Soteriology

Question 1

Define soteriology. What topics does it include?

Answer 1

The study of the biblical doctrine of salvation. It includes the nature and extent of the atonement, the entire process of salvation, conceived of as a divine plan to rescue sinners and bring them into eternal fellowship with God.

Question 2

Name the seven views on the nature of the atonement.

Answer 2

1. Recapitulation views 2. Example or Moral Influence view 3. the Ransom to Satan view 4. the Divine Triumph or Dramatic view 5. The Satisfaction or Commercial view 6. the Governmental view 7. the Penal Substitution view

Question 3

What is the Recapitulation view of the atonement?

Answer 3

Christ sums up all humanity in himself by going through all the stages of life without succumbing to temptation.

Question 4

What is the Example of Moral Influence view of the atonement?

Answer 4

It is the view that the cross demonstrates how much God loves us and how we respond in our hearts with love to God, then living as Jesus himself lived.

Question 5

What is the Ransom to Satan view of the atonement?

Answer 5

It is the view that Christ’s death was a ransom paid to Satan to secure the release of his hostages i.e. sinful men and women. While ransom language is used in scripture (Mark 10:45), it is probably wrong to say that a “price” was paid to Satan as this idea is nowhere in Scripture.

Question 6

What is the Divine Triumph or Dramatic view of the atonement?

Answer 6

God overcame all the powers of hell and death through the cross and made his reconciling love to men visible.

Question 7

What is the Satisfaction or Commercial view of the atonement?

Answer 7

The view that man has dishonored God by his sin and that through the death of the perfect, sinless God-man, Jesus, that honor and more (including Satan’s defeat) has been restored to God.

Question 8

What is the Governmental view of the atonement?

Answer 8

The view that places a high value on justice of God and his holy law. Christ’s death upholds God’s moral government by demonstrating His utter commitment to His holy law. He could have forgiven men without Christ’s death, but they would not have knowledge of His commitment to His Law. Christ’s death is not a substitute but God’s statement about his moral government. It cannot account for the reconciliation of the sinner and the forgiveness of sin with Christ’s death.

Question 9

What is the Penal Substitution view of the atonement?

Answer 9

It is the view that Christ died in the sinner’s place and appeased the wrath of God toward sin.

Question 10

What are the two views on the extent of the atonement?

Answer 10

The general redemption view is that Christ died for all men. The limited or particular redemption view is that he died only for the elect. Both of these views are limited in some degree because they are not univeralism.

Question 11

What is universalism?

Answer 11

It is a liberal theological view that Christ died to save the entire world in the sense that every last man will go to heaven on the basis of his death.

Question 12

What can both sides of the general and particular view of the extent of the atonement agree on?

Answer 12

The gospel and and should be genuinely offered to all men, that it is sufficient for the salvation of every man, but that not all men will be saved.

Question 13

Why agree with the particular or limited atonement? How?

Answer 13

It is precisely the portrait in John 17:9. We can justify John 3:16 as being for limited atonement if “world” does not mean all without exception but all without distinction and the term “bought” in 2 Peter 2:1 does not ultimately mean “bought” in a salvific way, but only that God is the rightful owner of these men though they deny this (Deuteronomy 32:6).

Question 14

Explain unconditional election and conditional election.

Answer 14

“Election” is God’s choice before the creation of the world of who would be delivered from eternal condemnation to eternal life. This election is unconditional if it had nothing to do with any foreseen merit in the individuals but because he loved sinners. It is conditional if God foresaw who would have faith and chooses them on that basis. Conditional election is flawed because people are dead in their sin and unable to save themselves (Romans 3:9-11; Ephesians 2:1). Also, Scripture teaches that those who believe do so because God has chosen them and work in them. They are unable to believe without him (John 6:65; Acts 13:48; Romans 9:15-16). There is no prevenient grace which renders all men able to believe.

Question 15

What are the two kinds of “calling” in Scripture?

Answer 15

There is a general call where the good news is proclaimed to everyone for them to repent and believe. And there is special or effectual call where the Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the gospel to convict the sinner and bring him or her to faith. Those chosen by unconditional election receive this special call. They cannot resist it, but they are not kicking and screaming either. It is a genuine choice brought to fruition by the Spirit (Romans 8:30; 2 Timothy 1:9).

Question 16

What does it mean to be “born again”?

Answer 16

It is regeneration. This “new life” is an act of God’s Spirit where a person is made renewed spiritually and made alive in Christ. They become a child of God and are “born” into his family and enjoy his special fatherhood. Jesus said that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:5).

Question 17

What are the effects of Regeneration?

Answer 17

1. love for God 2. prayer in dependence on God 3. hatred for sin 4. love for other Christians 5. love for those without Christ

Question 18

What is conversion?

Answer 18

Conversion is a human’s response to God’s gracious work. It involves faith and repentance. Faith is understanding God’s Word, agreeing, and trusting in Him to save you. Repentance is turning from sin to Christ for forgiveness. A good response to the gospel involves both elements.

Question 19

What passages command us to believe?

Answer 19

John 3:16; John 5:24; Romans 3:22

Question 20

What passages command us to repent?

Answer 20

Luke 24:46-47; Acts 3:19; Acts 17:30

Question 21

What does it mean to be “in Christ”?

Answer 21

This expression means our union with Christ as believers. Our entire present experience and future destiny is “in Christ.” Our experience of death to sin and resurrection to new life is in light of our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. Thus, not only are we “in Christ” but he (as well as the Father and the Spirit) is also in us (John 14:23) and through His indwelling Spirit we are sanctified in Christ and increasingly conformed/transformed to his image (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18).

Question 22

How are all believers in “one body”?

Answer 22

all believers are “one body” in Christ Jesus which itself is a spiritual reality that should give rise to zealous efforts to develop unity (not disunity or uniformity) among true believers (Rom 12:5; 1 Cor 10:17; Ephesians 4:4).

Question 23

Explain Justification in six parts.

Answer 23

1. It is a legal declaration by God that our sins–past, present, and future–are forgiven through Christ’s and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. 2. It makes us righteous in God’s sight 3. It settles the question of our guilt 4. Justification comes by faith and not by works(Romans 3:26-28; 4:4-5). We do not earn this standing, but rather it is credited to our account through faith in Christ. 5. Justification does not mean that God infuses righteousness into us in order to prepare us to receive his grace (which is really not NT grace at all). Again, justification deals with our legal standing and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us; it does not refer directly to our day to day growth in the Lord. 6. there is an eschatology to justification. As N. T Wright says, “The verdict issued in the present on the basis of faith (Rom 3:21-26) correctly anticipates the verdict to be issued in the final judgment on the basis of the total life.”

Question 24

What is adoption?

Answer 24

God’s decision to make us members of his family and to offer us all the benefits and (ethical) standards involved in living “under his roof.” I am now one of his own children through adoption (Gal 3:26) and he has become my Father. If justification deals with my legal standing before God as a sinner, then adoption deals with my familial relationship to the judge. It is in the context of this new relationship that we receive many, great blessings. First, God is our Father, the one who cares for us and all our needs. He is the one Jesus enjoined us to pray to, for our “heavenly Father knows what we need even before we ask” (Matt 6:25-34). Second, He forgives us when we confess our sin, for he is both a Father who is holy but who also understands our weaknesses and draws alongside to help in time of need (Matt 6:12-14). Third, He disciplines us and chastens us for our sin so that we might share in his holiness (Heb 12:10). by His Spirit he leads us into greater experiences of his holiness and this is essentially what it means to be a son or daughter of God (Rom 8:14). Finally, it is through our sonship that we become heirs of Christ, and of God, and of all that eternal life has in store for us, including suffering in the present life (Gal 4:7; Rom 8:17).We are to imitate our Father who loved us with such a great love. We are to love others according to the example he set for us (Eph 5:1; 1 Pet 1:15-16). Through regeneration we are transformed morally and spiritually so that we can live like sons of God and not like slaves who do not know their masters.

Question 25

What does it mean to be set apart? When are we first sanctified? When are we totally sanctified?

Answer 25

We are set apart to belong to God and to serve Him. We are first sanctified at conversion and then totally sanctified someday in our future glorified bodies. Sanctification in the present time, then, is the process of transformation into the image of Christ and the efficient cause of this glorious change is the Spirit living in us (2 Cor 3:18).

Question 26

What does the Spirit do in sanctification?

Answer 26

He mediates the presence of Christ to us and unfolds the moral will of God to us (John 16:13-14; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19-20). The Spirit uses the people of God (Col 3:16), the word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17), circumstances God ordains to mold and shape us (Rom 8:28), and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matt 28:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26). We are on his potter’s wheel, not a treadmill; relationship, transformation, and holiness are the goals, not exhaustion.

Question 27

What fruit should characterize our lives in sanctification?

Answer 27

The fruit that should characterize our lives, then, ought to be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal 5:23-24).

Question 28

What is the root of the transformation of sanctification? When is the process completed?

Answer 28

The root of this transformation lies in our co-crucifixion and co-resurrection with Christ (Rom 6:3-4), and the process is never completed in this life (Phil 3:12-13). Nonetheless, we shoot for perfection (1 Peter 1:15-16), knowing that such will not be the case until the Savior comes from heaven to transform our lowly bodies (Phil 3:20). Until then, the process is colored by struggle against the world (1 John 2:15-16), the flesh (Rom 8:6-7; Gal 5:17), and the devil (Eph 6:12).

Question 29

What is our role in sanctification?

Answer 29

Our role in the process of sanctification relates directly only to the present time. It involves mortifying the deeds of the body, that is, putting to death those things that belong to our earthly (carnal) natures (Col 3:5) and conversely, putting on Christ (Rom 13:14). If, by the Spirit, we put to death the misdeeds of the body, we will certainly enjoy all the power, comforts, and joys of the spiritual life (cf. Rom 8:13). We must remember in our struggle against sin (and, for righteousness), however, that we live in relationship with God on the solid foundation of justification. Though we strive to please him, it is not so that he will become our Father and take us in, rather it is because he has already declared his Fatherhood over us and because he is the One who works in us to this end. Again, our responsibility can be summed up in the word: “cooperation.” God is the one who works in us both “the willing and the doing” (Phil 2:12-13).

Question 30

What is the doctrine of perseverance?

Answer 30

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is really the idea of sanctification taken through the whole of a person’s life. If God is the author of their salvation, he is also the finisher of it. As Paul says, he will bring to completion the good work he has begun in Christ (Phil 1:6).

Question 31

How does God enable believers to persevere?

Answer 31

Since faith itself is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9), God enables believers by the power of the Spirit to persevere in their trust and to continually move toward Christlikeness, even if for a long while they err in sin.

Question 32

Can God revoke his call or annul justification? In other words, can true believers fail to persevere?

Answer 32

God does not revoke his call, nor annul the justification he has put in place (Rom 11:32). Those whom he has called…he also glorified (Rom 8:30). He will never let his own perish (John 10:28-30).

Question 33

What passage has been used to deny the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints? Does it teach you can lose salvation? What is the biblical author doing?

Answer 33

Hebrews 6:4-6. No. Hebrews 6:9. He is inferring some in the audience might not be saved by inferring from their behavior. Not everyone who claims to be a believer is one. (Matthew 7:21-23)

Question 34

Does the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints lead to sluggish behavior? Why or why not?

Answer 34

No because of severe warnings by the biblical writers and because the Holy Spirit is persevering with us. And our election is unto holiness and glorification and the Trinitarian plan cannot be thwarted (Eph 1:4; Rom 8:30).

Question 35

What bible verse most emphatically teaches the eternal security of the believer?

Answer 35

Romans 8:38-39

Question 36

What will be our glorification?

Answer 36

Glorification is the moment at which the life of God is strikingly manifested is us when we receive our resurrected bodies and are perfectly fitted for existence in the eternal state.

Question 37

What will our resurrected bodies be like?

Answer 37

There will be some similarity between our mortal bodies and our glorified bodies, as the example of Jesus after his resurrection demonstrates (e.g., John 21:4ff), but there will be great differences between that which was sown in dishonor and that which will be raised in honor (1 Cor 15:35-49). It will be a body similar to its predecessor, as a seed is to the plant into which it grows. But it will not be marked by dishonor, decay, weakness, and the absence of spiritual life. On the contrary, it will be a material body, specially fitted for spiritual existence and clothed with dignity, power, and glory. It will be patterned after Christ’s own resurrection body (1 Cor 15:49). In these glorified bodies there will be perfect concord between desire and fulfillment in terms of our obedience and service to our great King. Our experience of God will be one of complete fulfillment as well. At that time we will be truly human and able to worship and praise God in a way he rightfully deserves.