The Nature of Salvation

By Faith, Baptism, Justification & Predestination

Salvation Is Not By Works But Is By Faith In Christ Alone

• Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ecclesiastes 8:8, 9:3; Matthew 15:18,19 – we are incapable of earning our salvation

• Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:4-7, Galatians 2:16-21, Romans 4:1-8 , John 3:18, 5:24 – it is faith (in Christ) alone, not works, that saves us

• Romans 10:13-17, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5,6

- there is no other name under Heaven….

Sacraments

• Catholic view: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (Mass), Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Matrimony – prepare people to receive salvation, can only be administered by a priest, are ‘ex opere operato’ - act independently of any virtue in the priest.

• Evangelical view : Sacraments are means of grace that operate within the Church and can be administered by any believer. They do not have anything to do with justification, which is by faith and may include giving, teaching of the Word, spiritual gifts, praying for one another etc. Some evaneglicals restrict the sacraments to preaching of the Word, baptism and the Lord’s Supper but many now have a wider view.

Baptism In The Bible• John the Baptist – baptized adults coming to ‘get clean’

as a sign of repentance (Matthew 3:1-12)

• Jesus was dedicated as an infant, but baptized as an adult (Luke 2:21,22 Matthew 3:13-17)

• The people who are specifically mentioned as being baptized were always believers e.g. the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:36-39, 10:44-48, 16:14,15, 33,34; 18:8, 22:16)

• ‘Household’ – means ‘including slaves’ rather than ‘including children’

• Baptism was ALWAYS after profession of faith

Baptism As A Symbol Of New Life• Romans 6:3-8, Colossians 2:12

– dying to sin, rising to new life

• 1 Corinthians 12:13 – baptism into the body of Christ

• 1 Peter 3:21 – the answer of a good conscience toward God

• Baptism = Repentance & Conversion = An Act Of The Conscience

• Baptism in water was also supposed to be associated with baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-41; 10:44-48)

• Ideally three things should happen at once – repentance from sin and faith in Christ, baptism in water and baptism in the Holy Spirit

What The Anabaptists Did• They emphasized the need for an ‘act of the conscience’

namely repentance and faith, prior to baptism

• Dedication of small children, followed later by baptism once they truly believed for themselves (at any age)

• Put the decision to be baptized in the hands of the new believer (the individual Christian)

• This led to the doctrine of the ‘priesthood of all believers’ – that is that each Christian was a priest, capable of offering intercession to God and carrying out some personal ministry

• Led to the adoption of more democratic church structures

The Lord’s Supper• Trans-substantiation (Catholic view) – believes that the words of

communion literally changes the bread & wine into the body & blood of the Lord Jesus. Veneration of any material object is idolatry.

• Luther – Real Presence – elements not changed by Christ is really present in some way

• Zwingli (memorial) - a memorial of Christ’s death until he come.

• No ceremony or tradition saves us and flesh and blood ( or food and drink) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Communion should be regularly observed but is not ‘magical’ 1 Corinthians 11;23-34

Methodists - Instant Justification• Self-surrender, instantaneous conversion and

joy in conscious salvation.

• Wesley wrote, "About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, "I felt my heart strangely warmed. If felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the 'law of sin and death.'" John Wesley's experience, as referred to by others, was the determinative factor in the rise of Methodism and the evangelistic revival. Thus Methodism was born.

Being “Born Again”

• John 3:3-18 (born again, born of the Spirit)

• 1 Peter 1:22-25 (born again)• John 1:13 (born of the will of God)• Galatians 4:29 (born of the Spirit)• Hebrews 12:23

(assembly of the first-born in Zion)• 1 John 2:29, 3:9, 4:7, 5:1-4,18

(those born of God)• Spirit vs Flesh• Only the spiritual birth matters

New Birth vs. Ecclesiastical Process

• Ecclesiastical method – slow, step-by-step, may even continue in the after-life (Purgatory), attempts to improve the old nature, salvation is uncertain, guilt, ladder to Heaven – requires a system

• Born-again method – instantaneous, death to old nature, new nature is implanted, certainty of salvation, inner joy, placed in Heaven by grace – requires personal faith

The Difference Between Justification & Sanctification

• Justified – our legal standing before God, made right with God, given the righteousness of Christ when we believe. “Just As If I’d Never Sinned”

• Romans 3:19-28, 4:2-8, 5;1,8,9 ; 6:7-11, 8:29-34• Galatians 2:16-21, 3:11, 3:24; Titus 3:4-7, Zechariah 3:1-7

• Sanctified – made holy, a religious term, our priestly likeness, we are set apart from God (at conversion) then made holy and like God (gradual process)

• 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1:30, 6:11, • Ephesians 5:25,26; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 5:23; • 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:21, Hebrews 2:11• 1 Timothy 4:3-5 Hebrews 10:10-14, 13:12, 1 Peter 1:2, 3:15

BOTH – Personal Experience Of God• Both Baptists and Methodists emphasized the need for an

uncluttered, simple, disciplined, personal faith in God

• They emphasized being born-again and having a new life with God that is radically different from the old life

• Justification was by faith in Jesus and is instantaneous

• Sanctification comes from Christ and is BOTH an instantaneous event and a gradual process

• They were ‘non-conformists’ – that is they did not belong to the large national denominations affiliated with the governments of the day.

• Each believer was to study the bible for themselves (Baptists) and in small groups (Methodists) and was empowered to take control of their walk with God

Predestination – Two Trains• Gk: pro-orizo – to sketch out beforehand like

the drawing of an architect• The directions of the Two Trains are

determined beforehand, sketched out in advance.

• It has been pre-arranged that all who follow Christ will go to Heaven

• It has been pre-arranged that those who follow the Devil will end up in the Lake of Fire

• But who you follow is up to you – which is why we must preach the gospel to those who are lost to give them the chance to join us on the Heaven-Bound Train

The Salvation Bell Curve

• People have differing levels of spiritual sensitivity – spiritual senses such as our heart and our spiritual eyes and ears…

• Some are very spiritually sensitive and take to the gospel quickly (John the Baptist)

• Other are greedy, cruel and hardened(Pharaoh, Judas)

• The bulk of people are ‘somewhere in-between’ during revivals they become more spiritually sensitive and follow God but during apostasy they become deceived and fall away.

• The ability of people to be saved is directly proportional to their ability to receive and understand God’s Word Matthew 13:14-17, Acts 28;25-28, Hebrews 5:14

Predestination vs. Free Will

• In the bar of silver the individual free-floating electrons move randomly and have free will

• But the voltage of the overall bar of silver is precisely determined “predestined”

• God can control history very precisely despite our individual choices and without over-riding our free will and our ability to choose Him and to love Him

• Predestination and free will can co-exist at the same time!

Predestination Summary

• God can control history while allowing us a free will choice

• The biggest choice we make is whether we will believe in Jesus and follow Him

• This choice has a predestined result – Heaven for one choice, Hell for the other and there is nothing in-between

• Our ability to make that choice depends on our spiritual sensitivity to God so we must open our hearts and minds to Jesus and listen to him as His disciples!