SOTERIOLOGY

1A. INTRODUCTION

"Soteriology" is derived from the Greek words soteria ("salvation) plus logos ("study of"). "The study of salvation" is, of course, one of the most important of theological studies. Dependent upon the results of such a study are the answers to such significant questions as:

"What must I do to be saved?"

"Why isn't everyone saved?"

"How does a 2,000 year old event affect me in these modern times?"

"How can we understand the rather distasteful truth that God will punish eternally most of His human creatures?"

It is probably true that a great many believers, who themselves have experienced salvation, do not really understand salvation. Because of this lack of understanding, many are reluctant to proclaim the gospel they do not comprehend. After all, how can I tell others about that which is shrouded in mystery to me? It is hoped that this study will help cure this ill. A confidence in understanding salvation should help build confidence in proclaiming this salvation.

1B. The DEFINITION of Salvation

1C. Both the Hebrew and Greek words for "salvation" mean "a rescue from a danger."

1D. Matthew 8:25 speaks of a rescue from the sea.

2D. Matthew 9:22 declares a deliverance from sickness.

3D. Matthew 1:21 tells of a salvation from sins.

4D. Thus, salvation rescues can involve most any kind of danger. This section will primarily focus upon salvation from one's sins.

2C. Definition:

Salvation is the divine rescue of mankind from sin and the destructive results of sin in the present and the future.

3C. Join the four divisions with their appropriate descriptions:

1D. Anthropology B (man) A. God's perfect man and agent of salvation.

2D. Hamartiology D (sin) B. Creative perfections of man.

3D. Soteriology C (salvation) C. God's solution to the distortions of man.

4D. Christology A (Christ) D. Distortions of the perfections.

2B. The SUBJECT of Salvation

1C. Who is the Savior?

1D. According to 1 Corinthians 1:21 GOD

2D. According to 1 Timothy 1:15 JESUS

3D. According to John 3:5-7 THE SPIRIT

4D. According to Titus 3:4-6:

1E. Salvation ORIGINATES from God (the Father)

2E. Salvation is MEDIATED "through" Jesus Christ

3E. Salvation is APPLIED "by" the Holy Spirit

2C. Salvation is effected by God in all His persons in their unique functions.

3B. The OBJECT of Salvation.

1C. Join each passage with the object of salvation it mentions.

1D. Romans 8:10 B A. Human body.

2D. Romans 8:11, 23 A B. Human spirit.

3D. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 C C. Whole man.

2C. Man is to be saved in all his facets.

4B. The TIME of Salvation.

1C. The future goal (resurrection) C

2C. The present process (sanctification) B

3C. The past decision (justification) A

JOIN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING VERSES WITH THE ABOVE:

A. "Who has saved us . . ." (2 Timothy 1:9).

B. "To us who are being saved . . ." (1 Corinthians 1:18)—Present.

C. "We shall be saved . . ." (Romans 5:9-10)—Future.

5B. The Universal Program.

1C. Romans 8:28-30.

2C. Ephesians 5:25-27.

6B. Conclusion: SALVATION IS A WIDE CONCEPT EFFECTED BY THE ENTIRE GODHEAD UPON THE ENTIRE PERSON AND INVOLVING ALL TIME —PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

2A. THE TERMS REGARDING SALVATION

1B. GRACE

The idea of grace is found in nearly every New Testament passage dealing with salvation -- either by the use of the term itself (Eph. 2:8-10) or by implication (1 Cor. 1:18). This single word, like no other, sums up the salvation experience for man. It is used in manifold sermons and is employed in most of our attempts to share the gospel. Yet originally, "grace" (or cairein) was the ordinary Greek greeting "Hello" or "Hi".

What happened to this word in the New Testament? What does grace mean to the believer in Christ? Are there different kinds of grace? If so, in what ways does the Christian and non-Christian experience grace? There are just some of the issues involved in this remarkable efficacious quality called "grace".

1C. Terms.

1D. Old Testament (chesed).

1E. Which word do you think is chesed in these verses.

1F. In Ex. 33:13 favor

2F. In Ex. 15:13 Lovingkindness

2E. Grace in the Old Testament is the idea of "mercy" and "lovingkindness" -- a "favor" bestowed by Jehovah on His people.

2D. New Testament (cariv from the root "joy", cf. charismatic).

1E. Secular usage—the graces or favors of the Greeks were divine gifts of qualities of life thought to enrich one's existence, e.g.:

1F. Joy, beauty, wisdom, etc.

2F. When "grace" or cairein became the Hellenistic greeting, the idea was "favor upon you" or "the favor of the gods upon you", i.e., "hello".

2E. Christian usage—the favors (especially of salvation) that God freely gives.

1F. Christian emphases: grace can be either a subjective attitude—in the feeling or thinking inside me, an attitude—or an objective reality—the state of being outside me. Which are the following—subjective or objective?

1G. Rom 5:2 Objective Reality

2G. 1 Tim. 1:2 Subjective attitude. Flows from Him subjective in God, mercy

and peace are subjective.

3G. Luke 2:52 Subjective attitude

4G. 2 Cor. 6:1 Objective Reality or Objective State

2F. Salvation begins with grace as an attitude and ends with grace as a reality

3F. Is grace an attribute of God? (To be discussed in class).

We don't study grace as an attribute of God in "God, Christ, Holy Spirit." so why not?

Love can exist in the trinity. Grace (undeserved favor) could not exist since the trinity does not show grace to each other.

-->An attribute declared God's character, His person, He's omnipotent, omniscience, etc. When God is described as grace, that is more His attitude, not his being or essence. It's more an expression of His love than Him.

2C. Classifications (kinds of grace).

1D. When Scripture is examined, it can be seen that God's grace has various facets to it. For instance, God's grace can be seen in 1) the salvation He gives, 2) the delay in final judgment God endures, 3) the spiritual gifts He bestows, 4) the blessings of nature He provides. Therefore, it has been found convenient to categorize the manifestations of God's grace into two general classifications.

1E. With regard to the above four examples of God's grace, which numbers (1, 2, 3, or 4?) are:

1F. Limited to the elect 1, 3

2F. Unlimited in application 2, 4

3F. Available to believers alone 1, 3

4F. Available to everyone 2, 4

2E. "Common Grace" includes items "2)" and "4)" and so is unlimited in application and available to everyone.

3E. "Special grace" includes items "1)" and "3)" and so is limited to the elect and available to believers.

2D. Common Grace.

1E. Definition—God's undeserved favor upon people generally throughout all history.

2E. Aspects

1F. Delay in judgment (Rom. 2:4; 9:22)

2F. Restraint of sin (Gen. 6:3; 2 Thess. 2:6-7)

3F. Civil stability, justice protection (Rom. 13:1-7; Gen. 9)

4F. Blessings of nature (Mt. 5:44-45)

5F. General revelation (Ps. 19:1) (e.g., creation, conscience) Using the above definition of "Common Grace" as a key, "general revelation" can be defined as God's unveiling of himself to people generally throughout all history.

3E. Purpose—to point people to their Creator.

4E. Is common grace enough to bring one to God? (To be discussed in class).

Rom 3:11 - Were it not for God's activity among man, no one would seek after God.

1. Rom. 1:21 - Does not mean they are saved even though they "know God". They reflect His knowledge, it's an awareness of God, not a relationship with Him.

2. If a man will draw near God will give him more light. And the negative is true.

3. John 7:17 if any man is willing to do God's will, the passage suggests that it will lead to further insight.

4. Acts 17:27 - Suggests a seeking after God will bring more light.

Conclusion: Common grace cannot save, it can only condemn or bring more truth.

3D. Special Grace.

1E. Definition: God's undeserved favor which leads to, initiates, and carries the believer through the entire salvation process.

2E. Aspects.

1F.Special revelation, i.e. "the gospel of grace" (Act 20:24)

2F. The convicting (Jn. 16:7-11) and drawing (Jn. 6:44) work of "the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29)

3F. The transformation process, whereby believers are conformed into Christ's image (2 Cor. 12:9)

4F. The final transformation by resurrection (Rom. 6:5, 8-9)

3E. Purpose: to establish a people for God eternally.

3C. Source.

1D. According to the passages below, who in the Godhead is responsible for grace?

1E. Heb. 10:29 C. Spirit A. Father

2E. 2 Cor. 8:9 B. Son B. Son

3E. 1 Pet. 5:10 A. God C. Spirit

2D. Illustrate the pattern of divine activity in Eph.2:18. (To be discussed in class).

The Father is both the source (from the Father) and the goal ("to the Father").

Father

Christ (the one through whom the grace flows)

Spirit (the one who applies it.)

4C. The Old Testament and Grace.

How were men and women saved before the death of Christ? Did they believe in Jesus Christ as Savior? Did they work and keep the Law for their salvation?

If people in the Old Testament were saved by faith, what or whom did they have faith in? How much does one have to know about the gospel to be saved? How much did you know about the gospel when you were born again? Salvation and grace in the Old Testament brings to mind a host of difficult questions.

1D. The Savior in the Old Testament

1E. Look up the three passages below and answer the three questions, joining to your answer the scripture that answered the question.

1F. With whom is salvation? Psalm 3:8. The Lord

2F. Who is the Savior and Redeemer? The Lord. The mighty one of Jacob. Is. 60:16?

3F. What is needed for righteousness Believing in the Lord. Gen. 15:6 ?

1G. Gen. 15:6

2G. Psalm 3:8

3G. Isa. 60:16

2E. Who is the revealed Savior in Matt. 1:21 Jesus?

1F. The Old and New Testaments must have the same Savior

2F. Hosea 13:4—"There is no savior besides Me ['Jehovah your God']"

3F. Conclusion—Jesus Christ is always God's savior.

2D. Grace in the Old Testament.

How were people saved in the Old Testament ? (To be discussed in class).

There are two extremes:

a. They worked for their salvation as they knew nothing.

b. They knew everything.

They trusted in the redemption of God that as what they believed and it was accounted to them for righteousness. They trusted in Jehovah's provision, which is what we trust in, Christ, God's provision. 1 Pet. 1:10-11 the prophets didn't even understand. That's all we trust in when we were saved. We trusted in God's provision for our need of salvation. Cultist's believe in Jehovah's provision, but reject Christ. Are they saved? The distinction, the cultist's are not hungry for more. They are rejecting certain segments of truth and holding on to other than truth which suits them, but a Christian says, I don't know it all but if you show me more I'll accept it. The cultist would reject parts of it. That's the difference.

3D. The Savior and Suffering.

1E. The gospel message of the Old Testament was one of Messianic suffering and therefore of grace (Ps. 22; Isa. 52-53; Dan 9:24-26; Zech. 12:10).

2E. The New Testament Gospels also put their emphasis on Christ's sufferings (note the attention paid to the eve and day of the crucifixion).

3E. Join the scripture to that which proclaimed Christ's suffering.

1F. John 1:29 D A. Peter

2F. Matt. 16:21 C B. Baptism

3F. Acts 2:23-24 A C. Jesus Himself

4F. 1 Cor. 11:26 E D. John the Baptizer

5F. Rom. 6:3 B E. Lord's Supper

4E. The ultimate outcome of Christ's sufferings was, of course, His death—the price of redemption.

4D. Grace in the Law.

1E. Concerning the history of God's grace, some have suggested that the Old Testament is a book of law and the New Testament a book of grace. But Scripture argues against this dichotomy.

2E. The following scriptures make God's grace a reality when?

1F. Gen. 3:15 C A. With Abraham

2F. Gen 6:8 D B. With Lot

3F. Gen. 12:1-3 A C. In the garden

4F. Gen. 19:19 B D. With Noah

3E. Was there grace in the Law? (To be discussed in class).

Can you have law and grace at the same time ? Rom 11:6 Grace & works are mutually exclusive. Rom. 3:31 The law is established by faith, which is grace. Rom. 5:20 The law comes in to make grace abound. *Distinguish legalism from the law. Both law and grace make demands. Is grace in the law? We know that law is not in grace, but how about the reverse? Psalm 32:10 Grace is in the Law? Lovingkindness = Grace + truth were in the law.

Psalm 25:10, 147:11; Rom 4:1-8—vs. 4-5 Grace & works opposed. Vs. 1-3 Abraham saved by grace, not works. Vs. 6-8 David under law, but he was saved by grace too, not works.

5C. Attitudes Toward Grace.

1D. Destructive. (Join the attitude with the proper Scripture).

1E. Compromise B A. Jude 4

2E. Presumption A B. Gal 2:21

3E. Rejection C C. Heb. 10:29

2D. Positive. (Join to make sense).

1E. Accept D A. for God's grace

2E. Be grateful A B. in God's grace

3E. Walk B C. to God

4E. Give glory C D. as a gift

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