Understanding Salvation: Repentance, Faith, and Transformation
Repentance and Faith: Cornerstones of Salvation
Repentance is necessary because all are guilty of sinning. Repentance is produced by the ministry of the Word and by a fresh vision of God. It’s not *mainly* an intellectual activity, but the intellect *is* involved. Faith is vitally important to us, for it affects every aspect of our lives. Faith is composed of more than one element; it’s not *just* assent or emotions. Repentance and faith together equal conversion. The only measure for true conversion is the Word of God.
The Results of Repentance
The results of repentance include:
- Heaven rejoices with the sinner who turns to God (c).
- It affects people’s emotions (b).
- It involves an act of the will in decision-making (d).
- The intellect is involved, as the sinner recognizes he or she has offended God (a).
Understanding Faith
Simply stated, faith is the act by which we place our confidence in God, allowing Him to direct our actions (c). Living faith, which pleases God, is shown by the complete commitment of our lives to Christ (a). One of the qualities of living faith is good actions, which give evidence of the health and vitality of one’s faith (b). By degrees of faith, we understand that faith is living and growing, and can mature in everyone (d).
Conversion: The Result of Repentance and Faith
Repentance and faith are directly related to conversion, for they prepare the sinner for conversion (d). Conversion is brought about as a result of human response to the ministry of the Word and the activity of the Spirit (c). It is important to note that conversion does *not* result in instant perfection or full spiritual knowledge (c). Repentance, faith, and conversion affect our total being: emotions, intellect, and will (a).
Regeneration, Justification, and Adoption
The need for regeneration is universal, for all have sinned. In regeneration, God gives spiritual life to the repentant one, and he or she is born again. Justification is *not* faith plus the observance of the Law. As guilty sinners stand condemned before a holy God, they need *justification*. Justification is an objective work that takes place before the throne of God. In adoption, a person receives a new position. One of the great benefits of adoption is the witness of the Spirit, who verifies our relationship as children of God.
Understanding Regeneration
In the Bible, regeneration is presented as birth from above or by the Spirit (d). Regeneration is necessary because of the nature of people and the nature of God (c). One commonly wrong idea about regeneration is that a person is regenerated by baptism (b). The experience of regeneration is one in which sinners, lost in the desert of sin, come to Christ, the oasis, as the only solution for their problems (a).
Justification: Declared “Not Guilty”
The righteousness of God is upheld even as sinners are declared “not guilty,” because in justification, our sins are transferred to Christ and His righteousness is transferred to us (c). Scripture teaches that a person is justified by faith alone, not by works, penances, or personal merit (a). Romans 4:5 is a key Scripture supporting that people are justified by faith alone (d). Justification rests upon the grace of God and the cross of Christ (b).
Adoption: Becoming Children of God
Adoption is an act of God’s grace by which we are placed as children in God’s family, with a natural child’s rights (b). Adoption, which is closely related to justification and regeneration, is the change of a person’s rank and position, giving that person privileges as a son or daughter of God (a). The means of adoption as set forth in the New Testament is God’s grace receiving us when we receive Christ (c). It’s important to note that adoption does *not* guarantee an inheritance never to be lost, however we may live (d).
Sanctification and Glorification: The Continuing Work of Salvation
Sanctification is being separated from sin unto God. Relative perfection means that we simply fulfill the purpose for which we were made. Sanctification is to put off the old self and put on the new. One who believes that a person can live perfectly has a limited concept of God’s holiness and an individual’s sin. Glorification, our future state, is *related* to the other doctrines of salvation.
The Purpose of Sanctification
The purpose of sanctification in the believer’s life is to make him or her progressively more Christlike (c). The experience of sanctification brings about a change in us, conforming us to the image of Christ (b). The kind of sanctification one receives when born again is positional (a). Those who believe that Christians can become sinlessly perfect view sanctification as the complete destruction of the carnal nature (a). Pentecostals believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an experience that gives the believer power for service (d). Sanctification gives believers the desire to seek holiness and to dedicate themselves increasingly to God (c).
Glorification: The Completion of Salvation
Glorification is related to the other doctrines of salvation as the final link in the chain; it represents the completion of salvation (b). God has placed glorification before us, and this promise is specifically guaranteed to us by *the death, resurrection and intercession of Christ* (not ordinances) (c). By nature, glorification primarily concerns moral perfection (a). The work of glorification rests primarily on the death, resurrection, and intercession of Christ (c). At our glorification, that which will be affected is our entire being (d). We may define glorification as the act by which God completes His redemptive work in people, making them ready for eternity (b).