Salvation

Strangers And Aliens (17b): As It Was In The Days Of Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)

by on May 16, 2016 | 6 Comments

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 →

The Consensus Of The Divines, Legalism, And The Covenant Of Works

by on March 13, 2016 | 8 Comments

The charge of legalism against the covenant of works is one of those allegations that seems persuasive at first because we all know that legalism is bad and that grace is good. It is almost instinctive to react to the charge by asserting the graciousness of the covenant of works. That is a trap, however, into which we ought not step. Continue reading →

There Is Only One Stage Of Justification

by on March 2, 2016 | 13 Comments

In recent years, however, within ostensibly confessional Protestant circles, some have been advocating versions of a two-stage doctrine of justification. One version of this proposal is that we may be said to be justified initially by grace alone, through faith alone but only finally justified on the basis of our sanctification. Some give the whole basis of our final justification to our inherent sanctification and righteousness and others only part of the basis. Continue reading →

The Synod Of Dort On Election, Conditions Of Salvation, And Fruit (2)

Does The Doctrine Of Perseverance Turn The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant of Works?

by on November 7, 2015 | 2 Comments

Here the true nature of the Remonstrant doctrine of perseverance emerges: God helps those who help themselves by cooperating with his “assisting grace.” This is quite another picture of salvation. Here God has not parted the Red Sea and led us through, by the hand, as it were (Jer 31:32; Ex 14:16). Rather, according to the Remonstrants, God has covenanted to co-act with those who do what lies within them (facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam). Continue reading →

An Important Distinction Between Kinds And Functions Of Conditions

by on November 5, 2015 | 2 Comments

When we use the word “condition,” the first sense that probably comes to mind, in English usage, is the first definition offered by the Oxford English Dictionary: “convention, stipulation, proviso.” There is another sense to the word, however, as it was used . . . Continue reading →

The Synod Of Dort On Election, Conditions Of Salvation, And Fruit (1)

by on November 3, 2015 | 8 Comments

The Reformed churches have endured discussions and disagreements about salvation (justification, sanctification, and deliverance from the wrath to come) before. Beginning in the late 16th century a Reformed minister in Amsterdam began offering significant revisions of the Reformed understanding of Scripture. Early . . . Continue reading →

Strangers And Aliens (6): Like Newborn Infants (1 Peter 2:1–3)

by on October 22, 2015

The word “therefore” is more important in Scripture than we probably realize. It signals a relationship between what is being said now to what was just said. Remember, the chapter divisions we have in Scripture are not original. They were introduced into . . . Continue reading →

Through Good Works? (2)

by on October 20, 2015 | 7 Comments

In order to understand properly what Calvin wrote we need to put these passages in context. Chapter 21 is about the relations between justification and sanctification, which he called the “progress” of justification. In other words, for Calvin, the definitive act of God in declaring sinners righteous, on the basis of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, which is received through faith alone, results in the gradual sanctification of the Christian. Continue reading →

Through Good Works? (1)

by on October 17, 2015 | 4 Comments

Introduction In Reformed theology the noun salvation is typically used in two ways. Sometimes it is used as a synonym for justification. When used this way it does not include sanctification since, according to the Reformed confession, justification is a declarative act . . . Continue reading →