The Faith's Foundations - Part 9: Salvation

Introduction

Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

1. We Are Saved by Grace (Eph. 2:8-9)

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Grace vs. Works (Gal. 2:16)

Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Grace as a Gift (Rom. 6:23)

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Gift is something not worked for

What is the gift?

=> Eternal life: total restoration of our souls and bodies; total restoration of our relationship with God; total restoration of our relationships with others; total restoration of all creation

Salvation and eternal life is much more than just forgiveness of sins (see Total Truth?).

It’s more than just about “living forever.” => “Life” (zoe):

“The condition of living or the state of being alive; especially healthiness, happiness, exuberance, energy, vitality, and the like”

[Rick Brannan, ed., Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Lexham Research Lexicons (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020).]

Imagine if the gift of grace were only about forgiveness of sins.

What makes the gift possible?

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus

We ought not forget the Jesus’ ministry and life as a part of what makes grace possible.

Some theologians make a difference between Jesus’ active obedience and passive obedience.

Active: Following all the requirements of God’s will and law.

Passive: Taking on the penalty for not following all the requirements of God’s will and law.

[Jesus’] active obedience is just as essential to his redeeming work as his passive obedience, Christ’s sacrifice is not only a guilt offering but a thank offering, a whole life of representative service.

Michael Horton

John Murray: “Christ as the vicar of his people came under the curse and condemnation due to sin and he also fulfilled the law of God in all its positive requirements. In other words, he took care of the guilt of sin and perfectly fulfilled the demands of righteousness” (Redemption—Accomplished and Applied, 20-22).

2. We Are Saved through Faith (Eph. 2:8a)

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

What is faith? Some say faith is “blind.”

But faith—responsible faith—is believing and trusting what is true, not what we merely think is true, not on how we feel.

Believing & Trusting (John 8:24; 11:25)

John 8:24 ““Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.””

John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.’”

Justification (Rom. 3:28)

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

All throughout the Scriptures, we are told that we are “justified by faith.”

To be “justified” = to be declared righteous before God.

Justification has to do not with our state, but with our standing: it refers to our position before God.

Ernest F. Kevan (19th Century British Theologian and Educator)

In other words, we are not made righteous; we are declared righteous.

Philippians 3:8–9 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

Reformation slogan: “Justified by Faith”

I have preached justification by faith so often, and I feel sometimes that you are so slow to receive it that I could almost take the Bible and bang it about your heads.

Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)

The Bible overwhelming connects justification with faith. This, in fact, is the main theme of Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians. And rightly so. Faith, believing and trusting in Christ and his work (not our’s), is absolutely necessary to be justified/saved. As Hebrews 11:6“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”

Wait a minute! What about the book of James? Some may say, “What about James 2:24?”

James 2:24 “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

The term “justification” is used differently by James than Paul. James is concerned whether or not a person has genuine faith. He is stating that a person’s faith is justified—i.e., we know a person has saving faith—by his works. No works; no faith.

As James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

True, saving faith works.

In fact, this is one of the primary reasons God saved us: so that we would have good works—that we would fulfill the very purposes God intended for us at creation before the Fall.

3. We Are Saved for Good Works (Eph. 2:10a)

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

You see, justification comes first, sanctification second.

Sanctification (Rom. 6:22)

Romans 6:22 “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”

New Creation (2 Cor. 5:17)

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Bull frogs and butterflies . . .

4. We Must Receive Grace

God does not thrust salvation upon the world.

Faith

Belief and trust in Jesus and his death and resurrection.

Repentance (Acts 2:38)

Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Confessing Christ (Rom. 10:8-10)

Romans 10:8–10 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Baptism (Acts 2:38)

Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

Robert Stein, NT Theologian and biblical commentator: “In the New Testament, conversion involves five integrally related components or aspects, all of which took place at the same time, usually on the same day. These five components are repentance, faith, and confession by the individual, regeneration, or the giving of the Holy Spirit by God, and baptism by representatives of the Christian community.” (Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, spr 2, 1998: 6-17).

“All five of these components (repentance, faith, confession, regeneration, and baptism) were understood by the biblical writers to be involved in the conversion experience. They are inseparable. At times one or more of them may be omitted, according to the emphasis of the writer, but even if a component is not mentioned it is nevertheless implied and assumed” (op. cit.).

Thus, must avoid two unbiblical extremes: (1) Baptismal Regeneration: the act of baptism in and of itself saves (Rom Cath Sacramentalism) and (2) Baptismal Symbolism: baptism is merely a symbol and is not connected to faith, repentance, confession, and regeneration.

The problem: both views separate out baptism from other required responses to receive God’s grace.

It is my belief that it is our systematic theology, born out of western ideology (i.e., Enlightenment rationalism), that has distorted the nature of baptism.

Some, often led by either fear of becoming Catholic or fear of becoming traditional Baptists, end up misunderstanding what the Bible teaches about baptism.

Baptism indicates you have saving faith.

It is a reflection of your confession of justifying saving faith.

It is an indication of your repentance.

Illustration of ambulance: when my children were younger . . . stomach flu . . .

all that was accomplished for treatment was passive on my part. I did nothing. . . .

In a similar way, our response in faith, confession, repentance, and baptism are passive. . . .