I' The Ordo Salutis

1
Salvation

• I. The Ordo Salutis
• How do we come to faith in Christ? What is
  involved? What are its aspects?
• Via Salutis or Ordo Salutis?
• In salvation, there is a threefold perspective
  we must maintain past (what God has done in
  Jesus), present (what God is doing in us), and
  future (what God will do).

2
Salvation

• III. Prevenient Grace
• We are now talking about the change that occurs
  in our nature.
• How are we capable of responding to God?
• Apart from Jesus Christ we are dead in sin and
  Gods enemies (Romans 510), slaves in bondage to
  sin (John 834). These imply an inability to act
  simply from our own volition. How can we respond?

3
Salvation

• III. Prevenient Grace
• A. Luther and Calvin
• The beginning of salvation is the new birth or
  regeneration, in which God instantly transforms
  sinners from the fallen state to a new life where
  faith and repentance are the natural character of
  our lives.
• This leads to double predestination.

4
Salvation

• III. Prevenient Grace
• A. Luther and Calvin
• Weaknesses
• 1. Scripture notes a general calling of God to
  all persons. (Matthew 1128, 2nd Peter 39)
• 2. NT language implies some capacity to respond
  to the Gospel(e.g. Acts 238, 1631)

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Salvation

• III. Prevenient Grace
• B. Wesley
• Our faithful obedience to God is lost in the
  Fall, and we are in bondage to sin.
• God works in Jesus Christ to enable us to
  respond to the Gospel. (cf. John 19, 644)
• Prevenient grace means God is active in our
  lives even before we come to faith, but act to
  enable our response to the Gospel.

6
Salvation

• IV. Awakening or Conviction by the Spirit
• We must come to the awareness of our need.
• Only when we know our need and Gods gracious
  gift can we respond.
• The Holy Spirit works to convict us, thus make
  us aware of, our sin. (John 168)
• Our tendency is to overlook our sins or to
  condemn ourselves for everything.

7
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• God awakens us to our sin so that He may restore
  us into relationship with Him.
• Conversion is the broad term to indicate the
  new life and relationship into which we are
  brought in Jesus Christ.
• The NT speaks of this in several different
  metaphors (cf. John 3 and 4).

8
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• A. Confession
• Conversion entails confession, a saying
  together with God of our sinfulness. Romans
  109-10
• When we confess, God begins to heal us.
• To refuse to confess is to deny our need and
  Gods gracious provision in Jesus Christ.

9
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• B. Repentance
• This is at the core of Jesus mission. e.g.
  Matthew 913
• The OT uses the term shuv (cf. 2 Chronicles
  714), and indicates a turning away from one
  thing and thereby turning back to something else.

10
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• B. Repentance
• The NT often uses metanoeo or metanoia, meaning
  to think differently about something or to have
  a change of mind. Matthew 32 and 417 Acts
  238 and 1730
• Repentance indicates Godly sorrow and actually
  turning away from our sins.

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Salvation

• V. Conversion
• B. Repentance
• (1) Begins with personal acknowledgment of our
  spiritual need.
• (2) Includes godly sorrow, not just for our
  suffering but for done wrong to God.
• (3) Genuine desire to abandon our sin, a turning
  away from sin to life obeying God.

12
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• C. Faith
• Faith, the acknowledgment of Gods actions for
  us and obedience to God as living Lord.
• Romans 116-17, 109-10
• Faith is giving up trying to make ourselves
  something and trust fully in Gods gift for us in
  Jesus Christ.

13
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• D. Justification
• Gods gracious, judicial/declarative act by
  which He grants us full pardon of our guilt and
  complete release from the penalty of sins.
• 3 Components (1) absolution from our sins (2)
  release from penalty of sin (3) accept-ance
  before God as righteous

14
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• D. Justification
• We receive justification through faith in Gods
  presence and actions for us in Jesus Christ.Acts
  1338-39 Romans 324-26
• God declares us righteous and holy, so this is
  our state before God. Ephesians 28-9 Romans
  623

15
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• E. Regeneration
• When we respond by repentance in faith, God
  acts to restore His image in us.
• Born again, born from above, begot-ten
  indicate a new heart that changes us from Gods
  enemies to His friends as obedient servants.
  (e.g. Titus 34-7)

16
Salvation

• V. Conversion
• E. Regeneration
• In our regeneration we are brought into a unity
  with Jesus Christ so that his spiritual assets
  and our spiritual liabilities merge.
• We are no longer simply in ourselves, we are in
  Christ.
• Thus, we are to live as new beings. Eph. 422-24

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Salvation

• V. Conversion
• F. Adoption
• In justification we receive a new positive
  standing before God.
• We are restored to a position of favor with God.
  Galatians 44-5 John 112
• On this basis we are called to a new life
  conformed to His righteousness. Hebrews 125-9
  Ephesians 431-32