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Soteriology-Matthew Newton (Eternal Security (What kind of actions do we…
Soteriology-Matthew Newton
The salvation diamond
Multiple facets to the salvation diamond
The second facet: Adoption
Definition of “Adoption”: the act of God where he places believers into his family
Benefits of being adopted by God
As believers we are considered his children and call him “Father” (“Abba”)
As his children we have unhindered access to God
We are always able to call upon him for help
Never let your sins prevent you from talking to the Lord
As his children, we are in a community with many other siblings
As his children, God disciplines/trains us; we are not abandoned
The concept of “discipline” is closely related to the concept of “training.”
God disciplines/trains his legitimate children
God’s discipline/training is for our good
Our parents do the best they can and we respect them
God actually disciplines us for what is truly our good
When discipline is received, God’s children grow in holiness
God’s children are to endure hardships as God’s training/discipline
The third facet: Redemption
The definition of “Redemption”: to purchase sinners out of the slave market of sin
Slavery in the ancient world was very common
A person could become a slave by being born a slave, a captive in war, self-sale into slavery
The classic OT illustration of redemption is Israel crossing the Red Sea after Moses leads them out of slavery in Egypt
The Scripture speaks of people being slaves of sin and of the Devil
Even as believers we can live in captivity to sin/slaves to sin
The Scripture portrays people who sin as slaves to sin
Believers are said to be free from the authority of sin
Thus, our redemption means that sin, while still present in us, is not our master: we have a choice whether to walk in the flesh or the Spirit
One day our bodies will be redeemed: freed from the presence of sin
The first facet: Justification
The word “Justification” means to be declared righteous
This does not mean to be made righteous
It is to be pronounced righteous by God
The courtroom illustration
Characters
God the judge
The prosecuting attorney is God’s Law
The defendant is human beings
The defense attorney is Jesus
The action
The prosecuting attorney reads out the transgressions we have committed
Our defense attorney steps in but he does not attempt to defend us
Instead he agrees that we are guilty
He offers to take the punishment we deserve upon himself
The right standing he has with court he asks to be given to us
The judge considers the offer and punishes Jesus while giving us the righteous standing which Jesus had
We leave the court justified
We are not innocent
We are not made righteous
We are pronounced righteous
Justification is available to all who believe
Justification is a free gift from God
The fourth facet: Sanctification
The definition of “sanctification”: a process where we work with God to live according to the Spirit and to have our behavior become more Christ-like
Sanctification comes from a Greek word meaning “to be holy or set apart”
The idea is to be set apart from sin and set apart to God
Sanctification is viewed from three different phases:
Past - We are viewed as sanctified
Present - We are viewed as in process of being sanctified
Future - We hope for a future complete sanctification
There are two aspects of our salvation:
Both are found in Jesus’ “High Priestly” prayer:
Jesus is “in” the Father, and the Father is “in” Jesus
Jesus prays that we might have the same relationship: Christ “in” us, and we “in” Christ
Eternal Security
What kind of actions do we think might remove our salvation?
Certain terrible sins
Claiming to not believe in God
Denying that Jesus is God or that he died for your sins (i.e., apostasy)
What does the Scripture say?
If you believe in Jesus’ work, then you have eternal life
John 6:47 - He who believes has eternal life
John 5:24 - Those who believe have passed from death to life
You are sealed by the Holy Spirit “In Christ.”
Ephesians 1:13, 14 - the Holy Spirit is the seal of our salvation
Ephesians 4:30
The symbol of the “seal” most likely refers to God’s preservation and ownership
We are secure because we are kept by Jesus
Unbiblical ways to evaluate our eternal security
The Gospel
Foundational information
This information is needed to understand the Gospel
what sin is
Jesus is divine and human
This information is not technically part of the Gospel, but is needed to make sense of it
The gospel message
Jesus Christ died for our sins (v. 3)
Jesus was buried (v. 4)
He appeared to over 500 eyewitnesses (v. 5-8)
Jesus arose from the dead 3 days later (v. 4)
The Gospel message is about a person - Jesus
What does a person have to do to be saved
Confusing terminology
Let Jesus into your heart
Giving it all to Jesus
Accepted Jesus as my savior
Prayed the prayer
Lay your burdens at the foot of the cross
Scripture tells us one condition: exercise faith, but what is faith?
The Greek verb is pisteuo - to believe, to trust, to rely on
It is used almost 100x in just the Gospel of John in relation to salvation
The definition of faith demands an object
to believe, trust, rely on what or whom?
Faith that is valuable before God is faith in the person of God and his Word, i.e., truth
Faith that is worthless or invaluable has as its object something other than God or his word
Faith is a simple, human response
Faith involves human will
Illustrations of faith
Sitting in a chair
Asking for someone to move a desk for you
What faith is not
Faith is not something supernatural given to us by God
Everyone uses their faith every day
The object of people’s faith is what is the problem
Faith is not a “work”
Although exercising our faith in Jesus is “good” it is not a good work
Romans 4:5 - Faith is not a work
Faith is not an emotion
An emotional response can happen at the same time that we trust in God
We should not confuse the emotion with our faith