The Doctrine of Salvation

God and Salvation
I believe that God, before the foundation of the world, chose in Christ those whom He would graciously save through regeneration, justification, adoption, and sanctification. I believe that God providentially, through the effectual call of the gospel, leads those who are His to voluntarily exercise faith in Jesus Christ and then places them in the body of Christ. The person who God saves is eternally secure because he is kept by God. Eternal security demands and ensures that genuine believers must and will persevere in their faith and Christian life until the Lord comes. I believe that salvation is a gift of God by grace, provided and secured solely through the bloody, sacrificial, substitutionary death of His unique Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and applied by the Holy Spirit through the word of God.

  1. God chose all believers before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4; 2 Thes 2:13; 1 Pt 1:2).
  2. God the Holy Spirit regenerates. Regeneration is that instantaneous, supernatural work of the Holy Spirit whereby He brings spiritual life to one who is spiritually dead by the word of God (Jn 3:3-8; Tit 3:5; 2 Thess 2:14).
  3. God the Father justifies. Justification is a judicial act of God by which He declares the sinner righteous (freed from the guilt of sin) and treats him as such (Ro 3:23-24; 4:1-5; 5:1,18,19).
  4. God the Father adopts believers into His family. This is a judicial act of God granting to believers all the rights and privileges of sonship (Ro 8:14-16; Ga 3:26; 4:4,5).
  5. God the Holy Spirit sanctifies. Sanctification is that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit (2 Th 2:13; 1 Pet 1:2), by which the holy disposition imparted in regeneration is maintained and strengthened by our obedience to the word of God (Jn 5:24; 17:17; Phil 2:12,13; 1 Pet 2:2), conforming the sinner to the image of Christ (Phil 1:6; 2 Co 3:18) and culminating in glorification of the believer (Ro 8:30; 1 Jn 3:2).
  6. God efficaciously (Jn 5:25; 6:44; 10:27; Ro 8:30; 1 Ti 1:9), and providentially (Acts 8:26-39; 9:3-9; 18:9-10) leads individuals to Christ then places them in the body of Christ which consists of the whole host of redeemed saints from Pentecost [(Matt 16:18 cf. Eph 3:3-6,9; Acts 1:5 to the rapture (1 Thess 4:16.17a); 1 Co 12:13].
  7. Salvation is eternally secure for the believer (Jn 5:24; 6:39-40; 10:27-30; Ro 5:9,10; 11:29; Eph 4:30; 1 Pt 1:3-5; Jude 24).
  8. Genuine believers must and will persevere in his faith and Christian life until the Lord comes (Jn 8:31; 1 Co 1:8; Phil 1:6; Col 1:23; Heb 3:14; 6:11-12; 1 Jn 2:19; 5:4).
  9. Salvation is a gracious gift of God (Ro 5:15-17; 6:23; Eph 2:8; 1 Pet 1:3).
  10. Salvation is provided and secured on the basis of the bloody (Eph 1:7; Heb 9:14,22; 1 Pt 1:18,19), sacrificial (Jn 3:16; Heb 10:10), substitutionary (Ro 5:8; 2 Cor 5:21; Ga 3:13) death of Christ.
  11. Salvation is applied by the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the word of God (2 Th 2:13- 14; Tit 3:5; 1 Pet 1:2,22)

Man and Salvation
Because of the spiritual state of the lost, man cannot, by any means earn salvation. Yet God who is rich in mercy issues a general call to all men for salvation. Man’s salvation is predicated upon obedience to God’s demands of 3repentance of sin and unreserved faith in the finished work of God’s unique Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the gospel may be rejected and those that reject the gospel will be tormented night and day in the lake of fire which burns continually, forever.

  1. What is the spiritual state of mankind? Man is spiritually dead (Eph 2:1), an enemy of God (Eph 2:3), blind to his condition (2 Cor 4:3-4), inherently corrupt (Eph 4:19) and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is pleasing to God (Rom 3:11-12) and therefore man stands condemned (Ro 5:18). If man is to be saved, God alone (i.e. without the aid of man) must save man (Mt 19:25-26).
  2. Salvation cannot be earned by man (Eph 2:8-10; Tit 3:5).
  3. Salvation is available to all men everywhere (Mt 28:19-20; Jn 3:16; 7:37; Ro 10:11-13).
  4. Salvation is appropriated when man responds to God’s demands of repentance and faith (Lu 24:46,47; Jn 3:16; Acts 2:37,38; 3:19; 16:31; 17:30).
  5. God’s salvation is voluntarily and willfully rejected by the unbeliever (Jn 3:18,36; 16:9; 1 Pet 2:7) and will not go unpunished (Acts 17:30; Ro 1:18-20; 21:8).