The Doctrine about Salvation by Pastor Don Chapman 1) Salvation is God's gracious deliverance of a believer from positional death and all of it's consequences. A) A believer is someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour. This is done through understanding Who He is by faith (a non-meritorious system of perception), and accepting His sacrifice on the cross as payment for one's sins. B) Positional death is separation from a relationship with God due to one's identification with Adam's original sin. Romans 5:15; Ephesians 2:1-5 C) The consequences of positional death are: i) Slavery to the old sin nature. ii) Slavery to the world system. iii) Slavery to Satan. iv) Being placed temporarily in Hell at the point of death. Luke 16:19-31 v) Being eternally placed in the Lake of Fire, after the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation 20:11-15 2) There are three parts to salvation. We refer to them as phases. A) Phase 1 salvation is the act of God in which a believer is delivered from position in Adam and is thus rescued from Hell and the Lake of Fire (the second death). B) Phase 2 salvation is a process whereby the believer is being freed from slavery to his old sin nature, the world system, and Satan. This process takes years of spiritual growth. C) Phase 3 salvation is the act of God whereby a believer is eternally delievered from his first birth body, from his old sin nature, and from Satan's influence and presence. 3) Biblical vocabulary: A) OT - (YESHU'AH) noun of action "deliverence, help, victory" Isaiah 12:2 (YASHA') verb "to set free, to aid, to give victory" B) NT - (SOTERIA) noun of action "deliverence from danger, safety, preservation" Ephesians 1:13 (Sozo) verb "to keep from harm, to deliver, to preserve, rescue, set free" I Timothy 1:15 4) Salvation is a gift from God. There is no way a person can save himself. Ephesians 2:8-9 "...it is a gift from God: Not of works.." II Timothy 1:9 "Who (God) has saved us,...not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace,..." Titus 3:5 "Not by works which we have done,...but according to His mercy He saved us,..." 5) God the Father is the ultimate source of salvation. This is because He created the Divine Decrees. I Tim.1:1; 2:3; 4:10; Titus 1:3; 2:10; 3:4 6) In order to save the human race, God the Father had to provide a Saviour. This He did in the unique Person - Jesus Christ. The Bible says in I John 4:14, that "the Father sent the Son (Jesus Christ) to be the Saviour of the World." John 3:17 "...God did not send the Son unto the world to condemn the world; but in order that the world might be saved through Him." Christ said about Himself, "...the Son of man came to save that which was lost." Matthew 18:11; See also John 12:47; Acts 5:30-31; 13:23; Titus 1:4; 2:13; II Peter 1:1 7) Phase 1 salvation comes as a result of believing the Gospel. A) Believing involves two things: i) Understanding the Gospel by faith (a non-meritorious system of perception). ii) The expression of positive volition - the soul's response to the WORDS of the Gospel. That is, telling God that you accept His gift. Understanding is NOT enough, there must be an exhale to God. B) The Gospel contains two things: i) Doctrine about the Person of Jesus Christ (people must be taught Who HE is - His unique Person, virgin birth, perfect life, the fact that He created the universe, the fact that He is both God and man, etc.) ii) Doctrine about what He did on the cross (technically called His "work on the cross"). C) No one has ever been saved by works. D) No one has ever been saved by taking communion, by begging God for forgiveness, by water baptism, by keeping the Mosaic law or the Ten Commandments, by confessing their sins, by giving money to a church, by joining a church, by going to a church, by walking down the aisle of a church, or by promising God that they will never sin again. SALVATION IS FREE! It is a gift. All one has to do is take it! E) Scripture: Luke 7:50; John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30-32; Romans 1:16; I Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; II Timothy 1:9 8) There are two sides to phase 1 salvation. God PROVIDES it, but man must ACCEPT it. John 1:12; Ephesians 1:13 9) During the Church Age, at least 39 things are given to a believer at the moment of phase 1 salvation. 10) God wants everyone to be saved. I Tim.2:4; II Peter 3:9 A) Therefore, He has provided salvation for everyone. I John 2:2 B) The only reason a person is NOT saved is because he has never accepted the salvation which God is offering. 11) There are five (5) things which God has provided which are necessary for the salvation of man. Religion cannot produce any of these things. A) PROPITIATION - (also called Atonement, or Expiation) Romans 3:25 I John 4:10 B) REDEMPTION - Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14 C) SANCTIFICATION - I Corinthians 6:11 D) JUSTIFICATION - Romans 3:24; 5:1; I Corinthians 6:11 E) RECONCILIATION - Romans 5:10; II Corinthians 5:18; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:21-22 12) The Bible teaches that once a person has been saved he cannot lose his salvation. John 10:27-30; Ephesians 2:6-8; II Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 5:9 "eternal salvation"; Jude 1 13) God's patience often results in a person's salvation. God gives everyone ample time to decide for or against His plan. Some people change their mind and accept what He is offering. II Peter 3:15 14) Phase 2 salvation is just as much a miraculous working of God as Phase 1 salvation was. It is entirely dependent upon one's spiritual growth. Ephesians 4:11-6:20; Philippians 2:12-13; I Thess. 2:13; I Timothy 4:11-16 15) Our phase 3 salvation is closer than it was when we first believed. Romans 13:11 Copyright 1989 by Don Chapman You are allowed to reproduce this article only in its entirety and without additions or deletions. |
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