Baptist Faith and Message Part 7
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Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
Key words here.
First, it is the redemption of the whole man.
What this means is that salvation is all encompassing for the believer.
Its not that God has just saved a portion of ourselves.
Salvation is all encompassing.
I believe the reason this is in here is to emphasize the point that God not only intends to save the person’s soul. He also intends to save the body.
Therefore, it not only matters what has happened to our soul on the inside. It also matters what we do with our bodies on the outside.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
In the future, God will not only save our soul, he will raise our bodies up as well incorruptible.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
In other words, “Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.”
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man,
Any questions on that?
Next portion-
[Salvation] is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
Important language here-
Offered freely to all, eternal redemption obtained for the believer.
Two words here that are super important.
Offered and Obtained.
Salvation is offered freely to all.
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
In other words, we preach the Gospel to all people. You and I have no idea who will believe. Only God knows that.
We must proclaim that if ANY man, woman, boy, or girl will believe in Christ they will be saved.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
So we offer the Gospel to all, but that does not mean that all people are saved.
So going back to the statement of faith-
[Salvation] is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
That next portion is super important as well. Who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
So what we see here in the language of our own confession.
Is that Jesus did not die to purchase a potential sacrifice for an unknown amount of people.
He died to make salvation definite for the believer.
On the cross, he did not say. It could be finished. It is potentially finished.
What did he say on the cross? It is finished.
He was not speaking in potentiality. He was speaking in actuality.
He came and died and obtained eternal redemption for everyone across the ages who will believe.
This speaks against universalism. Universalism believes that everyone will be saved.
The Bible teaches that believers are saved.
Again…
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Redemption has actually been purchased for believer.
Now lets talk about the aspects of salvation.
What happens to the believer in salvation?
In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Regeneration is a work of God’s Grace.
2. Regeneration is the action of God on behalf of the individual to bring them from a point of dead to alive. From having no eyes to see, to having eyes to see. From having no ears to hear to having ears to ear. From being spiritually dead, to being spiritually alive.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
3. This is a change of heart wrought by the Spirit.
26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 “Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Next Week-
B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.