Author: Richard

The order of salvation (ordo salutis in Latin) refers to the stages and events that occur in the soteriological process. Scripture does not directly address this issue. Perhaps the closest it comes to presenting an order of salvation is when Paul writes, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of… Read more

It is common to understand the Protestant view of salvation as being based on faith alone (sola fide in Latin), as this is the view of which Martin Luther is most closely associated. It is also common to understand Roman Catholicism as salvation by faith plus works, although this is an oversimplification. These two views primarily stem from the… Read more

The previous section on the order of salvation addressed different views as to who is saved and the specific steps of being saved. This section discussed the effects associated with justification, which is much less controversial. But first, it is worthwhile to discuss the NT language that is involved. The word justification in the NT is translated… Read more

Justification results in the forgiveness of sins. This obviously applies to past sins. But what about future sins? Christians retain their sinful nature and will always fall short of sinless perfection. John writes, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our… Read more

The doctrine of infant salvation may not be of practical significance to many Christians, but it very is worthwhile to consider with regards to theological systems. An examination of infant salvation forces one to examine difficult questions that may expose theological gaps and inconsistencies. Alan Hamilton writes, “The utter inability of an infant to do anything for himself… Read more

As discussed previously, sanctification is essentially the lifelong process of a Christian becoming more Christlike. This is true in both a negative sense and in a positive sense. In a negative sense, sanctification weakens the power of sin and selfishness, referred to as mortification of the old person. In a positive sense, sanctification strengthens the role of the… Read more

Perfectionism is the doctrine that a Christian can achieve a sin-free state in this lifetime. The sinful nature remains, but it is possible to resist all sinful temptations. In the Pelagian form, perfectionism is possible because the fall did not corrupt the nature of man. Since God commands us not to sin, and God would not command… Read more

In the context of Christianity, good works are things that are done out of obedience to God, love for God, and for God’s glory. Many things that people do are good in a benevolent sense but may not be good works in this Christian sense. If they have no spiritual motivation they have no spiritual… Read more