“God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of the Father and Son by renewing. Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners — men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to life a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot.”
— J. I. Packer, Teaching the Faith, Forming the FaithfulHat Tip: Of First Importance
(Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2009), 103
"There are two kinds of Christians. 'Sink Christians' view salvation as they would a sink. The water of salvation flows into the sink so that Christians can soak up all the benefits: eternal life, assurance in the presence of God, and strength in times of trial. Those who adopt this mind-set concentrate solely on what the Bible says God has done and will do for them. 'Faucet Christians' view salvation differently. they look at the world as the sink and themselves as the faucet. The blessings of salvation flow to them in order to flow through them out to the wider world. They rightly see that the Bible describes salvation as something that God not only does for them, but also through them."HT: Jude St.John, Already Not YetPraise God for the assurance that comes from these great truths.
- Regenerates you, moving you from spiritual death to life. (John 3:1-8)
- Redeems you, buying you out of slavery to sin. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
- Justifies you, declaring you innocent in His sight. (Romans 5:1-9)
- Sanctifies you, setting you apart as holy. (1 Cor 1:2,30)
- Forgives you of all your sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
- Cleanses you, removing from you the stain of sin. (Hebrews 9:14)
- Reconciles you to Himself. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
- Seals you with His Spirit as a guarantee of your future hope. (Ephesians 1:13)
- Indwells you, sending the Holy Spirit to live in you. (Romans 8:9)
- Adopts you, making you His child. (Romans 8:14-17)
- Baptizes you into Christ’s body, the Church. (1 Corinthians 12:3)
- Illuminates your mind so you can understand the Scriptures. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
- Makes you a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- Reveals you as one of His elect. (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 8:29-30)
- Grants you eternal life. (John 11:25-27, 1 John 5:11-13)
- Names you an heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
- Grants you an inheritance. (1 Peter 1:3-4)
- Declares you a saint. (Romans 1:7, Colossians 1:2)
- Grants you new citizenship, making your home heaven rather than this world. (Philippians 3:20)
- Makes you a slave of Christ, a slave with the greatest, most glorious Master that any could ask for. (1 Corinthians 7:22-23)
What is the Gospel?When you realize just how dependent you are on Jesus for your salvation — his death for your sin, his life for your righteousness — you understand why the Bible is so insistent that salvation comes only through faith in him. There is no other way, no other savior, nothing and no one else in the world on which we can rely for salvation, including our own efforts.
"How can I know when I am really, truly understanding the gospel?
When it seems too good to be true.
The more astonished I feel at the gospel, the more I’m understanding and applying the gospel. The more I find myself saying, “This is just so hard to believe!”, the more I’m getting to the heart of the gospel.
Because the gospel cuts against everything that feels true. It feels like I should have to give something to God in payment for my salvation. It feels like I must be able to, or required to add something to Jesus’ finished work. The idea of receiving salvation as a completely free gift feel so…unnatural.
And the gospel is unnatural. It’s supernatural. Only God could come up with a plan for salvation where he gets the glory and we get the grace. The gospel seems almost ridiculous it’s so good."
"The Bible is not a collection of timeless principles offering a gentile thought for the day. It is not a resource for our self-improvement. Rather, it is a dramatic story that unfolds from promise to fulfillment, with Christ at the center. Its focus is God and his action. Gos is not a supporting actor in our drama; it is the other way around. God does not exist to make sure that we are happy and fulfilled. Rather, we exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever."
- The Gospel Driven Life, Michael Horton, page 26
"..But the heart of Christianity is Good News. It comes not as a task for us to do, a mission for us to accomplish, a game plan for us to follow with the help of life coaches, but as a report that someone else has already fulfilled, accomplished, followed and achieved everything for us. Good advice may help us in daily direction, the Good News concerning Jesus Christ saves us from sin's guilt and tyranny over our lives and the fear of death. It is Good News because it does not depend on us. It is about God and his faithfulness to his own purposes and promises."
The Gospel Driven Life, Michael Horton, page 20
“Nowhere is salvation conceived of as a flight from history as in Greek thought; it is always the coming of God to man in history. Man does not ascend to God; God descends to man.”
- George Eldon Ladd
“Some think of the gospel as so slender it does nothing more than get us into the kingdom. After that the real work of transformation begins. But a biblically-faithful understanding of the gospel shows that gospel to be rich, powerful, the wisdom of God and the power of God, all we need in Christ. It is the gospel that saves us, transforms us, conforms us to Christ, prepares us for the new heaven and the new earth, establishes our relations with fellow-believers, teaches us how to work and serve so as to bring glory to God, calls forth and edifies the church, and so forth. This gospel saves — and ’salvation’ means more than just ‘getting in,’ but transformed wholeness.”
- D. A. Carson, “Four Questions with D. A. Carson“
Hat Tip: The Gospel that Saves « Of First Importance
“Christ wins our salvation through losing, achieves power through weakness and service, comes to wealth via giving all away. And those who receive his salvation are not the strong and accomplished but those who admit they are weak and lost.”
- Timothy Keller, Gospel Christianity (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2003), 2.
"Ask Jesus into your heart”
“Make Him your Lord and Savior”
Make a “decision” to become a Christian
“Just say this simple prayer that will change your life”
“Just believe in God”
“Just ask for forgiveness”
“Accept” Jesus — This one is particularly badI hear these phrases over and over in the modern church, but the problem is that they are NOT in Scripture. These are man-centered catch phrases that end up creating false Christians. I know first hand… I was one for 22 years.
So, all you creative people out there - Who has a way of concisely explaining salvation that is both Biblical and does not use these phrases or their equivalents.
Inquiring minds want to know!
