Three Truths Of Salvation

Three Truths Of Salvation
Roots: Reconstructing Our Faith

Text: Hebrews 2:1-4 (ESV)

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

PAY ATTENTION… You don’t know just how GOOD and how GREAT this Salvation really is

TRUTH ONE: SALVATION COMES THROUGH CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE!

Hebrews 1:2–4 (ESV) … in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The writer of Hebrews sets forth
– Christ’s Supremacy 
– Christ’s Sacrifice
– Christ’s Seat

This is why Jesus has the authority to say…. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV).

We believe: Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
There is NO OTHER WAY!

When it comes to eternal life the most important question is: Are you in a right relationship with Jesus Christ?

TRUTH TWO: SALVATION CAN BE FORFEITED

“1 Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it…

“The moment we drift away from the gospel, we perish. But if we remain on the narrow gospel way, it brings us all the way home.” – Derek Thomas

Drift (pararreo) means to disbelieve gradually or slowly, conceived of as being carried along due to a water current.

Without constant momentum, a ship’s nature is to drift off course.

Three Dangers At Sea:

  1. Mutiny At Sea
    1 Timothy 1:18-20 (NLT) 18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. 19 Cling to your faith in Christ and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.
  2. Stormy Waters
    Luke 8:12-13 (ESV) 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in the time of testing, fall away.
  3. The Siren’s Song
    If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. (2 Peter 2:20–21)

Frequent questions:

  1. The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit.

    Romans 8:16 (ESV) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
  2. The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. Matthew 12:33 (ESV)

    “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

    Ephesians 4:24 (NIV) and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Truth Three: SALVATION IS FAR GREATER THAN YOU FIRST REALIZED

“2 Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard…vs 3…It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

Ordo Salutis – (The Order of Salvation)

  • Predestination: God’s foreknowledge of those who will be saved.
  • Election: God’s choice to save those who have faith in Jesus Christ. This election is conditional, based on God’s foreknowledge of an individual’s response to the gospel.
  • Adoption: Refers to the process by which believers become part of God’s spiritual family through faith in Jesus Christ.
  • Propitiation: Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross satisfies God’s wrath against sin. This atonement is available to all people, and its benefits are applied to those who choose to accept Jesus as their Savior.
  • Conversion: The result of an individual’s choice to turn from sin and embrace faith in Jesus Christ. This decision is made possible by God’s grace through faith.
  • Regeneration: A spiritual rebirth, it is the work of the Holy Spirit that occurs when a person chooses to believe in Jesus Christ. This transformative experience is essential for salvation and marks the beginning of a person’s journey as a Christian.
  • Justification: God’s declaration of righteousness for those who have faith in Jesus Christ.
  • Sanctification: The process by which believers grow in holiness and Christ-likeness, enabled by the Holy Spirit.
  • Glorification: The culmination of a believer’s salvation, in which they are fully conformed to the image of Christ and receive their eternal reward.

Salvation is not a moment in time, it is the story of time itself

Past, Present, and Future

  • PAST TENSE: JUSTIFICATION

Ephesians 2:7-9 (ESV)
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

  • PRESENT TENSE: SANCTIFICATION

1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

2 Corinthians 2:15 (ESV) For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

  • FUTURE TENSE: GLORIFICATION

Romans 5:9 (ESV) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

THOUGH UNDERSTANDING THE THEOLOGY OF SALVATION IS GOOD, KNOWING THE LORD OF SALVATION IS GREATER

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