Theology Series Chapter 7: Salvation

Chapter VII: Soteriology
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2013

Our last unit established, among other things, that man has 'fallen and he can't get up,' at least, not without God's help. This next unit deals with divine aid, what theologians call soteriology or salvation. Because this is just a survey, we will confine our study to answering two questions:

• First, why does God save us? What is His purpose, His motivation and intention in acting on our behalf?

• Second, how does God save us? What does the procedure involve, and what is our part, if any, in it?

Most of the information about this topic comes from the New Testament, an interesting distinction that we will examine later.
[The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]

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Having located the entrance to heaven, you then need to know the...

WWN: "12 Steps to Get into Heaven" (Floori 2009)

NASHVILLE, TN - You can get into Heaven no matter how many mistakes you've made in life, by following a simple 12-step plan! The plan, which was devised by a panel of [three] renowned religious thinkers, [who spent two years working through the details] actually counteracts a sinful past by encouraging godly behavior and attitudes. The experts say if you accept Jesus and adopt the salvation scheme, you can be sure your chances of going to Heaven are 100%.... Here...are their steps to a Heavenly afterlife: [Just review 1-8.]

1. Pray often.
2. Cherish all God's creatures: You might even consider becoming a vegetarian....
3. Clean up your thoughts and speech.
4. Wear religious symbols: Cover...your body in jewelry or clothing that calls attention to God's glory....
5. Free yourself from money concerns.
6. Read the Bible daily.
7. Eliminate bad habits: Have a therapist hypnotize you [to] stamp out negative behaviors.
8. Stay physically spotless: Bathe often.... Your body is God's temple....
9. Give to the church.
10. Repent your sins.
11. Settle scores: Ask for forgiveness from people you have wronged....
12. Be patient: Once you are on the right path, stay on it no matter what....

Does salvation depend on your doing these things (or on your doing anything) in addition to what Jesus did? ...Paul's repeated testimony is otherwise.

Rom 3:28 ...man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

Eph 2:8a For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith... 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

2 Tim 1:9a [God] saved us... not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

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So, why does God save us? ...Salvation is the confluence of two elements—God's character and man's condition—and it is these two elements that point us to God's motivation, on the one hand, and to His intention, on the other.

A. The purpose of salvation

1. God's motivation in saving us is to demonstrate His beneficent nature.

• Love¹

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Eph 5:2b ...Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

• Grace²

Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

Eph 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.... 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

2 Tim 1:9 [God] has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,³

Tit 3:4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

People need salvation because they are in trouble. The vast majority of references to salvation, deliverance, or rescue have literal foes in view, enemy forces that are seeking to inflict harm. The doctrine of soteriology looks at the figurative usage of these terms, at abstract but still real forces that oppose us. God's intention is to save us from these forces and from their detrimental affect on our lives.

2. God's intention in saving us is to rectify our ruinous condition.

Of the many and various forces at work against us, the first element which often comes to mind is that God delivers us from sin, and the New Testament writers speak about salvation in that way.⁴

• Sin

Matt 1:21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Query: What did the angel in Matthew's gospel mean when he said that Jesus would save people from sin? Is sin the danger we face? ...Paul hints at an answer when he ties redemption to forgiveness of sins. By forgiving sin God saves us from the punishment of sin, from suffering His wrath and the destruction that entails.

• Wrath

Rom 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

1 Thess 1:10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thess 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Destruction⁵

1 Cor 1: 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Phil 1:28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose You. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.

Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

Part of this punishment, and an element we rarely consider, includes the stigma of shame that accompanies our conviction. Several passages suggest that the trial determining people's guilt is a public one,⁶ so that they must bear not only the penalty the heavenly court imposes but also the disgrace of others' knowing what they have done and where it has brought them.⁷

• Humiliatio⁸

Dan 12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

1 Pet 2:6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." [Isa 28:16]

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." [Deut 21:23]

More than punishment, however, God delivers us from a bankrupt and immoral existence.

• Futility

1 Pet 1: 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,

• Evil

Gal 1:4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Col 1: 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Tit 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Query: How much of God's saving us do we experience now?⁹ ...If the most tangible benefits of salvation do not accrue until later, why not wait until later to accept God's offer?¹⁰

Eccl 8:8a No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death.

Luke 12:20 'But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

Rabbi Eliezer (early 2nd c.), discussing this subject with his disciples, said, "Repent one day before your death" (b Shab 153a). His disciples wondered about this and asked, "Does one know on what day he will die?" Eliezer replied, "Then all the more reason that he repent today, lest he die tomorrow."

What to remember: Because of God's love and grace, He saves us so that we can live free from the threat of eternal death. This is not something we can accomplish; it depends on divine intervention, without which we would surely perish. But God has acted on our behalf and, as a result, we can look forward to freedom and security far greater than any we may experience now.

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• Exactly where heaven is.
• How to guarantee that you will gain entry into heaven.
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This section is most helpful when you need to look for an apartment. Rents in heaven can be very expensive and the housing market is very competitive.

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It starts with a blessing ceremony, then they "take off" for heaven. Participants have to observe a strict vegetarian diet for forty days prior to the tour. The tour is only six hours in earthly time but two weeks in heavenly time. Tourists will get their own cloud on which they can relax and "reflect" during their stay. Each tourist will be taken into the "big room" to have a brief moment with the Creator. Each will also have one day (heavenly time) to visit with relatives. Some tourists are shocked to see certain relatives in heaven. "I can not believe my Uncle Banjee was in heaven. I thought he would be burning in hell," said Jyoti Aggarwali. Other tourists said that their health problems were "healed." Penilo Tours of Teaneck New Jersey is partnering with "Heaven Tour" to sell the package to American tourists.

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As we saw last time, God saves us; we do not—we cannot—save ourselves. Nevertheless, we are not passive in The Drama of Redemption. We have a role to play, an interactive participation that requires a proper response to God's initiatives. In other words, there are two sides to salvation: God's part and our part. God's part come first, and He does the "heavy lifting," the act of saving. Our part follows and is quite minimal, consisting of appropriating what He makes available, which we do through repentance and faith. After that, we must prepare to receive what more salvation entails (which we do through the process of sanctification). Some theologians attribute the entire procedure to divine activity, with man contributing nothing, but the Bible does not support such a position any more than
it supports the notion that we can do it on our own. Paul's admonition to the Philippian church shows both sides of the coin.¹¹

Phil 2:12b ...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Before we begin our discussion, you should be familiar with some of the more important...¹²

Vocabulary: Eight terms for understanding soteriology

• Foreknow = to know beforehand. God knows what will happen.

Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death....

• Predestine = to decide beforehand. God decides to make something happen.¹³

Eph 1:5 [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

• Elect = to choose. God chooses whom He will save.

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

• Justify = to demonstrate or declare (someone) to be just. God declares that a person is righteous.

Gal 3:8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through You."

• Propitiate = to appease divine wrath. God's anger against sin is satisfied.¹⁴

Rom 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

• Expiate = to make restitution for wrongdoing. God's provision in Jesus' atoning work removes the guilt sin causes.¹⁵

2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

• Regenerate = to renew. God gives new life to those He justifies.

1 Pet 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead....

• Sanctify = to set apart as holy or to make holy. God makes those He justifies holy (objective sanctification), and they, in turn, make themselves holy (subjective sanctification) by obeying Him.¹⁶

Lev 20:7 "'Consecrate yourselves and be holy [= subjective], because I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy [= objective].

I mentioned before that salvation involves some interplay between God and man. For the most part, the difference between the two parties is that God's role entails discrete actions (decrees) and man's role involves several processes that extend over time.

B. The procedure of salvation

1. The Lord initiates salvation with two actions.

• Vocation: He calls all to consider His offer.¹⁷

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

2 Pet 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

• Election: He chooses to save those who accept His offer.¹⁸

Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

1 Pet 1:1 I Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Rom 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Query: Is there really a difference between these two elements of salvation, or are vocation and election essentially the same? ...Jesus makes the distinction clear when he says that "many are called [= vocation], but few are chosen [= election]" (Matt 22:14).¹⁹

Illustration: Vocation is like my saying, "Whoever would like to study Tai Chi can do so with me." Election, then, is my choosing to teach those who sign up for the class. The difference, of course, is that God knows who will sign up; I do not.²⁰

2. The elect respond to God with a two-fold process (conversion).²¹

• Repentance: They change their mind and their behavior.²²

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

2 Cor 7:10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

• Faith: They accept God's offer.²³

Acts 16:31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." ...34 The jailer...was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Query: What is faith? ...David offers a good definition of faith in Ps 9:10.²⁴ What three parts of faith does he identify?

• Ps 9:10 Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

• Faith is knowledge about God.²⁵

Faith has content. It is not some nebulous sense of a divine force but an informed relationship with a person that includes an awareness of who that person is.

• Faith is confidence in God.

From what we know about God's character, there is a dependence on Him to act in our best interests and to bring us to a good end.

• Faith is dedication to God.

Faith is not a one-time event; our confidence in God results in a lifelong commitment to develop and strengthen this relationship.

Query: Do you remember the day you were born again? ...Most people cannot point to a specific time. ...For many people, especially those who have grown up in the church, belief is often a gradual process rather than a specific event. However we come to faith, the biblical writers speak about it as a present condition, not a past action.

• Believing in God is not like getting a ticket to a distant destination (heaven) that a person sticks in his pocket until the train leaves the station.

• Believing in God does not guarantee entrance to heaven, so that a person can then live as he pleases on earth.²⁶

Believing in God is not something you do once but continually, so that it has an ongoing, positive affect on how you live. More important than marking the day of your conversion to God is making every day thereafter count for God.

3. The Lord continues salvation with four actions.

• Justification: He gives them a clean slate.²⁷

Rom 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.... 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

Illustration: When a company declares bankruptcy or when a bank writes off a bad loan, the debtor may escape repayment, but the debt does not vanish; it merely transfers to another party. Likewise, when God declares righteous those guilty of violating the law, sinners escape the punishment they deserve, but the legal requirement for punishment remains; so it, too, transfers to another party. This transfer is the only way to satisfy the demands of justice, and it provides the legal basis for justification. In the case of our justification, the other party is Jesus.

• Regeneration: He gives them a fresh start.²⁸

John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "1 tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

1 Pet 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.... 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

• Sanctification: He gives them a holy standing.²⁹

1 Cor 1:2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified [perfect] in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

1 Cor 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, You were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Heb 10:10 And by that will, we have been made holy [perfect] through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

• Adoption: He gives them a privileged status.³⁰

Rom 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24a For in this hope we were saved.

Eph 1:5 [God] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.... 14 [The Holy Spirit] is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Gal 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

At this point, you are set for life. After God has performed these four operations—justification, regeneration, sanctification, adoption—after all that, you can then coast the rest of the way. Right? ... Why not?

4. The saved respond to God with a two-fold process (commitment).

• Sanctification: They devote themselves to Him.³¹

Matt 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves [present] from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

• Perseverance: They maintain their devotion.³²

Matt 24:13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Rom 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Jms 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Query: How is the sanctification God performs different from the sanctification man performs?

• God's sanctification is a discrete act.

• It is His declaration of a person's new position before Him.

• It is His expectation of a person's new devotion to Him.

As far as the Lord is concerned, that individual has a new purpose in life, which is to serve God's kingdom.

• Man's sanctification is a gradual process.

• It is his transformation of character that is increasingly illustrative of God.

• It is his demonstration of conduct that is increasingly obedient to God. 

As far as that individual is concerned, he no longer makes decisions based on his will alone; now those decisions must also accord with God's will.

As we noted earlier, the result of salvation, both literally and figuratively, is safety from an enemy that would harm us. The ultimate salvation God has in store for His people, however, goes beyond safety of either kind. When God completes the process and delivers us in the fullest sense of the term, He not only saves us from what is in our worst interest, He saves us for what is in our best interest.

5. The Lord completes salvation with one final action.

• Glorification: He gives them new bodies.³³

Rom 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.... 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Phil 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Col 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Query: Can a person lose his salvation?

This question is about what theologians call "eternal security." Can a believer, once he is saved, backslide to the point where he becomes unsaved? As with any such question, we must examine what scripture as a whole reveals and allow that comprehensive survey to determine the answer.

• Christians who say a person cannot lose his salvation appeal to God's sovereignty.

• God will not allow someone He has redeemed to turn away from Him.

• Whoever forsakes his commitment to God was never truly saved.

• Eternal security, according to this view, applies to the whole (all) of those God saves.

• Were someone to lose his salvation, it would indicate a deficiency in God's ability to keep that person, and we know there is no deficiency in God.

• Christians who say a person can lose his salvation appeal to man's responsibility.

• The redeemed must be diligent to maintain his relationship with God.

• Whoever forsakes his commitment to God will be lost forever.

• Eternal security, according to this view, applies to the faithful of those God saves.

• When someone loses his salvation, it indicates a deficiency in man's commitment to God, and we know there is great deficiency in man. 

Although both sides in this debate appeal to scripture for support, sometimes even citing the same texts, a careful examination of what God has revealed does favor one position over the other.

A common passage for both views is John 10:28-29, where Jesus says about the believer that...

• A person's salvation is guaranteed by the Father and the Son.³⁴

The difference in the two views of this passage is how each one understands the threat Jesus is describing.

John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

For those who assert a person cannot lose his salvation...

• They think Jesus is speaking broadly, that the believer is secure from every threat to his eternal relationship with God, even the internal threat from his own sinful nature.

• Apostasy is not possible for the redeemed, because God ensures his faithfulness, overriding his rebellious will, so nothing jeopardizes that relationship.

•  Consequently, 'once saved always saved.'³⁵

• The problem with this view is that proponents read more into Jesus' statement than is there:³⁶ This is not an all-inclusive assurance of protection.

For those who assert a person can lose his salvation...

• They think Jesus is speaking narrowly, that the believer is secure from external threats to his eternal relationship with God, not the internal threat from his sinful nature.

• Apostasy is possible for the redeemed, because God respects his decisions, even the sinful ones, so that an individual can choose to leave God's shelter, can 'jump' out of God's hand and go his own way.

• Just as God does not force a person to enter the kingdom who will not go, so God does not force a person to remain in the kingdom who will not stay.

• Jesus' assurance is limited to an external threat;³⁷ he is alluding to a third party, someone other than the believer or God (e.g., Satan): "No one [else] can snatch them."

Two other passages addressing this question are in Matthew's gospel, where Jesus warns against social pressures that may tempt the believer to turn from God.

Matt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Matt 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Here, it is not God or Jesus who keeps a person in line but the individual's own integrity, his loyalty to the divine program. According to these verses,

• A person has some responsibility to maintain his salvation.³⁸

This is especially important as the inclination of his sinful nature makes a person vulnerable³⁹ and...

• He must be vigilant against internal threats to his eternal relationship with God ("he who stands firm"), lest he be lost.

These warnings would not be necessary if the danger of apostasy were not real!⁴⁰

The most compelling passages to address this subject are where the author of Hebrews twice warns against apostasy for someone God has redeemed, ruling out the possibility of repentance for whoever chooses to go in that direction.⁴¹

Heb 6:4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Heb 10:26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

In these passages, the author describes what theologians call "unpardonable sin," how...

• A person may forsake God and place himself beyond repentance and pardon.

• Note the responsible party in this act:

• He has "shared in the Holy Spirit" (6:4).

• Jesus' blood has "sanctified him" (10:29).

• Note the resolute finality of this act:

• "It is impossible...to be brought back to repentance" (6:4, 6).

• "No sacrifice for sins is left" (10:26).

The explicit language of these texts makes clear that the author is describing regenerated believers, for whom such apostasy spells their eternal doom. This is not a sudden or accidental event, not the temporary or occasional lapse that many believers experience at some point in their walk with God. This is, rather, the insistent and persistent choosing of one's own way over God's way ("we deliberately keep on sinning" 10:26). It is the eventual culmination of a gradual hardening of the heart that renders a person unresponsive to God and, therefore, unredeemable by God. Keep in mind...

• It is unpardonable not because of a reluctance in God to forgive but because of a refusal in man to repent⁴² and there can be no forgiveness without repentance.

Can a person lose his salvation? Yes. Contrary to what some Christians claim, the New Testament makes clear that it is possible for a person to backslide and lose his salvation, for someone who was saved to renounce his redeemed standing before God and suffer eternal perdition as a result. Such a decision, though, is the result of a long process that includes conscious and continual sin. It is real but probably rare.⁴³ In any case, the best way to avoid losing one's salvation is to stay close to the author of salvation. If you do that, "no one can snatch [you] away."

What to remember: Salvation is God's doing, but its full realization requires our cooperation. (We are not passive agents.) Through a series of divine actions and human responses, God accomplishes the most radical of transformations, changing us from His enemies to His heirs.

We are in the midst of this procedure, but we look forward to its culmination, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6).

For the very extensive Endnotes, see the pdf here.

For the other chapters in "A 'Reader's Digest' Approach to Theology" see the contents here.