Salvation

Foundation Study #8: Salvation

Use the Discovery Study tool to discuss this doctrinal statement.

Mankind has only one hope of salvation: Jesus Christ; and God desires all men to turn to Christ in repentance and faith.
Nobody can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
Salvation is offered by grace through faith alone.
It is not by works, though one who is saved will bear the fruit of new life in Christ.
Salvation is available to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, and it includes freedom from the power of sin and rescue from the wrath of God.

Salvation is a broad term used to describe:

Predestination: Before the creation of the world, God chose some to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Regeneration: The Holy Spirit regenerates a person, giving him a new nature.
Calling: God effectually beckons those who are his to come to Himself.
Repentance and faith: When a person turns away from sin and to God, trusting in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ.
Justification: A person is declared righteous, not because of anything he has done, but solely because of what Jesus has done; Jesus lived a righteous life in his place and died on the cross in his place.
Sanctification: A person is made holy and perfect.
Glorification: Receiving resurrection bodies.

What is Sanctification?

In standing before God: this is accomplished at the point of repentance and faith.
In the experience of life: this is a process that continues throughout earthly life (but is not completed in this life) whereby a believer grows in grace by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the future: This is the promise that those who trust in Christ will be completely freed from sin upon leaving the earthly body.

Eternal Security, Assurance, and the Perseverance of the Saints

Those who believe are eternally secure.
They have crossed over from death to life, and no one will snatch them from Jesus’ hand.
It is also clear through Scripture that those who are saved will persevere in their faith.
Believers are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, guaranteeing their inheritance of eternal life.
Believers can hold on to the promise that God will complete the work he has begun in their lives, and believers can have assurance of their salvation, knowing that their names stand written in heaven and that they have eternal life.

Discovery Study
3-Step Bible Study Tool

Read: Read the doctrinal statement together.
Restate: Summarize it as a group from memory.
Reflect: Each person pick a One Thing and discuss as a group:
1. What does it say? What does it mean? What does it matter?

*A One Thing is a word or phrase that stands out to you personally.

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