a discussion of conversion, in which the work of regeneration penetrates to the consciouslife of the sinner, and he turns from self, the world, and Satan, to God. Conversion includes repentance and faith, but because of its great importance the latter is generally treated separately. The discussion of faith naturally leads to that of justification, inasmuch as this is mediated to us by faith. And because justification places man in a new relation to God, which carries with it the gift of the Spirit of adoption, and which obliges man to a new obedience and also enables him to do the will of God from the heart, the work of sanctification next comes into consideration. Finally, the order of salvation is concluded with the doctrineof the perseverance of the saints and their final glorification.”

- Louis BerkhofSystematic Theology, 418

Union with Christ

“So long as we are without Christ and separated from him, nothing which he suffered and did for the salvation of the human race is of the least benefit to us. To communicate to us the blessings which he received from the Father, he must become ours and dwell in us. Accordingly, he is called our Head, and the first-born among many brethren, while, on the other hand, we are said to be engrafted into himand clothed with him, all which he possesses being, as I have said, nothing to us until we become one with him.”

- John CalvinInstitutes 3.1.1

Union with Christ is eternal: The elect were “in Christ” before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3-4), they are regenerated “in Him” (Col 2:11), they are then sanctified “in Him” (Col 2: 7), and will continue to be in union with Him for eternity (1 Cor 15:22,Rom 6:23).

“Why does the believer entertain the thought of God’s determinate council with such joy? Why can he have patience in the perplexities andadversities of the present? Why can he have confident assurance with reference to the future and rejoice in hope of the glory of God? It is because he cannot think of past, present, or future apart from union with Christ. It is union with Christ now in the virtue of His death and thepower of His resurrection that certifies to him the reality of his election in Christ before the foundation of the world – he is blessed by the Father with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ from eternal ages (cf Eph 1:3-4). And he has the seal of an eternal inheritance unto the redemption of the purchased possession (cf Eph 1:13-14). Apart from union with Christ we cannot view past, present, or future with anything but dismay and Christless dread. By union with Christ the whole complexion of time and eternity is changed ans the people of God may rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

- John MurrayRedemption Accomplished and Applied, 164-165

Humanity gained union with Christ in two significant ways at the incarnation:1. He was united with human flesh.

a. Hebrew 2:9-16 2. He was united with human nature.

a. This union was necessary to make our nature obedient to God again.b. Gal 4:4-5 - Christ put Himself under the law and fulfilled it in our nature,

on our behalf.

“When it is asked then how Christ, by abolishing sin, removed the enmity between God and us, and purchased a righteousness which made him favourable and kind to us, it may be answered generally, that he accomplished this by the whole course of his obedience…Thus even at his baptism he declared that a part of righteousness was fulfilled by his yielding obedience to the command of the Father. In short, from the moment when he assumed the form of a servant, he began, in order to redeem us, to pay the price of deliverance.”


The continuing nature of this union: 1. Christ is still a real man with a real human body.2. Christ's continuing humanity is still united to us.

a. Eph 1:20-23 b. Eph 2:6

“From this doctrine faith derives manifold advantages.

First, it perceives that the Lord, by his ascension to heaven, has opened up the access to the heavenly kingdom, which Adam had shut. For having entered it in our flesh, as it were in our name, it follows, as the Apostle says, that we are in a manner now seated in heavenly places, not entertaining a mere hope of heaven, but possessing it in our Head.

Secondly, faith perceives that his seat beside the Father is not without great advantage to us. Having entered the temple not made with hands, he constantly appears as our advocate and intercessor in the presence of the Father; directs attention to his own righteousness, so as to turn it away from our sins; so reconciles him to us, as by his intercession to pave for us a way of access to his throne, presenting it to miserable sinners, to whom it would otherwise be an object of dread, as replete with grace and mercy.

Thirdly, it discerns his power, on which depend our strength, might, resources, and triumph over hell, "When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive," (Eph. 4: 8.) Spoiling his foes, he gave gifts to his people, and daily loads them with spiritual riches. He thus occupies his exalted seat, that thence transferring his virtue unto us, he may quicken us to spiritual life,sanctify us by his Spirit, and adorn his Church with various graces, by his protection preserve it safe from all harm, and by the strength of his hand curb the enemies raging against his cross and our salvation; in fine, that he may possess all power in heaven and earth, until he has utterly routed all his foes, who are also ours and completed the structure of his Church. Such is the true nature of the kingdom, such the power which the Father has conferred upon him, until he arrive to complete the last act by judging the quick and the dead.”


c. Rom 5:10d. Acts 9:4

The Reality of this Corporate Connection

Passages illustrating the reality of corporate union of Christ and his elect people 1. Romans 5:12-21

a. Federal headship of Adam ("the first Adam")b. Christ the federal head of a new race ("the last Adam")

2. 1 Corinthians 15:21-23 a. "First fruits"

3. John 15:1-11a. “branch" and "vine”

4. Galatians 5:22-23, a. “fruit of the Spirit"

5. Romans 6:1-23, a. "substitute" and "representative"

What is NOT included in Christ's human union with His people:1. Union with Christ does not mean that we are incorporated into the life of the

Godhead.2. Not a literal ("gross") mixture of God's substance with man.3. It is not comprehended by the human mind. 4. It is not the kind of union that we have in the Godhead – three persons in one

God.

5. It is not the kind of union we have in the person of Christ – two natures in one person.

6. It is not the kind of union we have in man – body and soul constituting a humanbeing.

7. It is not simply the union of feeling, affection, understanding, mind, heart, will, and purpose.

Louis Berkhof, John Murray and John Calvin note the following about our union with Christ:

1. It has its source in the election of God the Father.2. The love of the Father for the Son is its basis, its power and its guarantee.3. In an important sense, then, it is eternal (Eph 1:3-4). 4. It is mystical, a mystery "which eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither hath

entered into the heart of man" but which God has revealed unto us by his Spiritand which by revelation and faith comes to be known and appropriated by men.

5. It is Spiritual, union of “an intensely spiritual character consonant with the nature and work of the Holy Spirit so that in a real way surpassing our power ofanalysis Christ dwells in his people and his people dwell in him” (Murray) (1 Cor6:17).

6. It is inexpressible.7. It is maintained by the Holy Spirit (He is the bond of this union). 8. It is bonded by faith. 9. It is the means through which the grace predestined to be ours is reflected in

the consciousness of the elect sinner. 10.It is made effective in the preaching of the Word and in the administration of

the Sacraments.11.It is the basis upon which we have fellowship with Christ.12.It brings with it union with the Father and the Spirit as well (John 14:16-17,

Rom 8:9)13.It is the basis for the spiritual unity of all believers.

“The saints are animated by the same spirit, are filled with the same love, stand in the same faith, are engaged in the same warfare, and are bound for the same goal. Together they are interested in the things of Christ and His Church, of God and His Kingdom.”

- Louis BerkhofSystematic Theology, 453

14.It secures for the believer the continuously transforming power of the life of Christ.

How union with Christ effects our understanding of the ordo salutis

Every aspect of the ordo solutis, that is to say, every step of the application of our redemption, comes to us "in Christ" (Eph 1:3, 7; Romans 3:24):

Predestination: "He chose us in Him..." (Eph 1:4) and "who 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 given to us in Christ Jesus before time began," (2 Tim 1:9)

Calling "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather (by the effectual call) together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him" (Eph 1:10)

Regeneration "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands"(Col 2:11)

Faith and Repentance "But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken

away in Christ." (2 Cor 3:14) and "the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." (1 Tim 1:14)

Justification "that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness" (Phil 3:8-9), and "There is therefore now no condemnation to thosewho are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1)

Adoption "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (Ga; 3:26) Sanctification "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in

Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith" (Col 2:6-7), and "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints," (1 Cor 1:2)

Perseverance "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

Glorification "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance" (Eph 1:11) and "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2:6-7)

How union with Christ effects our understanding of the extent of the atonement

"For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection".

- Romans 6:5

“Paul is clear: union with Christ is not partitioned into different benefits which may or may not be included with the rest. It carries us along from the beginning with our predestination through to our end in glorification. How could anyone believe that the whole human race was united with Christ in His death, but left in the grave to descend into hell while He was raised without them?

Redemption was without any question whatsoever particular in nature, and the Bible's teaching on union with Christ is only one clear display of this in Scripture.

How sad that the universal atonement pundits cannot say with Paul, "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,", and that often underthe strange banner of trying to provide their hearers a greater assurance of salvation!”

- from “A Defence of the doctrine of Particular Redemption”

Effectual Calling

The “calling” is used in different senses in Scripture: Life's work or station: 1 Cor 7:20-24 An office in the church (deacon or elder): Rom 1:1 Wisdom’s appeal to all men: Prov 8:4 The Gospel appeal to the sinner for repentance (the ‘general’, or ‘universal’ or

‘external’ call): Mark 16:15-16 and Matt 22:14 However, when we talk about calling we are usually referring to internal,

effectual calling of the elect.

“Calvinists define election as a choice of particular undeserving persons to be saved from sin and brought to glory, and to that end to be redeemed by the death of Christ and given faith by the Spirit's effectual calling. Where the Arminian says, 'I owe my election to my faith', the Calvinist says, 'I owe my faith to my election.' Clearly, these two concepts of election are very far apart.”

- J.I. Packer

Rom 8:28-30: Effectual calling… Is rooted in predestination and union with Christ.

(When someone responds to the gospel) God’s thought has been occupied with this event from times eternal. Hence the moment and all the circumstances are fixed by His own counsel and will.”

John MurrayRedemption Accomplished and Applied, 92

Issues finally in glorification. Precedes regeneration (see also 2 Tim 1:9)

The Unfolding of God’s Infallible Plan of Redemption

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

- Romans 8:28-30

The Golden Chain of Salvation

__________ __________ __________ __________ __________

“Paul teaches that all those whom God foreknew (in the sense of a deep and abiding love that he set upon them before eternity began) Healso predestined (which he did “according to the good pleasure of Hiswill” (Eph 1:5)), not according to anything foreseen in them.

What is to become of these foreknown ones? Paul says that all those whom He predestined He also called. This calling is the effectual, special, ‘internal’ call which only the elect receive. We know this cannotbe referring to the general call of the gospel because Paul says that all those who receive this special, internal call are justified. This cannot possibly refer to the non-elect who receive the general, ‘external’ call of the gospel, because not all who receive the external call believe and are justified. There are many who reject the gospel and die in their sins. Again, this special, effectual call is done “according to His own purpose” (2 Tim 1:9), not according to anything foreseen in the elect.

And what happens to these “called ones”? All are justified. Then all those who are justified are guaranteed of being glorified.”

- From “A defense of the doctrine of particular redemption”

See also 1 Pet 2:9, 2 Pet 1:10, Acts 16:14.

God is the one who gives the call.

The adjective “effectual” means that the call infallibly produces in the elect sinner the very response it demands.

“The efficacious summons (of the Gospel), since it is God’s summons, carries in its bosom all of the operative efficacy by which it is made effective.”


It is a once-for-all act, not a process (Rom 1:7, 1 Cor 1:2, 1 Peter 2:9).

It is unchangeable (Rom 8:28-30; 1 Cor 1:8-9; 1 Thess 5:24).

It is in Christ.

It is unto holiness (1 Thess 4:7, 1 Thess 5:23, 2 Tim 1:9, 2 Pet 1:10).

It is to the communion of the saints (Col 3:15).

It is to eternal life and glory (2 Thess 2:14; 1 Tim 6:12; 1 Pet 5:10; Heb 9:15; Rev 19:9).

Regeneration

Children’s catechism questions about regeneration

Q37: What effect did the sin of Adam have on all people?Answer: We are all born guilty and sinful.

Q38: How sinful are you by nature?Answer: I am corrupt in every part of my being.

Q39: What is the sinful nature that we inherit from Adam called?Answer: Original sin.

Q40: Can anyone go to heaven with this sinful nature?Answer: No. Our hearts must be changed before we can believe in

Jesus and go to heaven.

Q41: What is this change of heart called?Answer: The new birth, or regeneration.

Q42: Who can change a sinner's heart?Answer: The Holy Spirit alone.

Q58: What must you do to be saved?Answer: I must repent of my sin and believe in Christ as my Savior.

Q59: How do you repent of your sin?Answer: I must be sorry for my sin, and hate and forsake it.

Q60: Why must you hate and forsake your sin?Answer: Because sin displeases God.

Q61: What does it mean to believe in Christ?Answer: To trust in Christ alone for my salvation.

Q62: Can you repent and believe in Christ by your own power?Answer: No. I cannot repent and believe unless the Holy Spirit

changes my heart.

Total Depravity

Man is dead in sins and trespasses.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” - Eph 2:1

“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)

Paul’s description of unsaved man

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; theyare whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those whopractice them.”

- Romans 1:18-32

The effects of this depravity:1. The mind is darkened (Matt 6:23, 1 Cor 1:21, 1 Cor 2:14, Acts 17:27, Titus 3:3, 1

Tim 1:7). 2. The will is alienated (John 5:40, John 6:44, Rom 1:32, Rom 8:7, Jer 13:27).3. The emotions are disordered (Mark 7:21-22, Titus 1:15, Prov 2:13-15).

“The response (of a person to the call of the Gospel) must enlist the exercise of the heart and mind and will of the person concerned. It is atthis point that we are compelled to ask the question: how can a person who is dead in trespasses and sins, whose mind is enmity against God, and who cannot do that which is well pleasing to God answer a call to the fellowship of Christ,…(which) must involve the embrace of Christ in faith and love?...The answer to this question is that the believing and loving response which the calling requires is a moral and spiritual impossibility on the part of one who is dead in trespasses and sins. “They that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:8)…How is this incongruity to be resolved and the impossibility overcome?”


A fundamental change is required: God Himself must turn our hearts before we can repent and believe (Ezek 36:26, John 6:65)Regeneration

It is a monergistic work of God. Its source is entirely the grace of God.

One of the key doctrines that defines Reformed theology is that regeneration precedes faith.

“Regeneration must be prior to faith…As sinners we are dead in trespasses and sins. Faith is a whole-souled act of loving trust and self-commitment. Of that we are incapable until renewed by the Holy Spirit. It was to this that our Lord testified when He said that no one could come unto Him except it were given unto him of the Father and except the Father draw him (John 6:44, 65). And, again, we must remember John 3:3: “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Surely seeing the kingdom of God is the act of faith and, if so, such faith is impossible without regeneration. Hence regeneration must be prior to faith.”


The 1689 London Baptist Confession of FaithArticle 20.4

Although the gospel be the only outward means of revealing Christ and saving grace, and is, as such, abundantly sufficient thereunto; yet that men who are dead in trespasses may be born again, quickened or regenerated, there is moreover necessary an effectual insuperable work of the Holy Spirit upon the whole soul, for the producing in them anew spiritual life; without which no other means will effect their conversion unto God.

1560 Scots ConfessionChapter 3 – Of Original Sin

By the transgression, commonly called Original Sin, was the image of God utterly defaced in man; and he and his posterity of nature became enemies to God, slaves to Satan, and servants to sin; insomuch that death everlasting has had, and shall have, power and dominion over allthat have not been, are not, or shall not be regenerated from above: which regeneration is wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost, working in the hearts of the elect of God an assured faith in the promise of God, revealed to us in his word; by which faith we apprehend Christ Jesus, with the graces and benefits promised in him.

Scriptural testimony to the monergistic nature of regeneration

Romans 9:18 “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.”

Eph 2:4-10 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us inChrist Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Titus 3:5 “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washingof regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”

Regeneration is specifically the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:6-8 “, Titus 3:5, 1 Peter 1:23).

The Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the Gospel as the means by which He brings regeneration to a sinner (Rom 1:16).

“It has often been said that we are passive in regeneration. This is a true and proper statement. For it is simply the precipitate of what our Lord has taught us here. We may not like it. We may recoil against it. It may not fit into our way of thinking, and it may not accord with the time-worn expressions which are the coin of our evangelism.

But if we recoil against it, we do well to remember that this recoil is recoil against Christ. And what shall we answer when we appear before him whose truth we rejected and with whose gospel we tampered?

But blessed be God that the gospel of Christ is one of sovereign, efficacious, irresistible regeneration. If it were not the case that in regeneration we are passive, the subjects of an action of which God alone is the agent, there would be no gospel at all. For unless God by sovereign, operative grace had turned our enmity to love and our disbelief to faith, we would never yield the response of faith and love.”


Regeneration is irresistible.

As light produces light, so regeneration always produces repentance and faith.

“We must not think of regeneration as something which can be abstracted from the saving exercises which are its effects.”


The effects of regeneration

The mind is renewed:1. Illuminated in the knowledge of God.2. Enlightened in the knowledge of sin (Eph 5:8-9).3. Instructed in the knowledge of self.4. Enlightened in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

"Saving illumination carries the soul beyond opinion, to the certain knowledge of Christ and His excellency (1Thes 1:5), for our gospel came not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance. The light of grace thus discovers the suitableness of the mystery of Christ to the divine perfections, and to the sinner's case. Hence the regenerate admire the glorious plan of salvation through Christ crucified, rest their whole dependance upon it, heartily acquiesce therein; for whatever He be to others, He is to them 'Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.' But unrenewed men, not seeing this, are offended in Him; they will not venture their souls in thatvessel, but betake themselves to the broken boards of their own righteousness."

- Thomas Boston (1676-1732)Human nature in its fourfold state

5. Instructed in the vanity of the world.

The will is renewed:1. The will is cured of its inability to will what is good.

"The will is cured of its utter inability to will what is good. While the opening of theprison to them that are bound is proclaimed in the Gospel, the Spirit of God comesand opens the prison door, goes to the prisoner, and by the power of His grace, makes his chains fall off, breaks the bonds of iniquity wherewith he was held in sin, so as he could neither will nor do anything truly good, and brings him forth into a large place, 'working in him both to will and to do of his good pleasure' (Phil 2:13). Then it is that the soul, that was fixed to the earth, can move heavenward; the withered hand is restored, and can be stretched out."


“Regeneration refers to the agency of God, while conversion refers - to a large degree - to the response of the human personality. God alone performs the initial act of rebirth. As a result, and only as a result, the man becomes active and responds in faith and repentance (conversion).”

- Prof Doug KellyLectures on Soteriology, RTS

“Regeneration is the beginning of all saving grace in us, and all saving grace in exercise on our part proceeds from the fountain of regeneration. We are not born again by faith or repentance or conversion; we repent and believe because we have been regenerated.”

- John Murray

2. The will is given an aversion to evil.

The sovereignty of God in salvation does not violate the will of His elect.

“The Lord renders the unwilling will willing, giving another heart and another spirit, as He promiseth, Ezekiel 36:26 “A new heart will I give you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.” And thus He works as Paul saith, Eph 1:19-20 “with the exceeding greatness of His power in us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.” What is the working of faith, but a new birth, a creation, and a raising from the dead? Verily the word of God calls it so, Titus 3:5. Eph 2:5-10. But is not a person born, created and raised from the dead effectually and irresistibly? What should a sinner indeed do by his free-will to effect faith in himself? Is he not a slave, a servant of sin, and entirely impotent?”

- Johannes van der Kemp (1810)The Christian entirely the property of Christ, in life and death

The affections are changed:

“For how soon that ever the Spirit of the Lord Jesus (which God's elect children receive by true faith) takes possession in the heart of any man,so soon does he regenerate and renew the same man; so that he begins to hate that which before he loved, and begins to love that which before he hated. And from thence comes that continual battle which is betwixt the flesh and the spirit in God's children.”

- Scots ConfessionFrom chapter 13, The Cause of Good Works

1. God’s law becomes a delight and desire of the heart (Jer 31:31-34, Psalm 119:174). A born again person has an inclination to love God and to love other people.

2. This change rectifies the affections, placing them on suitable objects (2 Thes 3:5)

3. It regulates the affections which have been placed on suitable objects.

“(Regeneration) regulates the affections placed on suitable objects. Our affections,when placed on the creature, are naturally exorbitant; when we joy in it, we are apt to overjoy, and when we sorrow, we are ready to sorrow overmuch; but grace bridles these affections, clips their wings, and keeps them within bounds, that they overflow not all their banks. It makes a man 'hate his father, and mother, andwife, and children, yes, and his own life also,' comparatively; that is, to love them less than he loves God (Luke 14:26). It also sanctifies lawful affections, bringing them forth from right principles, and directing them to right ends.”


The conscience is renewed (Heb 9:14).

The sovereign work of God in regeneration encourages human activity (Eph 4:22-24, Col 3:8-9).

Long my imprisoned spirit layFast bound in sin and nature's night;Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;My chains fell off, my heart was free,I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

- Charles WesleyFrom the hymn And Can it be That I should Gain

Regeneration in infants

“Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth.So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being outwardlycalled by the ministry of the Word.”

- Westminster Confession of FaithArticle 10.3

"The priority of regeneration and the fact that it must not be separated from faith must be borne in mind even in the case of regenerate infants. In the nature of the case, the infant is incapable of the conscious and intelligent activity in terms of which we must define faithand repentance. But where regeneration takes place in the case of an infant there is the immediate transition from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God, and even though intelligent faith cannot be in exercise, nevertheless there is that which we may and must call the germ of faith. It is impossible for us to determine the extent to which regeneration affects the rudimentary consciousness of the infant, but it must affect that rudimentary consciousness just as radically as sin does. If infants are depraved, they may also be holy. The regenerate infant is in this respect radically different from the unregenerated infant. The regenerate infant is not under the dominion of sin, is not a child of wrath, but a child of God and a member of his kingdom. He grows up in the nurture of the Lord in the highest sense of that term. It will take years, of course, for the infant concerned to arrive at explicit consciousness of the implications of that regeneration and of the salvation it involves. But it is a fact that makes a radical difference in the developing or unfolding consciousness of the infant."

- John MurrayCollected Writings of John Murray, vol 2, pp.199-200

Conversion

Since the 17th Century, ‘conversion’ has been understood to mean a conscious turningof the regenerate away from sin, placing themselves under Christ’s Lordship.

The elements of true conversion are therefore:1. Repentance2. Faith

True conversion is a work of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45, 11:18), and repentance and faith are the fruit of regeneration, not the cause of it. This explains Scripture’s teaching that both repentance and faith are gifts from God (Acts 5:31; Rev 2:21; 2 Tim 2:25, Eph 2:8-9, Phil 1:29).

Repentance and faith and are always found together.

“Godly sorrow proceeds from faith—as the stream from the fountain, as the branch from the root. Proof of this is found in "they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced—and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son" (Zech. 12:10). All gracious mourning and repentance, proceeds from believing. Nothing breaks the heart of a sinner—like trustful looking to the Cross. The tears of godly sorrow—ever drop from the eyes of faith. The more we are enabled to look by faith upon a pierced Christ—the more shall we mourn over our sins for having nailed Him to the tree. No one can stand under the shinings of dying Love—with a frozen heart.”

- AW Pink

The gifts of faith and repentance were purchased by Christ on the cross.

“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

- Acts 5:30-31

In regeneration man is passive, but in conversion man is active.

Repentance

Repentance is a change of heart, mind and will regarding our particular sins, “with full purpose of, and endeavor after new obedience”.

Repentance is always bound together with faith (Acts 20:21; 26:18; Heb 6:1).

“The faith that is unto salvation is a penitent faith and the repentance that is unto life is a believing repentance…The interdependence of faithand repentance can be readily seen when we remember that faith is faith in Christ for salvation from sin. But if faith is directed to salvation from sin, there must be hatred of sin and the desire to be saved from it…It is impossible to disentangle faith and repentance. Saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with faith.”


Westminster Confession of Faith, Article 15Of Repentance Unto Life

1. Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof isto be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ.

2. By it a sinner, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger, butalso of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God, and upon the apprehension ofhis mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavouring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments.

3. Although repentance be not to be rested in as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God's free grace in Christ; yet is it of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it.

4. As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.

5. Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man's duty to endeavour to repent of his particular sins, particularly.

6. As every man is bound to make private confession of his sins to God, praying for the pardon thereof, upon which, and the forsaking of them, he shall find mercy: so he that scandelizeth his brother, or the Church of Christ, ought to be willing, by a private or public confession and sorrow for his sin, to declare his repentance to those that are offended; who are thereupon to be reconciled to him, and inlove to receive him.

Sin is against the person of God (Psalm 51:4).God is merciful and welcomes penitent sinners back to Himself.

“Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever. Do not go after other gods to serve them and worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not harm you.” - Jeremiah 25:6-6

John the Baptist: “the beginning of the gospel” (Matt 1:1) “Bear fruits worthy of repentance” – there is such a thing as false

repentance. “... do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our

father.’…” “...every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown

into the fire…”

Matthew 18:1-4

“I think, that the words plainly imply, that before you or I can have any well-grounded, scriptural hope of being happy in a future state, there must be some great, some notable, and amazing change pass upon oursouls. As for our temper, habit and conduct, we must be so changed and altered, that those who knew us the other day, when in a state of sin, and before we knew Christ, and are acquainted with us now, must see such an alteration, that they may stand as much amazed at it, as a person at the alteration wrought on any person he has not seen for twenty years from his infancy...Do not mistake me, I am not going to persuade you to shut up your shops, or leave your business; I am not going to persuade you, that if ye will be Christians, ye must turn hermits, and retire out of the world; ye cannot leave your wicked heartsbehind you, when you leave the world; for I find when I am alone, my wicked heart has followed me, go where I will. No, the religion of Jesus is a social religion. But though Jesus Christ does not call us to go out of the world, shut up our shops, and leave our children to be provided for by miracles; yet this must be said to the honor of Christianity, if we are really converted, we shall be loose from the world. Though we are engaged in it, and are obliged to work for our children; though we are obliged to follow trades and merchandise, and to be serviceable to the commonwealth, yet if we are real Christians, we shall be loose to the world.”

- George WhitefieldFrom a sermon entitled, Marks of true conversion, 1772

Repentance is sometimes a corporate event (e.g. Esther), but corporate repentance must reflect an inward reality in the people

Scripture often speaks of true repentance manifesting in a change to how we treat the poor (e.g. Isaiah 58:3-10).

Faith

Elements of saving faith:1. Knowledge: An intellectual conviction of the truth of a matter (Rom 10:17; Phil

1:27; 2 Cor 4:13).2. Conviction: An acceptance that it is supremely applicable to me; Jesus is the

answer to my needs (Gal 2:20).3. Trust: A reliance upon the person of Christ alone for salvation (Rom 3:22; 5:1-

2; 9:30; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8).

“It is here that the most characteristic act of faith appears; it is engagement of person to person, the engagement of the sinner as lost to the person of the Saviour able and willing to save. Faith, after all, is not belief of propositions of truth respecting the Saviour, however essential an ingredient of faith such belief is. Faith is trust in a person, the person of Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the lost.”


“(Faith is) an absolute transference of trust from ourselves to Christ."

- BB Warfield

Faith is not the meritorious act of a sinner for which the reward is salvation, for faith isa gift (Eph 2:8-9).

Faith and repentance continue throughout the life of a Christian.

“It is important to realize that faith and repentance are not confined to the beginning of the Christian life. They are rather attitudes of the heart that continue throughout our lives as Christians…Each day there should be heartfelt repentance for sins that we have committed, and faith in Christ to provide for our needs and to empower us to live the Christian life.”

- Wayne GrudemSystematic Theology, 717-718

“Just as faith is not a momentary act but an abiding attitude of trust and confidence directed to the Saviour, so repentance results in constant contrition. The broken spirit and the contrite heart are abidingmarks of the believing soul. As long as sin remains there must be the consciousness of it…Christ’s blood is the laver of initial cleaning but it is also the fountain to which the believer must continuously repair.”


Assurance of salvation

Why can we call upon Christ with confidence?1. The universality of the offer of the Gospel (Acts 17:30-31).

“The gospel offer is not restricted to the elect…And the warrant of faith is not the conviction that we are elect…but the fact that Christ, in the glory of His person, in the perfection of His finished work, and in the efficacy of His exalted activity as King and Saviour, is presented to us in the full, free and unrestricted overture of the gospel. It is not as persons convinced of our election nor as persons convinced that we are the special objects of God’s love that we commit ourselves to Him but as lost sinners. We entrust ourselves to Him not because we believe we have been saved but as lost sinners in order that we may be saved…And no sinner to whom the gospel comes is excluded from the divine warrant for such confidence."

– John MurrayRedemption Accomplished and Applied, 109-110

2. The all sufficiency and suitability of the Saviour, both in His work on earth andin His ever-living intercession at the right hand of the Father (Heb 7.25).

Two ways assurance comes to believers:1. “Absolute Assurance”

1. An absolute, immediate certainty of the believer that Christ has saved him from sin, that eternal life is his, that God is his reconciled Father, that heaven is his home.

2. Rom 5:5; 8:15-17, 38-39; 1 John 4:13.3. Must be in accordance with Scripture, yet it does not come primarily

from deductive reasoning from Scripture.4. It is a direct, sovereign act of the Holy Spirit whereby an individual is

assured of the fact that he/she has been adopted into the family of God.2. “Reasoned Assurance”

1. A non-direct, mediated conviction based upon Scriptural reasoning thatshows I am in a state of grace.

“A true Christian may not have full, immediate and direct assurance of the Holy Spirit with the conscious outpouring of the love of God in the heart - but he can bylooking in the Scriptures be persuaded that he belongs to Christ.”

- Doug Kelly

2. 2 Pet 1:10; 1 John 5:13.

How can we cultivate greater assurance of our salvation?1. By being diligent in the ‘means of grace’.

This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith but that a true believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it: yet, being enabled by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given him of God, he may, without extraordinary revelation, in the right use of ordinary means, attain thereunto. And therefore it is the duty of everyone to give all diligence to make his calling and election sure; that thereby his heart may be enlarged in peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in love and thankfulness to God, and in strength and cheerfulness in the duties of obedience, the proper fruits of this assurance: so far is it from inclining men to looseness.

2. By recognizing God’s sanctifying work in our lives (1 John 2:3, 5; 3:18-19). 3. By experiencing and recalling baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:47; 1 John

3:24; 4:13).

Topical Discussion Question

“Regeneration is inseparable from its effects and one of the effects is faith. Without regeneration it is morally and spiritually impossible for a person to believe in Christ, but when a person is regenerated it is morally and spiritually impossible for that person not to believe. Jesus said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me" (John 6:37)…Regeneration is the renewing of the heart and mind, and the renewed heart and mind must act according to its nature. Regeneration is the act of God and of God alone. But faith is not the act of God; it is not God who believes in Christ for salvation, it is the sinner. It is by God's grace that a person is able to believe but faith is an activity on the part of the person and of him alone. In faith we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation. It might be said: this is a strange mixture. God alone regenerates. We alone believe. And we believe in Christ alone for salvation. But this is precisely the way it is. It is well for us to appreciateall that is implied in the combination, for it is God's way of salvation and it expresses his supreme wisdom and grace. In salvation God does not deal with us as machines; he deals with us as persons and therefore salvation brings the whole range of our activity within its scope. By grace we are saved through faith (cf. Eph. 2 :8).”

- John MurrayRedemption Accomplished and Applied

Please answer the following question: Reformed soteriology is most insistent that regeneration precedes conversion (faith and repentance). Why should we not reverse this order?

Your answer:

Suggested Answer:

Faith and repentance are acts of the will of man, and so the will must be renewed at its very source, which is found in the very nature of the man himself. Regeneration is the Bible’s word for the recreation of this nature. In regeneration man is therefore passive. God does it to whom He wills – the wind blows where it wishes (John 3:8). This new-born nature is given a hatred for sin and a desire to move in the direction of God and so issues immediately in repentance from sin and faith in JesusChrist as Lord. It is this repentance and faith that constitute what the Bible calls “conversion”, and it must be noted that in conversion man isactive. He is exercising his will to turn away from evil and toward God, and he can do so only because the will has already been liberated through prior regeneration.

Conversion, therefore, requires strength outside of the natural man because “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).

To reverse the order, placing conversion prior to regeneration, is to deny total depravity because it allows man the ability to turn away from sin, turn to God and embrace Christ as Lord with an unregenerate nature. This is to confess that man has something in himself apart from the grace of God which can still:

do good (whereas the Bible says “there is none who does good, no, not one”),

hate evil (whereas the Bible says it is God who grants repentancesovereignly – Acts 5:31; Rev 2:21; 2 Tim 2:25),

seek God (whereas the Bible says that “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”)

If one can do these things with the old heart, what need is there of a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26)? Putting conversion before regeneration is a misunderstanding of the profound change that regeneration itself brings. What is regeneration, and the new heart it gives a sinner, if it is not that which produces repentance and faith? If repentance and faith precede it, then what changes at regeneration?

When Arminians say that they believe in total depravity but that God sends a “prevenient grace” to all men to which we are then held accountable to respond, this does not solve the problem at all! Why do some men respond to the gospel and others not? If the “prevenient grace” is not effectual then the deciding factor still lies in man and not in God which denies total depravity and takes us back to “square one”.

Justification

“Previously we talked about the gospel call (in which God calls us to trust in Christ for salvation), regeneration (in which God imparts new spiritual life to us), and conversion (in which we respond to the gospel call in repentance for sin and faith in Christ for salvation). But what about the guilt of our sin? The gospel call invited us to trust in Christfor forgiveness of sins. Regeneration made it possible for us to respond to that invitation. In conversion we did respond, trusting in Christ for forgiveness of sins. Now the next step in the process of applying redemption to us is that God must respond to our faith and do what he promised, that is, actually declare our sins to be forgiven. This must be a legal declaration concerning our relationship to God’s laws, stating that we are completely forgiven and no longer liable to punishment. A right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith.”


“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

- Romans 8:30

The Ordo Salutis according to Romans 8:1. Foreknowledge and Predestination

God’s unconditional love of His people before time began by which He chose them in Christ to receive salvation.

2. Calling This call is effectual, which means it includes regeneration and

irresistibly produces faith and repentance on our part (conversion).3. Justification

Follows conversion (Rom 3:26: God is “the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”)

Is an act of God, His response to our faith.4. Glorification

What is justification?

“Just what is justification? We may define it as follows: Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (in response to faith) (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.”


The English verb “justify” is how our New Testament translates the Greek verb dikaio.

The word justify comes from the Latin words ‘justum’ (just/righteous) and ‘fiacre’ (to make).

Yet it is an inaccurate and confusing translation of the original Greek verb dikaio tosay that it means “to make righteous”.

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent, which commenced in 1545, was the Catholic church’s major response to the protestant reformation. It attempted to deal with two issues:

1. Remedying the obvious corruption and abuses within the Catholic church itself.

2. Clarifying its own doctrine in the face of Protestant opposition.

At Trent the Protestant teachings on Original Sin and justification by faith alone were rejected and the doctrine of works meriting salvation was affirmed.

Trent saw a single formal cause of justification: an infusion of the righteousness of God by which He actually makes us righteous, resulting in good works which then actually merit entrance to the kingdom of heaven.

Trent’s view of justification is directly opposed to the Protestant view that justification is an imputation of the righteousness of God, by which He declares us to be righteous, and entrance to the kingdom of heaven is based upon Christ’s merits alone.

The Roman Catholic Council of Trent (1545 – 1564)Pronouncements on Justification

Canon IX: “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema.”

Canon XI: “If anyone says that men are justified either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins to the exclusion of the grace and of the charity which is poured forth in the hearts by the Holy Ghost and remains in them, or also that the grace by which we are justified is only the good will of God, let him be anathema.”

Canon XXX: “If anyone says, that, after the grace of justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened [to him], let him be anathema.”

Canon XXXII: “If anyone says, that the good works of one that is justifiedare in such manner the gifts of God, that they are not also the good merits of him that is justified; or, that the said justified, by the good workswhich he performs through the grace of God and the merits of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of that eternal life, - if so be, however, that he departs in grace, - and also an increase of glory, let him be anathema.”

Thus, the Roman Catholic church taught the inherent righteousness of man, instead of the imputed righteousness of Christ, as the ground of the sinner's justification. The was the most crucial issue in all the Reformation.

The Protestant Response

"The Greek verb dikaio refers to something outside the person in question; i.e. the estimation in which he is held by others and which cannot be treated as a quality. Whereas the Latin refers to the quality ofthe person in question; i.e. what it is about him that has caused the estimation in which he is held… The Greek verb has the primary sense of being considered or being estimated as righteous; whereas, the Latin verb denotes being righteous; i.e. the reason why someone is considered righteous by others…Theologically, this transition that happened in the Latin Church experience resulted in a shift of emphasisfrom God's declaration to man's internal being, and was inevitably accompanied by an anthropocentricity in the discussion of justification which is basically absent or largely absent from the Biblical material. "

- Alistair McGrath

Romans 3:26 – justification is consistent with justice“to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might

be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”

Sin was a ‘problem’ for God to overcome if man was to be saved. Finite man could not take away infinite guilt (sin against an

infinitely holy God). God cannot deny himself, but must punish such an affront

against His holy person. The wisdom of the cross was that in the death of Christ God’s

justice was fully satisfied on behalf of those for whom Christ died.

Thus God could be both just and the justifier of those who believe.

Believers are justified because of the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom 3:24-26; 4:24-25; 1 Cor 1:30; 6:11; 1 Pet 3:18; 1 Tim 3:16).

Justification is forensic – it does not change our internal nature or character (Psa 143:2; Rom 3:19-20; 4:3, 6, 9, 11; 8:33; 2 Cor 5:19, 21).

"Justification is a legal, or forensic term, and is used in Scripture to denote the acceptance of anyone as righteous in the sight of God… Justification denotes a change in the sinner’s judicial relation to God, and not a change in his moral or spiritual character. "

- James BuchananThe Doctrine of Justification (1867)

In justification God both constitutes sinners as righteous (by forgiving their sins for Christ’s sake and imputing Christ’s righteousness to them), and then declares them to be so (Rom 5:12-21).

1 Cor 5:21 – Our sins were imputed to Christ. God’s own righteousness is imputed to us.

“Regeneration is an act of God in us; justification is a judgment of God with respect to us. The distinction is like that of the distinction between the act of a surgeon and the act of a judge. The surgeon, when he removes an inward cancer, does something in us. That is not what a judge does – he gives a verdict regarding our judicial status…The purityof the gospel is bound up with the recognition of this distinction.”


In Paul's writings there is an emphasis on justification being offered by the grace of God to all sinners through faith in Christ (Rom 3:22-24; Gal 2:21).

Paul emphasizes how Abraham received an imputed righteousness through faith, entirely apart from the works of the law (Rom 1:17; Rom 4:21-25; Gal 3:1-4:31; Phil 3:9).

“Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, and therefore God thinks of it as belonging to us… It is essential to the heart of the gospel to insist that God declares us to be just or righteous not on the basis of our actual condition of righteousness or holiness, but rather on the basis ofChrist’s perfect righteousness, which he thinks of as belonging to us. This was the heart of the difference between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism at the Reformation. Protestantism since the time of Martin Luther has insisted that justification does not change us internally and it is not a declaration based in any way on any goodness that we have in ourselves.”


Good works follow justification, they do not cause justification (James 2:14-26).

“The doctrine of justification asserted in Scripture may be thus paraphrased:

that every intelligent creature is under an unchangeable and unalienable obligation, perfectly to obey the whole law of God:

that all men proceeding from Adam by ordinary generation, are the children of polluted parents, alienated in heart from God, transgressors of his holy law, inexcusable in this transgression, and therefore exposedto the dreadful consequence of his displeasure;

that it was not agreeable to the dictates of his wisdom, holiness and justice, to forgive their sins without an atonement or satisfaction:

and therefore he raised up for them a Saviour, Jesus Christ, who, as the second Adam, perfectly fulfilled the whole law, and offered himself up asacrifice upon the cross in their stead:

that this his righteousness is imputed to them, as the sole foundation oftheir reception into his favor:

that the means of their being interested in this salvation, is a deep humiliation of mind, confession of guilt and wretchedness, denial of themselves, and acceptance of pardon and peace through Christ Jesus, which they neither have contributed to the procuring, nor can contribute to the continuance of, by their own merit;

but expect the renovation of their natures, to be inclined and enabled to keep the commandments of God as the work of the Spirit, and a part of the purchase of their Redeemer.”

- John WitherspoonWorks, 1:50-51

“When (in the Reformation of the 16th Century) the good news of the gospel truly became the good news of totally free salvation in Jesus Christ, then it spread like wildfire throughout the civilized world. But this was simply a recovery of the original gospel, which declares, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23), and insists that “There is therefore now nocondemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).”


The relationship between our need of daily forgiveness and justificationIn justification there is a judicial, once-for-all change of status, but sin is still the contradiction of the Father's character:

1. Since He is holy, God must react with displeasure against our continuing sins (1 Cor 11:27-32).

2. God’s discipline is not penal justice, it is to get our eyes back on Him and bring us back to the place of blessing.

Justification, judgment according to works, and rewards John Murray:

1. Future reward is not justification, nor contributes anything to our eternal status before God, but is a different question (Matt 10:41, 1 Cor 3:8-9, 11-15; 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim 4:7).

2. This future reward is not salvation, which is by grace.3. The reward has reference to the station a person is to occupy in glory, not

to the gift of glory itself.4. The reward itself is gracious on the part of God.

Adoption

John 1:12 – “…as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Having constituted us as righteous and declared us to be so (in justification), God then adopts us as His own children.

Adoption takes us further than justification.

“Adoption is the act of God whereby we are received into the number ofGod’s children and have a right to all the privileged of the sons of God.”

- Doug Kelly

This adoption is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham (Gen 15:5 Rom 9:7-8).

God has a family, and we now have new brothers and sisters, including the believing Jews of the Old Testament era.

We are not “sons of God” in the same sense as Jesus is THE Son of God (John 20:17).

The Spirit of Adoption

Adoption is both objective and subjective:

“Adoption is, like justification, a judicial act,…the bestowal of a status, or standing, not the generating within us of a new nature or character…(Yet) those adopted into God’s family are also given the Spirit of adoption whereby they are able to recognize their sonship and exercise the privileges which go with it.”


Rom 8:15-16 – “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

Gal 4:6 – “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’”

This is something that the Christian perceives directly, not through logic or reason, but in your heart, that you are indeed the child of God, that He loves and cares for you as your Father, and by which you cry out “Abba, Father”.

“We should notice the correlation between the fall of the family in our society and the reduction of interest and emphasis on adoption. We cannot understand adoption because we have abandoned the concept of the family. It doesn't mean to us what it should mean, and we have lost some of the teaching of the Bible because we don't know and experience the family.”

- Doug Kelly

“Failing to take account of adoption in connection with regeneration would be like giving one the rights of a child without the spirit of a child."

- R.A. Webb Christian Experience, 396

“The Scriptures make a difference between justification and adoption…Justification does not of itself entitle to an inheritance; adoption does. Justification coveys a title to the rewards of moral government, adoption a title to an inheritance of sons…It is one thing to be approvedby a governor; another to be loved by a Father…The servant with hat inhand stands at a respectful distance awaiting the orders of his master. The child of God... rushes into the presence of his father, leaps into his lap, and nestles in his bosom.”

- J.L. Girardeau

The Benefits of Adoption

“The Apostle John had pondered and learned well the words of the LordHimself when He said, ‘He that loveth me shall be loved by My Father…If a man love me he will keep my words: and My Father will love Him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him’ (John 14:21,23). And now in writing his first epistle his heart overflows with wonderment at this donation of the Father’s love. ‘Behold what mannerof love the Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called children of God’ (1 John 3:1).” It is specifically the Father’s act of grace.John could not get over it and he never will. Eternity will not exhaust itsmarvel.”


The liberties and privileges of adoption include:1. The comfort of the Spirit of Adoption (Ps 103:13-14). 2. Jesus becomes our older brother and we become more and more like Him

(Rom 8:29).3. Membership of God's family with its unique love, fellowship and mutual

care. 4. Boldness is prayer (Matt 6:9).5. Many good gifts (Matt 7:11).6. Joyful acceptance of the providential happenings of life which come from

our all-wise and all-loving Father.7. The leading of the Holy Spirit.

“The privilege of being led by the Holy Spirit is also a benefit of adoption. Paul indicates that this is a moral benefit whereby the Holy Spirit puts in us desires to obey God and live according to His will. Hesays, ‘All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God’ (Rom 8:14), and he gives this as the reason Christians should “put to deaththe deeds of the body” by means of the Holy Spirit working within them…He sees the Holy Spirit as leading and guiding God’s children in paths of obedience to God.”


8. God’s discipline (Heb 12:5-10).9. The redemption and resurrection of our physical bodies (Romans 8:23). 10.As children we are heirs of God, and we will receive an eternal inheritance

(1 Peter 1:4).

Sanctification

To ‘sanctify’ someone means to separate them out from sin and uncleanness, anddedicate them to God as being set apart for His holy purposes.

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14)

“A man may go great lengths, and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge—Balaam had that; nor great profession—Judas Iscariot had that; nor doing many things—Herod had that; nor zeal for certain matters in religion—Jehu had that; nor morality and outward respectability of conduct—the young ruler had that; nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers—the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that; nor keeping company with godly people—Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these were holy! These things alone are not holiness. A man may have any one of them, and yet never see the Lord.”

- JC RyleHoliness, Ch 3

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“Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.”


The Object of Sanctification

In the Old Testament holiness was most often an attribute of things.

But as the revelation of Scripture unfolded, ‘holiness’ was increasingly understood not to refer to things, but ultimately to people as a personal state of being and quality.

Sanctification affects the whole person:

The intellect (Col 3:10; Phil 1:9; Rom 12:2; Col 1:10; 2 Cor 10:5) The emotions (Gal 5:22; 1 John 2:15; Eph 4:31) The will (Phil 2:13; Eph 5:17) The spirit (1 Thes 5:23; 2 Cor 7:1) The body (1 Thes 5:23; 1 Cor 6:19-20)

The Standard of Sanctification

God Himself is the standard of sanctification (Isaiah 6:1, Hab 1:13, Matt 5:48, 1 Peter 1:15-16. Eph 4:24, Col 3:10).

The Ten Commandments were a transcript of this holiness.

“Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man.”

- JC RyleHoliness, Ch 3

Jesus Christ was the incarnate image of the holiness of God (Heb 1:3, John 1:18, John 14:9).

The Nature of Sanctification

There are four stages of sanctification as described in Scripture:1. DECRETIVE SANCTIFICATION:

A sovereign act of God concerning the elect before they were born.2. DEFINITIVE SANCTIFICATION:

A definitive action at the beginning of the Christian life.3. PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION:

A progressive, lifelong process of being conformed to Christ.4. FINAL SANCTIFICATION:

Our sanctification being finally complete after our own death and resurrection.

1. DECRETIVE SANCTIFICATION: A pre-temporal act of God

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

In this sense the word “sanctified” is expository of the meaning of predestination. I.e. we are predestined to be set apart for God’s holy purposes.

Decretive sanctification happened at election/predestination.

2. DEFINITIVE SANCTIFICATION: Sanctification as a definitive action

This aspect of sanctification has traditionally been overlooked, with most of the emphasis being on the progressive process throughout life. But there are verses in Scripture which speak of our being definitively sanctified (a once-off event) at conversion (1 Cor 1:2; 6:11, Heb 10:10).

Definitive sanctification happens at regeneration.

Definitive sanctification refers to our actual experience of union with Christ in his death and resurrection. When entering this union there is a definitive break with that realm of life in which sin dominated our personality (Romans 6, 2 Cor 5:17).

“A Christian should never say (for example), ‘This sin has defeated me. I give up. I have had a bad temper for thirty-seven years, and I will have one until the day I die, and people are just going to have to put up with me the way I am!’ To say this is to say that sin has gained dominion. It is to allow sin to reign in our bodies. It is to admit defeat. Itis to deny the truth of Scripture, which tells us, ‘You also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus’ (Rom. 6:11). It is to deny the truth of Scripture that tells us that ‘sin will have no dominion over you’ (Rom. 6:14).”


Understanding 1 John 3:6-9: Not sinless perfection in the believer (1 John 1:7-8; 2:1). John has a specific sin in mind: denial of the Son of God coming in the flesh

(1 John 4:3). A Christian cannot sin this “sin leading to death” (5:16) The unforgivable sin.

3. PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION: Progressive conformity to Christ

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 5:23)

Progressive sanctification happens throughout the Christian life, and is never complete in this life.

Westminster Shorter CatechismQuestion 35

Question: “What is sanctification?”

Answer: "Sanctification is the work of God's free grace by which our whole person is made new in the image of God and made more and more able to become dead to sin and alive to righteousness."

Progressive sanctification is synergistic: believers are to be active in the process of conformity to Christ (Rom 6:11; 8:13; Col 3:5; 2 Cor 7:1).

“While we are constantly dependent on the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit, we must also take account of the fact that sanctification is a process that draws within its scope the conscious life of the believer. The sanctified are not passive or quiescent in this process. Nothing shows this more clearly that the exhortation of the apostle: ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure’ (Phil 2:12-13).”


1 Peter 2:11: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstainfrom fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”

Galatians 5:16: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfillthe lust of the flesh.”

Romans 8:5-6: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, (set their minds on) the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

According to Paul, the way you “walk in the Spirit” is by filling your mind with the things of the Spirit. Ultimately this means filling your mind with God’s word in various forms.

Setting your mind on the things of the Spirit requires:1. NOT setting your mind on the things of the flesh.2. Applying yourself to the “means of grace”:

a. Bible readingb. Personal prayerc. Corporate prayerd. The sacramentse. Listening to Biblical preaching and teachingf. Worshipg. Fellowship with other believers who stir up love and good works in

our lives (Heb 10:24-25).

“(In Acts 16 Lydia was saved by grace, yet her) conversion took place in the use of the means. On the Sabbath she went when prayer was wont to be made, andthere prayer was heard. Never neglect the means of grace; God may bless us when we are not in his house, but we have the greater reason to hope that he will when we are in communion with his saints.”

- Charles Spurgeon

h. Praying in tongues (1 Cor 14:4)i. Giving (Luke 6:38) j. Receiving ministry (prophecy, prayer, healing, counseling, etc) (1

Cor 14:4 again)

We can have faith in God’s using these ‘means of grace’ because:1. Romans 6: The promise is based upon our union with Christ in His death

and resurrection (see also Ephesians 2:1-6), 2. Romans 8:5: It is the Holy Spirit Himself who takes up these means and

works in us by them (see also 1 Peter 1:2 and Gal 5:22-23).

“It is necessary to be reminded that in the last analysis we do not sanctify ourselves. It is God who sanctifies. Specifically it is the Holy Spirit who is the agent of sanctification.”


4. FINAL SANCTIFICATION: Sanctification as finally complete only after death

Only at death will our souls finally be made entirely free from sin. Then we will be incapable of sinning (Heb 12:23, Rev 21:27).

1 Thes 5:23: Sanctification also includes our bodies.

It is only at the resurrection that our bodies will be “changed to be like His glorious body” (Phil 3:21).ConclusionSanctification brings joy.

“It would not be right to end our discussion without noting that sanctification brings great joy to us. The more we grow in likeness to Christ, the more we will personally experience the “joy” and “peace” that are part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), and the more we will draw near to the kind of life that we will have in heaven…This is the source of our true joy. ‘For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom 14:17).”


Perseverance

Definition

God’s special redemptive grace will keep genuine converts faithful to Christ until the end, never letting them ‘fall away’ from salvation. So perseverance is a process complementary to that of sanctification, by which the believer keeps on in the means of grace, being sanctified until he reaches glory.

“Saints do indeed keep on in the means of grace until the end. It is more than mere preservation (which is true as well). Preservation works by guaranteeing actual personal perseverance in the life of the believer. God does not do so by acting against man's will, but by guaranteeing man's sustaining a life actively seeking and living out God's law.”

- Doug Kelly

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” - John 8:31

“He who endures to the end will be saved.” - Matt 10:22

Why do the saints persevere? 1. Because God keeps them (1 Peter 1:4-5).2. Because of the unbreakable links in the "golden chain of salvation" (Rom

8:28-30).3. Because they are an eternal donation of the Father to the Son (John 6:39-

40).

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day… No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me… Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

– John 6:37-40, 44-45, 65

“The sum of the matter then is that no one can come to Christ except by donation to Christ on the Father’s part. And we have found already in Jesus’ express words that every one thus donated comes to Christ and believes on Him. Hence giving by the Father and coming to Christ on the part of men are inseparable – either cannot exist without the other and wherever the one is the other is.”


4. Because we are in union with Christ (Rom 6 and 8; Gal 2).5. Because they are in the Father's hand (John 10:28-30).

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neithershall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

– John 10:28-30

“What Jesus is dealing with is obviously the infallible security of those who have been given unto Him by the Father – ‘they shall never perish.’ And that same security is guaranteed by the fact that no one will snatch them out of His hand. It is to confirm thattruth that He says, ‘My Father who gave them to Me is greater than all, and no one can snatch out of My Father’s hand.’ The guarantee of infallible preservation is that the persons given to the Son are in the Son’s hand and though given to the Son they are still mysteriously in the Father’s hand. From the hand of neither can anyone snatch them. This is the heritage of those who are given by the Father.”


6. Because Christ prays for them (Heb 4 and 5; John 17).

The London Baptist Confession of Faith on Persevering Grace

17:1 – Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved, effectually calledand sanctified by His Spirit, and given the precious faith of His elect, can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end, and be eternally saved. For the gifts and callings of God are irrevocable, because He still begets and nourishes in them faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the graces of the Spirit to immortality; and though many storms and floods arise and beat against them, yet they shall never be able to take the elect off that foundation and rock which by faith they are fastened upon; notwithstanding, through unbelief and the temptations of Satan, the sensible sight of the light and love of God may for a time be clouded and obscured from them, yet He is still the same, and they shall be sure to be kept by the power of God unto salvation, where they shall enjoy their purchased possession, they being engraved upon the palm of His hands, and their names having been written in the book of life from all eternity.

17:2 – This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own freewill, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father, upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ and union with Him, the oath of God, the abiding of His Spirit, and the seed of God within them; fromall which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof.

17:3 – And though they may, through the temptation of Satan and of the world, the prevalence of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins, and for a time continue therein, whereby they incur God's displeasure and grievehis Holy Spirit, come to have their graces and comforts impaired, have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded, hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves, yetshall they renew their repentance and be preserved through faith in Christ Jesus to the end.

Scripture that speak of the Perseverance of the Saints:

1 Jeremiah 32:38-40 2 John 3:361. John 5:242. John 6:22-65 (esp. vv. 37-40, 44, 54)3. John 10:27-304. Romans 8:28-30 – The Golden Chain of Salvation5. Romans 8:35-396. Romans 11:29 7. 2 Corinthians 5:17 8. Ephesians 1:3-149. Philippians 1:6 10.1 Peter 5:1011.1 John 2:18-2012.Jude 24-25

Theological basis for the Perseverance of the Saints:

1. If God is sovereign over the ends, he must also be sovereign over the means.

a. God is sovereign over the ends (the doctrine of providence).b. Therefore, God must also be sovereign over the means.c. Therefore, God must have the power to ensure that his purposes do

not fail.2. God’s purpose is that his chosen people will be saved (Ephesians 1:3-14).3. Therefore, God has the power to ensure that his chosen people will be

saved.4. Therefore, God has the power to ensure that his chosen people will never

finally fall away, but will persevere to the end in faith and good works.

Seven Implications of the Perseverance of the Saints

1. If a person is truly converted to Christ, they will most certainly gain eternallife.

2. If a person utterly renounces their faith in Christ, they were never truly converted.

3. We persevere because God elected us, not vice versa.4. If a person perseveres in faith to the end, it is ultimately due to divine

grace alone.5. Our perseverance is no ground for boasting.6. God’s grace will ultimately sustain the faith of believers through the

fiercest trials of life.7. Human freedom is compatible with comprehensive divine sovereignty.

Some misunderstandings of the Perseverance of the Saints

1. “If you just pray the Sinner’s Prayer, you’ll go to heaven no matter what,” or“Once saved, always saved”.

2. “A believer can be finally saved even if they never grow in sanctification.”3. “If you ever deny Christ, that shows you were never a genuine Christian.”4. “A genuine Christian can never suffer severe doubts or fall into grievous

sin.”5. “The Christian life will be easy, because we’re always sustained by God’s

grace.”

Answering common objections

Objection 1: “God doesn’t take away our free will after we’re born again.”Answer: The will has been liberated to desire what God desires (see Romans 6).

Objection 2: “Hebrews 6:4-6 makes clear that some people can permanently fall away.”Answer A: Everything said here could be ascribed to false converts.Answer B: The warnings are actually one of the means by which God preserves His elect.Answer C: The writer is speaking in the absurd to make his point why salvation itself cannot be lost. (RC Sproul favours this view)

Objection 3: “The doctrine of perseverance encourages complacency and antinomianism.”Answer: On the contrary, this doctrine teaches that the fruit of genuine salvation is obedience to Christ’s commandments. Our obedience is ‘natural’ as we are made willing through a renewed nature (see Ezekiel 36:27).

Objection 4: “The doctrine of perseverance undermines the many warning passages.”Answer: God uses ends to achieve His means. These warning passages and the many encouragements for us to pursue holiness are the means of persevering grace. While all genuine Christians will display good fruit, thosewho apply themselves to these ‘means of grace’ will mature further and faster than those who do not.

Objection 5: “The doctrine of perseverance can’t be falsified, because if a Christian falls away from the faith you can always explain it by saying he/she was never a true Christian.”Answer: Granted, but that does not make it untrue!

Christ, Salvation and Eschatology · whom the Father has given Him, in virtue of which there is an...

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