Salvation

            Salvation is by God’s grace through the merit of Christ’s shed blood and not on the basis of human effort or works (John 1:12; Eph. 1:4-7; 2:8-10; 1Pet 1:1,2).

            Salvation is an act of God whereby before the foundation of the world He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies (Rom 8:28, Eph 1:4-11; 2Thes 2:13; 2Tim 2:10; 1Pet 1:1,2).  This sovereign election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Savior and Lord (Eze 18:23, 32; 33:11; Jn 3:18, 19, 36, 5:40; 2Thes 2:10-12; Rev 22:17).  All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith and all who come in faith the Lord will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; Jas 4:8).  While God is sovereign, He exercises this sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, wisdom, grace, and love (Rom 9:11-16).  This sovereignty will always exalt the holy will of God in a manner totally consistent with His character as revealed in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Mt 11:25-28; 2Tim 1:9).

Regeneration

            Regeneration is a supernatural work by which divine nature and divine life are given (Jn 3:3-8; Titus 3:5) to repentant sinners by the power of the Holy Spirit through the use of God’s word (John 5:24), which enables them to respond in faith to the salvation Christ secured for them at the cross. This regeneration is made evident by fruits demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct (1Cor 6:19, 20; Eph 5:17-21; Phil 2:12b; Col 3:12-17; 2Pet 1:4-11). This obedience causes the believer to be increasingly conformed to the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18) which is climaxed in their glorification at Christ’s return (Rom 8:16, 17; 2Pet 1:4; 1John 3:2, 3). 

Justification

            Justification is an act of God (Rom 8:30, 33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Lk 13:3; Ac 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; Rom 2:4; 2Cor 7:10; Is 55:6,7) and confess Him as sovereign Lord (Rom 10:9,10; 1Cor 12:3; 2Cor 4:5; Phil 2:11).  This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man (Rom 3:20; 4:6) and is the result of Christ’s atoning death at the cross (Col 2:14; 1Pet 2:24) and the imputation of His righteousness to those He has redeemed and reconciled (1Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2Cor 5:21).  By this God is the “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26).

Sanctification

            Every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy. This sanctification is positional and instantaneous and should not be confused with progressive sanctification which is the maturing of the believer as he brought into the likeness of Christ through obedience to the Word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 20:32; 1Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2Thess 2:13; Heb 2:11; 3:1; 10:10,14; 13:12; 1Pet 1:2; John 17:17; Rom 6:1-22; 2Cor 3:18; 1Thess 4:3,4; 5:23).

            Every person redeemed by Christ is involved daily in the conflict between their new nature in Christ and the old flesh in which they remain incarcerated.  This struggle never completely ends.  All claims to the total eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural (Gal 5:16 – 25; Phil 3:12; Col 3:9, 10; 1Pet 1:14-16; 1John 3:5-9). 

Security

            All those Christ redeems are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 5:9,10; 8:1,31-39; 1Cor 1:4-9; Eph 4:30; Heb 7:25; 13:5; 1Pet 1:4,5; Jude 24); therefore, we rejoice in the assurance of our salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an excuse for sinful living and carnality (Rom 6:15-22; 13:13,14; Gal 5:13,16,17, 25, 26; Tit 2:11-14).