8. For by grace are ye saved. This is an inference from the former statements. Having treated of election and of effectual calling, he arrives at this general conclusion, that they had obtained salvation by faith alone. First, he asserts, that the . . . Continue reading →
Salvation
Ephesians 2:9: Good Works Are From Salvation Not Unto Salvation
2:9 οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων (ouk ex ergōn), “not from works.” There are two important elements to v. 9. The first is the another abrupt statement: “not from works” (also Rom 9:12 and Titus 3:5; cf. Rom 11:6). This shows the fundamental Pauline . . . Continue reading →
Why We Remember The Reformation
Ephesians 2:8 Presents Salvation As Completed Not Initiated
2:8 Τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι διὰ πίστεως (Tē gar chariti este sesōsmenoi dia pisteōs), “for by grace you are saved through faith.” Paul resumes the line previewed in v. 5 with the addition of explanatory γάρ (gar), “[F]or by grace you . . . Continue reading →
Believers Are Saved And Sealed
In the early days of the Federal Vision one of the errors the confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (hereafter P&R) churches were facing was the claim that, at the judgment believers will stand before God partly on the basis of Christ’s righteousness imputed . . . Continue reading →
J. G. Vos On Good Works And Salvation In Westminster Larger Catechism 32
6. What condition is attached to the covenant of grace? The condition attached to the covenant of grace is faith in Jesus Christ. 13. Why Should a Christian want to obey the law of God as an evidence of the truth of . . . Continue reading →
Berkhof On Salvation And Good Works
3. THE NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS. There can be no doubt about the necessity of good works properly understood. They cannot be regarded as necessary to merit salvation, nor as a means to retain a hold on salvation, nor even as the . . . Continue reading →
Things The Reformed May Not Say About Salvation
We reject the error of those who teach: That there are various kinds of election of God unto eternal life: the one general and indefinite, the other particular and definite; and that the latter in turn is either incomplete, revocable, non-decisive, and . . . Continue reading →
Jesus Has Won
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses . . . Continue reading →
Believer, You Are Being Graciously Sanctified
An HB reader writes to ask “in what senses are we under the covenant of works?” I reply Christians are in no sense under the covenant of works for our standing with God or for our salvation. Our justification and our sanctification . . . Continue reading →
Caspar Olevianus Defines The Gospel
9 Q. Could you give a more definitive explanation of what the gospel is? A. The gospel, or the good news that delights the heart of the poor condemned sinner, is a revelation of the fatherly and immutable will of God, in . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus: Salvation Is By Grace Alone Or Jesus Is But Half A Savior
7. Q. If for the reasons given, then, the only way to eternal life is the crucified Jesus, truly God and truly human, does it not necessarily follow that all other religions or faiths, which present other ways and means to eternal . . . Continue reading →
Vos On The Role Of Works In Salvation
Works will come into consideration as a manifestation of genuine saving faith. Work in the scriptural sense also means not just an external display but the expression of one’s life that flows out of the depth of the heart…. Scripture also speaks . . . Continue reading →
Christ Is Our Red Sea
This does not happen by the physical water but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son of God, who is our Red Sea, through which we must pass to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, who is the devil, and . . . Continue reading →
A New Definition Of Righteousness
Take note, therefore, of a new righteousness and a new definition of righteousness. For one usually says: “Righteousness is the virtue that renders to everyone his due.” Here it is stated that righteousness is faith in Jesus Christ or the virtue by . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours With Steve Baugh: Hebrews 12:14 Might Not Mean What You Think It Does
Academic life at Westminster Seminary California does not happen only in the classroom. It happens in prayer, it happens in the chapel, it happens in casual hallway discussions, and when one faculty member walks out of his office and into a colleague’s . . . Continue reading →
Audio: Luther On The Theologian Of The Cross
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of speaking to the adult class at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, CA. I was filling in for my friend and colleague, Dr Ryan Glomsrud, a ruling elder at CURC. He has been teaching a . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (17b): As It Was In The Days Of Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)
They were saved (διεσώθησαν) “through the waters” (δι᾿ ὕδατος). What Peter says is that it was in the midst of the circumstance of the flood or from the flood that Noah and his congregation were saved. Peter is not saying that the water was an instrument of their salvation. He has already said that the ark was the instrument or means of their salvation. If you have ever been whitewater rafting or found yourself in rough waters in a canoe, you understand. The rapid waters do not save anyone. No one was saved by the rising flood waters in Hurricane Katrina. They were saved in the midst of them by clinging to a rooftop or by a brave member of the Coast Guard (known affectionately as “Coasties”) dangling from a helicopter. Continue reading →
Calvin: Jesus Preached The Law To Teach Us Our Need For A Savior
Now it is certain that in the Law there is prescribed to men a rule by which they ought to regulate their life, so as to obtain salvation in the sight of God. That the Law can do nothing else than condemn, . . . Continue reading →
Stabat Populus
And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One (Luke 23:35; NASB) On Good Friday when we see . . . Continue reading →