Soteriology Flashcards
Common grace
Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people innumerable blessings that are not part of salvation
- Common grace is different from saving grace in its results (it does not bring about salvation), in its recipients (it is given to believers and unbelievers alike), and in its source (it does not directly flow from Christ’s atoning work, since Christ’s death did not earn any measure of forgiveness for unbelievers, and therefore did not merit the blessings of common grace for them either)
(not a different grace, but the same grace manifested differently)
Examples of common grace
- Physical: rain Matt 5:44
- Societal: Having children Gen 5:4
- Intellectual
- Moral
- Religious: God may hear/grant prayers of unbelievers
Election
An act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.
• Rom 8:28-30 (golden chain)
• Rom 9:11-13 (Jacob/Esau)
• Eph 1:4, 6 (“He chose us in him before the foundation of the world… He destined us in love to be his sons”)
Election is not fatalistic
- “Fatalism” means a system in which human choices make no difference
- Scripture continually presents humans as able to accept or reject the gospel (not only do we make willing choices, but we make real choices since they affect the world)
- Scripture is clear that people’s eternal destiny depends on whether or not we preach the Gospel (Rom 10:14, 17)
Election is not based on God’s foreknowledge of our faith
- Ultimately means that salvation lies within people and not God
- Rom 8:29: When people “know” God in Scripture, it means a personal relationship, not some facts about them (And to say that God chose “people groups” (like the church) must mean that he chose individuals to make up that group)
- Scripture never speaks of faith as the reason that God chose us (according to his purposes Rom 9:11, Eph 1:5)
free will
We are not free in the sense that we are outside God’s control, but we are free in the sense that our choices are willing and have real consequences
Election means we don’t have a choice
• God can work sovereignly through our desires so that he guarantees that our choices come about as he has ordained, but this can still be understood as a real choice because God has created us and he ordains that such a choice is real
Election is unfair
Rom 9:20 But who are you, a man, to answer back to God?
God wants everyone to be saved
- These verses talk about his revealed will (telling us what we should do), but not his hidden will (his eternal plans for what will happen)
- The verses simply tell us that God invites and commands every person to repent and come to Christ for salvation, but they do not tell us anything about God’s secret decrees regarding who will be saved.
Reprobation
The sovereign decision of God before creation to pass over some persons, in sorrow deciding not to save them, and to punish them for their sins, and thereby to manifest his justice.
• Rom 9:17-22
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy upon whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills … What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction?
Reprobation verses
- Matt 11:25-26 “Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was your gracious will’”
- Ez 33:11 “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live”
Cause of election/reprobation
the cause of election is God, the cause of reprobation is sinners (this is why double predestination is a poor term)
Effective Calling
An act of God the Father, speaking through the human proclamation of the gospel, in which he summons people to himself in such a way that they respond in saving faith. (1 Pet 2:9 “…who called you out of darkness into his marvelous”)
- (Although it is true that effective calling awakens and brings forth a response from us, we must always insist that this response still has to be a voluntary, willing response in which the individual person puts his or her trust in Christ)
- (This is why prayer is so important to effective evangelism)
Elements of the gospel call
(importance - Rom 10:14)
(1) explanation of the facts concerning salvation:
1. All people have sinned (Rom. 3:23).
2. The penalty for our sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
3. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom. 5:8)
(2) Invitation to respond to Christ personally in repentance and faith (Matt 11:28-30 “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened”)
(3) a promise of forgiveness and eternal life
Regeneration
a secret act of God in which he imparts new spiritual life to us (“being born again” Jn 3:3)
• total work of God (Jn 1:13 “were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”)
• (this is irresistible grace - you don’t choose to be born, you don’t choose to be born again)
• the exact nature is mysterious, but: instantaneous (though we may not realize when), affects the whole person
• comes before saving faith (reg. gives us the ability to respond in faith), though so close it’s almost at the same time (Jn 6:44)
• genuine regeneration must bring results in life
Conversion
Our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation (repentance and faith)
• True saving faith includes knowledge, approval, and personal trust (saving faith: trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God) (This is why Jn 3:16 says believe IN him and not believe him; trust in him)
• Faith and repentance must come together (sorrow/remorse without faith is not genuine repentance) (two sides of the same coin; two aspects of same event)
• Faith and repentance continue throughout life
Justification
an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (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 (Rom 3:26, 28, 5:1)
• “justify” in the NT most often means to declare righteous
• “in his sight” means he declares that we have no penalty to pay for sin, including past, present, and future sins (Rom 8:1)
• God imputes Christ’s righteousness to us (Rom 5:17)
• Scripture says that we are justified “by means of” our faith, understanding faith to be the instrument through which justification is given to us, but not at all an activity that earns us merit or favor with God (Rom 5:17-19)
Adoption
an act of God whereby he makes us members of his family (Jn 1:12 “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God”)
• not fully realized in the old covenant
• follows conversion and is an outcome of saving faith
• distinct from justification
sanctification
a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. (1 Cor 6:11)
Three stages of sanctification
- At regeneration: a definite break from the ruling power and love of sin, so that the believer is no longer ruled or dominated by sin and no longer loves to sin (1 Cor 6:11, dead to sin and alive in Christ Rom 6:11)
- Increases throughout life: Phil 3:13-14
- Complete at death for our souls and when Christ returns for our bodies (Heb 12:23 “to the spirits of just men made perfect”)
Matt 5:48 be perfect
God commands all people everywhere to obey all of his moral law, but we are still not able. This is the standard for which we should aim and we are held accountable.
Roles in sanctification
• God: (primarily God) Phil 2:13 “God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure”
-The Son earned our salvation, the HS works in us
• Us: passive one in which we depend on God to sanctify us, and an active one in which we strive to obey God and take steps that will increase our sanctification (Rom 12:1 living sacrifice)
-Bible reading/meditation, prayer, worship, witnessing, Christian fellowship Heb 10:24-25, self-discipline
Sanctification affects the whole person
- intellect and knowledge (Col 1:10 “increasing in the knowledge of God”)
- emotions (Gal 5:22)
- decision-making faculty
- spirit
- physical bodies
Motivation for sanctification
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15)
