Questions of Theology - Salvation Applied

Question 1

What should a person do who lacks assurance of salvation?

Answer 1

Avail oneself of the means of grace.
“The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordi-nances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.”— WSC #88
“Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”—! Peter 10-11

Question 2

Is all faith alike? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 2

No, there are degrees of weak and strong; saving and non-saving.
“This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may be often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory: growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ, who is both the author and fin-isher of our faith.”—WCF 13.3

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not aquatinted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”—
Hebrews 5:13-14

Question 3

What is the relation of good works to faith? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 3

Good works are the fruit of true faith.
“ But someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”—James 2:18,22

Question 4

What are the results of faith?

Answer 4

Justification
Adoption
Sanctification

Question 5

On what does the believer’s perseverance depend? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 5

The immutability of God’s free election of them in Christ.
“This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will’ but upon the immutability of the decree of God’s free election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God with them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which arises also the certainty and infallibility thereof”— WCF 17.2
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”—John 10:28

Question 6

Can our good works save us? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 6

No.
“We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin, or eternal life at the hand of God, by reason of the great dispro-portion that is between them and the glory to come; and the infinite distance that is between us an God, whom, by them, we can neither profit, nor satisfy for the debt of our former sins, but when we have done all we can, we have done but our duty, and are unprofitable servants: and because as they are good, they proceed from His Sprit; and as they are wrought by us, they are defiled, and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot en-dure the severity of God’s judgement.”—WCF 16.5
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”—Romans 3:20

Galatians 2:16 (ESV): yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ

Question 7

What are good works? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 7

“Good works ore only such as God has commanded in His holy Word, and not such as, without the warrant thereof, are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretence of good intention.”—
WCF 16.1

Question 8

The 3 ground of assurance?

Answer 8

promises of the scriptures
Evidence of grace
Testimony of the spirit

Question 9

How ought we to confess our sins? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 9

Specifically in private or public.
“Men ought not content themselves with o general repentance, but it is every man’s duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly”—WCF 15.5

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous-ness.”—1 John 1:9

Question 10

Define and defend (including Scripture proofs) the doctrine of “perseverance”.

Answer 10

“They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly preserve therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”—WCF 17.1

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”—John 10:28

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.”— John 6:44

Question 11

Where does saving faith come from? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 11

Saving faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit and the word of God.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Sprit and through belief in the truth.”—2 Thessalonians 2:13

Question 12

What is saving faith? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 12

“Faith in Jesus Christ is o saving grace whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.”—WSC if86

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”—John 3:16

Question 13

Can unbelievers do good works? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 13

No, though unbelievers might do that which is perceived by fellow man to be good (and even commanded by God), the unbelievers heart is so impure as that nothing untainted by sin may proceed from them, and therefore nothing which God considers good.

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”—Romans 3:10-12

Question 14

What are the degrees of faith?

Answer 14

Faith differs Heb 5 12-14 Rom 4
Faith may be weak Heb 12
The Christian my attain full assurance Heb 6:11

Question 15

Can a saved person later be eternally lost? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 15

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”—John 10:28

Question 16

Can a person be sure he is saved? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 16

Yes.
Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him ,may without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in them-selves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and shall persevere therein unto salva-tion.” —WLC tt80
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”—l John 5:13
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”—Romans 8:16

Question 17

What is the nature of faith?

Answer 17

Belief - Mark 1:15
Intelectual Rom 10
Action

Question 18

What are the means of faith?

Answer 18

Conversion - ROm 19:14

From growth in faith - Word, Sacraments, prayer

Question 19

Should a person know he is saved? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 19

Yes, God desires for us to have an assurance of salvation.
“…And therefore it is the duty of every on 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 Sprit, 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 loose-ness.”—WCF 18.3
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”—l John 5:13

Question 20

How could a person know he is saved? On what could such assurance of salvation be based?

Answer 20

By examining one’s heart to see if one has true belief in Christ.
By clinging to God’s promises.
By the Spirit’s testimony.
By drinking deeply of our union with Christ.

Such as truly believe in Christ, and endeavor to walk in all good conscience before him,may without extraordinary revelation, by faith grounded upon the truth of God’s promises, and by the Spirit enabling them to discern in themselves those graces to which the promises of life are made, and bearing witness with their spirits that they are the children of God, be infallibly assured that they are in the estate of grace, and shall persevere therein unto salvation.”—WLC#80

Question 21

Define “repentance.” Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 21

“Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercies of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and en-deavor after, new obedience.”—WSC #87

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the for-giveness of your sins.”—Acts 2:37-38

Isaiah 1:16–17 (NKJV): Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good

Question 22

What does saving faith believe? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 22

Believes the truth of whatever is taught in Scripture.

“By this faith, a Christian believes to be true whatever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acts differently upon that which each particular passage thereof contains; yielding obedi-ence to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.”—WCF 13.2
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be con-demned; he has crossed over from death to life”—John 5:24

Question 23

What are the grounds for perseverance?

Answer 23

1. not effort of man
2. God’s decree of election
3. efficacy and merit of the work of Christ
4. The abiding Spirit
5. The nature of the covenant of grace

Question 24

In what sense is repentance “necessary”? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 24

Repentance is necessary in that no sinner may expect pardon without it.
“Although repentance is 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 it is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it.”—WCF 15.3
“I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”—Luke 13:3 or 5.

Question 25

Are good works necessary for salvation? Defend your answer with Scripture proofs.

Answer 25

No, they are the fruit of salvation.
“ But someone will soy, You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”—James 2:18,22