mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom hepoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
The Order of Salvation (“ordo salutis”)
Romans 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he alsopredestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
The “ordo salutis” is a very important concept because the doctrine of salvation is so rich and nuanced, and involves so many different realities, that we will not understand it the way that we should if we do not define all of its elements very carefully. We grow in sanctification and holiness as we grow in our understanding of the gospel, and realize all the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ; and so, if we are unclear on the many precious things that God's Word has to say about the order of events which his salvation brings about in our lives, we will remain immature in our faith and conduct.7
1. Election (God’s choice of people to be saved) 2. The gospel call (proclamation of the gospel) 3. Regeneration (being born again)
4. Conversion (faith and repentance) 5. Justification (right legal standing) 6. Adoption (membership in God’s family) 7. Sanctification (right conduct of life) 8. Perseverance (remaining a Christian) 9. Death (going to be with the Lord)
10. Glorification (receiving a resurrection body)8 COMMON GRACE
Common grace is the grace of God by which he gives people immeasurable blessings that are not part of salvation.9 (Wayne Grudem)
7www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/qna/ordosalutis.html
8Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids:
Common grace is different from saving grace in its results (it does not bring about salvation), in its recipients (it is given to believers and unbelievers alike), and its source (it does not directly flow from Christ’s atoning work).10 (Wayne Grudem)
Examples of Common Grace11 -‐ The physical realm -‐ The intellectual realm -‐ The moral realm -‐ The creative realm -‐ The societal realm -‐ The religious realm
You are not a believer in Christ and yet you are still out of hell. That is the grace of God.
You are not in hell, but you are on earth in good health and prosperity. That is the common grace of God. The vast majority of those who read these words are living in comfortable homes or apartments. That is common grace. You are not fleeing as refugees along the highways of a country desolated by war. That is common grace. You come home from your job and your child runs to meet you in good health and spirits. That is common grace. You are able to put your hand in your pocket and give the child a quarter or a half dollar for an allowance. It is common grace that you have such abundance. You go into your house and sit down to a good meal. That is common grace. On the day that you read these words there are more than a billion and a half members of the human race who will go to sleep without enough to satisfy their hunger, the fact that you have enough is common grace. You do not deserve it. And if you think that you do deserve anything at all from God beyond the wrath which you have so richly earned, you merely show your ignorance of spiritual principles.12 (Donald Gray Barnhouse)
Reasons for Common Grace13
-‐ To redeem those who will be saved
o 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, butis patient toward you,not wishing that any should perish, butthat all should reach repentance.
-‐ To demonstrate God’s goodness and mercy
o Psalm 145:9 The LORD isgood to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
-‐ To demonstrate God’s justice
9Grudem, Systematic Theology, 657.
10Ibid., 658.
11Ibid., 658-62.
12Donald Grey Barnhouse: God’s Wrath: The Book of Romans, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1953), 25.
13Grudem, Systematic Theology, 664-65.
o Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you arestoring up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
-‐ To demonstrate God’s glory Reflections on Common Grace14
-‐ Common grace does not mean that those who receive it will be saved -‐ We must be careful not to reject the good things that unbelievers do as
totally evil
-‐ The doctrine of common grace should stir our hearts to much greater thankfulness to God
How can a right understanding of the doctrine of common grace strengthen our intimacy with God?
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How can a right understanding of the doctrine of common grace strengthen our missional activity?
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ELECTION AND REPROBATION (PREDESTINATION)
The biblical doctrine of election is that before Creation God selected out of the human race, foreseen as fallen, those whom he would redeem, bring to faith, justify, and glorify in and through Jesus Christ. This divine choice is an expression of free and sovereign grace, for it is unconstrained and unconditional, not merited by anything in those who are its subjects. God owes sinners no mercy of any kind, only condemnation; so it is a wonder, and matter for endless praise, that he should choose to save any of us; and doubly so when his choice involved the giving of his own Son to suffer as sin-bearer for the elect.15 (J. I. Packer)
[Election] signifies to single out, to select, to choose, to take one and leave
another. Election means that God has singled out certain ones to be the objects of His saving grace, while others are left to suffer the just punishment of their sins. It means that before the foundation of the world, God chose out of the mass of our fallen humanity a certain number and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son.16 (A.
W. Pink)
14Grudem, Systematic Theology, 665.
15J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1995), 149.
We shall never be clearly persuaded, as we ought to be, that our salvation flows from the wellspring of God’s free mercy until we come to know his eternal election, which
illumines God’s grace by this contrast: that he does not indiscriminately adopt all into the hope of salvation but gives to some what he denies to others.17 (John Calvin) Election is an act of God before creation in which he chooses some people to be saved, not on account of any foreseen merit in them, but only because of his sovereign good pleasure.18 (Wayne Grudem)
What does the Bible teach about election/predestination?
Acts 15:14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a