BF&M’s doctrine of Salvation

Object Lesson:

Kristin/Tiffany/Sarah: Rope, bucket, tape

Pull the rope to get the bucket across the piece of tape

What does God say this is an example of?

I’m going to read from John 6 and we’ll get started looking at today’s Baptist doctrine.

John 6:37-40, 43, 65

This same Greek word “draw” is better translated as dragged see Acts 16:19

This draw is not to woo like calling your dog. Here boy, here boy. Its God drawing a sword from a sheath, or God drawing fish up in a net, or like our object lesson it refers to how 1^st Century Jews would draw their water up out of a well. In the NT Helkuo always refers to compulsion. John 6, 12, 18, twice in 21, Acts 16, 21 and James 2.

Sinners do not come to God. God brings sinners unto Himself.

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Today we’re going to look at the BF&M’s doctrine of Salvation, I’m going to start by reading a little Romans and Roy/Robert can you read the whole article I’m done?

Romans 8:28-39

The first section of Salvation states that SBC Baptists offer salvation to all who accept JC. This seems like an awkward phrase, someone elaborate it for us. Are we only offering Salvation to those who already believe?

There’s an important note to make at the end of this section on the exclusivity of Christianity. “There is no salvation apart from personal faith in JC as Lord.” I was happy to hear Jay just preach on this a couple of weeks back Jesus saying No one comes to the Father except through me. Unfortunately I’ve also heard some Baptist friends of mine actually disagree that the only way to heaven is through personal faith in JC as Lord.

Give me some of your guy’s thoughts. What if there was some deaf, blind, mute, hermit alone on a mountain top in Tibet that lived for 100 yrs and never once heard the Gospel and he died and stood before God, what would we expect to hear? The book that got Rob Bell kicked out of his own church Love Wins only suggested that there might be other ways into heaven and he lost his job. What do you think fair, unfair? (The New Yorker bio – Hellraiser)

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Regeneration – God is the active agent in regeneration.

Acts 16:14 – its God not Lydia that prepares her heart for the Gospel

Ezekiel 36:26 & 11:19 – its God who replaces our stony hearts of unbelief with soft hearts that can trust Christ

John 3:1-8 –Jesus tells Nicodemus not only can’t you get to heaven but also you can’t even see heaven until you are (and this is the same word in the Greek genneo anothen) “born again or born from above”. It should probably be both - born again from above, God’s rebirthing.

Any questions so far?

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Moving on. Question for you: Is faith and repentance your part in the Salvation transaction or is it more of God’s work in dragging you to Himself?

1^st - a transactional view of Salvation is heretical, that would make Salvation “by works” which is rejected in several books in the New Testament namely The Apocalypse of St John and Paul’s letters to the Churches of Rome and Galatia.

Yet all of us who have been saved remember Jesus telling us to Repent and Trust in Him to be saved and we did it. Isn’t that our part?

2 Timothy 2:24-25 – Paul names a couple of 1^st Century heretics by name and says yet God may grant them repentance leading them to the Truth, those who repent are those whom God has granted repentance.

Ephesians 2:4-9 – Again this reiterates that God is the primary mover in regeneration as well as the gifter of your faith. I’ve actually had atheist friends growing up and they flat out told me I get what you want me to believe (Jesus) I just can’t, I don’t have that kind of faith and Paul says that’s true unless God gifts you with faith to trust in Christ you can’t trust in Christ.

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Justification – Martin Luther famously said during the Reformation that this was the article on which a True church stands or falls.

And again this is God’s work, in which he accepts Christ’s righteousness in your place instead of judging you solely on your own merit.

I am holy, I am a saint but not due to my own self-righteousness but because of the perfect righteousness of Christ and Christ’s atoning blood that covers my filth.

The original verb form of Messiah/Christ (massah) meant to smear like smear paint on a wall, or cover with oil (to anoint) this coating of Christ’s righteousness is why people are allowed into heaven, the error we need to correct with our non-believing friends is its not good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell, the bible first says we’re all bad and yet this is how a bad person like you or me can get into heaven is by Christ’s righteousness smearing, Jesus’ massah.

Titus 3:3-8 & Romans 3:21-30 – this 2^nd passage corrects the error today that Jews and Gentiles will be judged by different standards. No, both are judged by faith in Christ’s redemption.

God is the one who gets full, total, and whole praise for Salvation because He’s the only party at work in Salvation.

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Sanctification – So what now? Now that you’re a Christian what do you want to do with your life? Do you want to honor God? What would honor Him? What does he want from you?

Sanctification is the first and only part of this article that you get to work along side God on. Sanctification is not about some epic, specific, grandiose dream God has for your life. It’s all pretty ordinary practical stuff. Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, learning a lot about what the Bible says about Christ, raising your kids to know God, loving and respecting your spouses, working hard with your hands as if your boss where Jesus himself, love your neighbors, honor God, be always thankful for Christ. Caring about the poor, the helpless, being selfless these are what prepare us to enjoy Heaven for an Eternity.

Any thoughts or advise for the rest of us on sanctification? Struggles, concerns, questions?

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Glorification – starts with sanctification and isn’t complete till we live with Christ eternally.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 & 2 Timothy 2:10-11 (this passage is the motto for my blog)- Glorification was accomplished in the past by Christ’s work but it points us toward Christ’s 2^nd coming, being with other believers, at the Judgment and eternally in glory, immortal, righteous, and holy.