Salvation (67)
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Your belief is a miracle! You didn't choose it. Of course if you have a theology that says 'I did it' then you have no testimony to the power of God in your life!June 8 2011 Sermon (Minute 31)
And here we have already exposed the reason why no Christian Church can take up the position recommended to it on the strength of a declaration attributed to Abraham Lincoln. This declaration is to the effect that a simple requirement of love to God and our neighbor constitutes a sufficient foundation for a church, and the churches would profit by making the profession of such love, or of the wish or purpose to cherish such love, their sole qualification for membership. The moment a church took up such a position, however, it would cease to be a Christian Church: the core of Christianity is its provision for salvation from sin.
Consider for a moment how precious it is that the Christian can say, "I have been crucified with Christ." This is a personal atonement, personal substitution. We revel in the awesome love of our Savior who loved us as individuals and gave Himself up for us. For me! Me, the hate-filled sinner who spurned Him and His love! How much less glorious is the idea, "Christ loved a generic group and died so as to give them the opportunity to possibly join the group and hence receive certain benefits.The Potter's Freedom (248)
Jesus is able to save not merely make savable.The Potter's Freedom (240)
N.T. Wright avers that justification has ecclesiological implications and is not equivalent to salvation, and this is certainly true. Still, justification is fundamentally a matter of soteriology and by implication ecclesiology.Faith Alone by Thomas Schreiner Copyright ©2015 by Schreiner. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com by Thomas Schreiner Copyright ©2015 by Schreiner. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com, 136
Saving faith may be defined as a certain conviction, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, as to the truth of the gospel, and a hearty reliance (trust) on the promises of God in Christ.
But now, since God has put my salvation out of the way of my will, and has taken it under His own, and has promised to save me, not according to my working or manner of life, but according to His own grace and mercy, I rest fully assured and persuaded that He is faithful, and will not lie, and moreover great and powerful, so that no devils, no adversities can destroy Him, or pluck me out of His Hand.Bondage of the Will, Section 164
The truth that God saves by Himself, by His own power, on the basis of His own will, defines the message of the Reformers.The Potter's Freedom (36)
The only thing you contribute to your salvation is your sin!
Salvation always results because God first pursues sinners, not because sinners first seek God.Gospel According to Jesus 3e(86)
God intentionally designed salvation so that no man can boast of it. He didn't merely arrange it so that boasting would be discouraged, or kept to a minimum-He planned it so that boasting would be absolutely excluded! Election does precisely that.
Salvation is a free gift, but an empty hand must receive it, and not a hand which still tightly grasps the world.
Behold, and wonder, that the great God should love such a worthless world! That the holy God should love such a wicked world with a love of good will, when he could not look upon it with any complacency.
Good works are required as the means and way for possessing salvation. Even though they don't contribute anything to the acquisition of our salvation, they are necessary to the obtainment of it. No one can be saved without them.
Humans contribute nothing of their own to this salvation, since even believing (which the elect are indeed enabled to do) is a divine gift (cf. Rom 3:24–25). The key to this in the context of Eph 2:8 is what Paul had been driving home so forcefully up until now: Before God's gracious intervention believers were hopelessly dead, with their wills imprisoned by nature (φύσει, physei) in acts that led only to transgression and sin (2:1–5a, 12).
Ephesians, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 161.
Without justification salvation is not of grace, but of works.
Where the Spirit is, there is the church; outside the body of the saints there is no salvation.
The hand that holds onto its own alleged goodness, or attempts to sneak in a merit here, a good work there, will not find the open hand of God's grace. Only the empty hand fits into the powerful hand of grace. Only the person who finds in Christ his all-in-all will, in so finding, be made right with God. This is why the Scriptures say it is by faith so that it might be in accordance with grace: in God's wisdom, he excludes man's boasting by making salvation all of grace.http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/1993/04/29/the-empty-hand-of-faith/
If we know nothing of these things, we shall know nothing whatever of Christian matters, and shall be far behind all people upon the earth.The Bondage of the Will (31)
it is not irreligious, curious, or superfluous, but essentially wholesome and necessary, for a Christian to know, whether or not the will does anything in those things which pertain unto salvation.The Bondage of the Will (31)
O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!Epistle of Diognetus
In the first Adam we offended God, because Adam did not obey the divine commandment. But in the second Adam we have been reconciled to God and made obedient even to death. For we were debtors to no one except to him whose commandment we had transgressed. Therefore, in the last times the Lord has restored us into fellowship through his incarnation. He has become the Mediator between God and man, propitiating the Father against whom we had sinned, by his death. He has cancelled our disobedience by his obedience.Adversus omnes haereses 5.16.3-5.17.1
In modern day evangelism, this precious doctrine [of regeneration] has been reduced to nothing more than a human decision to raise one's hand, walk an aisle, or pray a "sinner's prayer." As a result, the majority of Americans believe that they've been "born again" even though their thoughts, words, and deeds are a continual contradiction to the nature and will of God.
I was dying in my sins, hopeless, helpless, and on the brink of eternal fire. It was Jesus Christ who delivered me with the hand of His grace, and plucked me from everlasting burnings. It was Jesus Christ who placed me, a poor sinful worm, near the heart of His love. Stranger, that is the reason why I talk of Jesus Christ and make much of Him. I am not ashamed of it, because I love Him. Holiness (Chapter 15)
the grand paradox or supreme irony of the Christian faith is that we are saved both by God and from God.The Great Rescue, 21
Are you saved? That question is the most important issue any person will ever face.The Great Rescue, 11
I think the greatest point of unbelief in our culture and in our church today is an unbelief in the wrath of God and in His certain promise of judgement for the human race.The Great Rescue, 7
The ultimate salvation that any human being can ever experience is rescue from the wrath that is to come.
Folks, if we could lose our salvation, we would.
Lay yourself at the feet of the blessed Jesus. He can, he will, if you believe on him, abundantly pardon you.
Someone who is grieved because he has sinned is grieved in a godly way, because he is sorry to have done something that God hates. This godly sorrow is directly related to the enduring quality of his salvation.
Saving grace makes a man as willing to leave his lusts as a slave is willing to leave his galley, or a prisoner his dungeon, or a thief his bolts, or a beggar his rags.
John tells us that His love is shown in the gift of His Son. Of this gift Odeberg finely says, "the Son is God's gift to the world, and, moreover, it is the gift. There are no Divine gifts apart from or outside the one-born (sic) Son." In typical Johannine fashion "gave" is used in two senses. God gave the Son by sending Him into the world, but God also gave the Son on the cross. The Gospel According To John: The New International Commentary On The New Testament; Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, pages 229-230
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A soul enlightened with the knowledge of the truth, and made sensible of its own condition by spiritual conviction, has two predominant desires and aims, whereby it is wholly regulated,-the one is, that *God may be glorified*; and the other, that *itself may be eternally saved.*
Christ is a sufficient Saviour, because his death has unexhausted power.
Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Saviour.
Christ spoke like this in order to stop people from thinking about themselves, in favor of looking to God's mercy alone. The evangelist does not say that God was moved to deliver us because he saw something in us which deserved such an excellent blessing; rather, he ascribes the glory of our deliverance entirely to his love.
our nature is so wickedly ambitious that when the question about the origin of our salvation arises, we quickly imagine diabolical things about our own merits. So we imagine that God is reconciled to us because he has thought that we are worthy to be looked on by him. But everywhere in Scripture God's pure and simple mercy is extolled, which sets to one side all merits.
Folks, if we could lose our salvation, we would.
What can we deserve? Can a man be profitable to the Almighty? We live upon free grace! Alexander gave a great gift to one of his subjects; the man being much taken with it, said, "this is more than I am worthy of!" "I do not give you this," said the king, "because you are worthy of it—but I give a gift like Alexander!" Whatever we have is not merit—but bounty! The least bit of bread is more than God owes to us! We can bring faggots to our own burning—but not one flower to the garland of our salvation. He who has the least mercy—will die in God's debt!
So completely was Jesus bent upon saving sinners by the sacrifice of Himself-that He created the tree upon which He was to die; and nurtured from infancy, the wicked men who were to nail Him to the accursed wood!
Christ has stood in the place of the true Christian. He has become his Surety and his Substitute. He undertook to bear all that was to be borne, and to do all that was to be done, and what He undertook He performed. Hence the true Christian is a justified man.Old Paths, Chapter 8
There is but one way to heaven, and that is Christ.
But there are many ways to hell: especially these two; some walk a more clean way of self-righteousness, & others a more dirty way of open wickedness; but both meet together at the end…
sola fide! These words declared that salvation does not come from looking at our own works of righteousness, but from looking outside ourselves to another, to the person and work of Jesus Christ.Faith Alone by Thomas Schreiner Copyright ©2015 by Schreiner. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com by Thomas Schreiner Copyright ©2015 by Schreiner. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com, 15
Consider how sweet the thought of salvation will be to thee when thou seest thyself in heaven, whilst others are oraring in hell.Bunyan's Catechism
Be often remembering what a blessed thing it is to be saved, to go to heaven to be made like angels, and to dwell with God and Christ to all eternity.Bunyan's Catechism
When God originally gave his commands to Adam and Eve in the garden, he gave those commands to them as blessings. They weren't things upon which his love was contingent. He loved them and blessed them in the garden. And their obedience to the commands was the very sphere in which they enjoyed that blessedness. And when we are saved by Christ, when we are united to Christ, we are able to walk in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. We are to live in a manner that is like the Lord Jesus Christ. And he delighted in obeying God. And so the law of God shows us what that life of peace and blessedness is like. It shows us what it's like to live a life worthy of the gospel once we've trusted in Jesus Christ.
These poor men think they can preach the Gospel without preaching the Law. I say, they must preach the Law, unless they do not mean to preach the Gospel. The Law entered that the offence might abound: proclaim it, I say, for this purpose among your ungodly congregations; lift up your voices like trumpets, and tell the people their transgressions, that you may glorify the more your honoured Master, in proclaiming the infinite riches and fulness of His great salvation. Preach the Law to those who believe, as finished, cancelled, dead for their salvation: point them to Immanuel as holding it in His bleeding hand, and saying to them, "If ye love me, keep my Commandments."
How do I judge my own sincerity? The saving grace of salvation is located in a holy and electing God, and a sacrificing, suffering, and obedient Savior. Stakes this high can never rest on my sincerity.
Justification is by faith alone, but it isn't a faith that is alone, for true faith produces good works. Still, good works are not the ground or cause of salvation; they are the fruit of one's faith. The perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers, so that their righteousness is not inherent but is theirs because they are united to Jesus Christ. At the final judgment God will declare publicly what was already the case in the lives of believers, i.e., that they are righteous by faith, and their works will verify (but will not be the foundation of) that declaration.
Another real danger to young men is thoughtlessness and lack of consideration. Lack of thought is one simple reason why thousands of souls are cast away forever. Men will not consider,-will not look forward,-will not look around them,-will not reflect on the end of their present course, and the sure consequences of their present ways,-and awake at last to find they are damned for lack of thinking.
If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.
If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.
There is a living Savior who, because he died and rose again, is sufficient to save you and indeed each and every person who comes to him in faith. There is fullness of grace in Christ crucified. And you, too, may find salvation in his name.The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters (p. 51). Crossway
Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.John Calvin's preface to Pierre Robert French translation of the New Testament (1534)
More and more am I jealous lest any views upon prophecy, church government, politics, or even systematic theology, should withdraw one of us from glorying in the cross of Christ. Salvation is a theme for which I would fain enlist every holy tongue. I am greedy after witnesses for the glorious gospel of the blessed God. O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God.Lectures to My Students (p. 79). Zondervan
In the divine plan of salvation it was absolutely essential that the Mediator should also be very God. This was necessary, in order that (1) He might bring a sacrifice of infinite value and render perfect obedience to the law of God; (2) He might bear the wrath of God redemptively, that is, so as to free others from the curse of the lawSystematic Theology, 319
it is by no means uncommon to hear people echoing sentiments similar to [Abelard] about the "injustice" of Christ's blood sacrifice and condemning the notion of the Father's pleasure at such a thing as sadistic. But then as now, people who think like that suffer the same drawback as Anselm's dialogue partner Boso: they have not considered how serious sin is.God Has Spoken 453
Adam and Eve did not decide to disobey God by themselves, but were tempted by Satan and ensnared by him in a way that Jesus never was. Putting things right with God therefore meant destroying Satan's power over us as well as paying the price of our wrongdoing. Jesus' propitiation for our sins would hardly have been the definitive solution to the problem of evil if the cause of that evil had not been dealt with as well.God Has Spoken 438-439
I confess also to being rather perplexed about the recent controversy in evangelical circles over lordship salvation.25 The question concerns whether confessing the lordship of Christ is necessary at the beginning of the Christian life, or whether it can be postponed until a later time. But the lordship of Jesus is absolutely fundamental to the preaching of the gospel in the NT. It is inconceivable that anyone could respond appropriately to that gospel without confessing from the heart that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). To acknowledge the lordship of Christ is not, of course, to be sinlessly perfect or flawless in one's discipleship. Scripture teaches plainly that sincere believers do sin (1Â John 1:8, 10); they act inconsistently with their profession.Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Kindle Locations 1462-1468). P&R Publishing. Kindle Edition.
The fundamental explanation of our conversion was not that we were wiser or morally superior to others in choosing God, but that God chose to have mercy on us and intervened in our lives, revealing our need for His provision of the gospel. Our salvation is owned completely to the sovereign grace of God.
The life we recieve in the new birth is not just new life it's forever life, it's eternal life. That's what we get in the new birth. If You're born again you have a life and an inheritance, imperishable. This should make you the most bold, courageous, risk taking people in the planet.
The question is not whether you would like to pray this prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart -- after all, you know, the handle to your heart is on the inside and if you do not open it Jesus cannot come in. My friend, Jesus is Lord of your heart and if He wants to come in, He will kick the door down.
Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.
Ask him in what he trusts for the forgiveness of his many sins, and he will tell you in the death of Christ. Ask him in what righteousness he hopes to stand innocent at the judgement day, and he will tell you it is the righteousness of Christ. Ask him by what pattern he tries to frame his life, and he will tell you that it is the example of Christ. Holiness (Chapter 15)
You don't have to be born again to love being guilt-free and pain-free and disease-free and safe and wealthy. All natural men without any spiritual life love these things. But to embrace Jesus as your supreme treasure requires a new nature. No one does this naturally. You must be born again. Think (72)
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