{"id":19092,"date":"2016-01-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-001\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:18:20","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:18:20","slug":"soteriology-001","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-001\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 001"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[93],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19092","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-galatians","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 001","sermon_date":"20160106","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":20097,"sermon_slides":20098,"sermon_mp3":20099,"sermon_id":"17161636311","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":93,"chapter_and_verse":"1:6-9","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\nSoteriology 001, Galatians 1:6-9\nJanuary 6, 2016\n\nGood evening everybody. We\u2019re going to start a class; I think this will probably run about 12 weeks, something like that, on the doctrine of salvation. And one of the reasons we decided to do this and have it in the sanctuary is a lot of times some of our missionaries have questions about the church\u2019s stand on a particular point and we really had no specific teaching to send them to other than the scattered sermons. So we might have dealt with that in this sermon over here somewhere. So what we wanted to do actually is put the main teachings\u2026 so if they had a question on salvation rather than sending them to a scattered sermon we could send them to an actual course that we taught. So that\u2019s why we\u2019re filming this.\n\nSort of the vision is I\u2019m basically going to lecture, if you will, for about an hour, a lot of times I won\u2019t go the full hour. I\u2019m going to try to get us out of here right at 8:00 o\u2019clock, we\u2019re going to start right at 7:00, we\u2019re going to get out of here right at 8:00 o\u2019clock because I know a lot of you have to pick up your kids and all that kind of stuff. And then if you have a question, please write it down and we\u2019re going to open it up for Q & A about 8:00 o\u2019clock, and we\u2019ll probably run Q & A for about 15 minutes. And the reason we\u2019re following that format is just because we\u2019re trying to film these for the benefit of others. So that\u2019s sort of what is going on.\n\nYou should have a packet of material; now that packet of material, all that is is the slides I\u2019m going to use and there\u2019s some little lines to the side where you can take notes if you wanted to do that. Now sometimes my slides will change a little bit because I tweak them at the last minute so if you say wait a minute, you\u2019re showing something that is not showing up on my packet, don\u2019t panic, all of the tweaked slides are on our sermon archives, so every teaching we do Wednesday night is on the sermon archives and all the slides that I use are there. That packet will give you the basic slides I\u2019m going to use, the general slides.\n\nSo anyway, welcome to soteriology. When I use the word \u201csoteriology\u201d some of you probably think I\u2019m speaking in tongues\u2014what does that mean? Soteriology? Those names come from Greek words and these are the ten or eleven major areas of systematic theology. So systematic theology is thinking a little bit differently than what you\u2019re used to. When we teach Sunday mornings we go verse by verse through books, so you might be used to learning biblically line by line, precept upon precept. Theology is different because there is no one book of the Bible that discloses everything about salvation, or angels, or Christ.\n\nSo to develop God\u2019s viewpoint on, let\u2019s say angels, you have to, in essence, go through all the sixty-six books and kind of put them together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle because there\u2019s no single angel book. Right! The doctrine of angels is all over the Bible, so you go through the whole Bible, you kind of assemble the pieces like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, you put the pieces together and you can look back and you can see a beautiful mosaic of what the Bible teaches on angels.\n\nAnd that, what I just described, is what systematic theologians do; they don\u2019t confine themselves to one book of the Bible. They are trying to discover the mind of God as He has revealed Himself in all sixty-six books of the Bible. And systematic theologians do this in about ten or eleven areas. So let me kind of go through those, just so you have a handle on those. The first area we study in systematic theology is Prolegomena, \u201cPro\u201d means introduction, \u201clegomena\u201d means word, so Prolegomena means introductory words or first words. So Prolegomena is what you study to do systematic theology. What are your assumptions? What are your sources? That kind of thing.\n\nAnd then the next area of systematic theology is called Theology, Theos means God, ology means what? The study of. So theology is trying to figure out what does the whole Bible reveal about God. There\u2019s no one book that tells you everything about God so you\u2019ve got to go through all 66 books and put it together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and then you walk away with a beautiful mosaic of the doctrine of God.\n\nChristology is another area of systematic theology called the study of Christ; what does the whole Bible reveal about Christ, the Second Member of the Trinity?\n\nPneumatology, now the Greek word pneuma is spirit, so Pneumatology is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. There\u2019s no one book of the Bible that tells you everything you need to know about the Holy Spirit. In fact, Genesis 1:2 you\u2019ll see the Spirit brooding on the waters.\n[Genesis 1:2, \u201cNow the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.\u201d [NIV] \"The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.\" [AMP].\n\nAnd then you move into the book of Exodus and the Spirit comes upon the tabernacle workers, and you just kind of go right on through the Bible and every book of the Bible adds something about the Spirit and you put it all together and you have a beautiful portrait, when all is said and done, of what God has revealed about the Spirit. That\u2019s what you call pneumatology.\n\nAnother area of systematic theology is Anthropology, anthropos is the Greek word for man, so anthropology is what does the Bible reveal about man in Genesis to Revelation. And then we have another area of systematic theology called hamartiology, hamartia is the Greek word for sin. So what does the whole Bible reveal about sin, hamartiology.\n\nAnd then what we\u2019re focused on is soteriology, coming from the Greek word soterios, meaning salvation, so what does the whole Bible reveal about the doctrine of salvation. Angelology, what does the whole Bible reveal about angels. That would be the good angels, Lucifer, a fallen angel, and demons. It\u2019s a great area of study. Ecclesiology, the Greek word for church is ecclesia, so ecclesiology is what does the whole Bible reveal about the doctrine of the church.\n\nAnd then probably my favorite is eschatology, eschatos is the Greek word for last or end. So what does the whole Bible reveal about the end. People think well, that\u2019s just the book of Revelation. Well, the book of Revelation has a lot to say but what you\u2019ll discover is the first eschatological statement made in the Bible is as early as Genesis 3:15, where God says that one of these days there\u2019s coming one who is going to crush the serpent\u2019s head. That\u2019s an eschatological statement, so that\u2019s your first piece of eschatological data. All the other books give other pieces of it so your job as a systematic theologian is to put these pieces together, just like you would put together a jigsaw puzzle. [Genesis 3:15, \u201cAnd I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.\u201d] So that\u2019s basically what systematic theology is; it\u2019s learning to think the way God thinks in these major areas where God had disclosed Himself. So this is a very different discipline than a verse by verse study of the book of the Bible. So normally when I teach this class at school the class is called Man, Sin. Sometimes I say it fast and people think I\u2019m saying man-sin; no, it\u2019s man, comma, sin, comma, salvation. So that would be anthropology, hamartiology and soteriology. And we teach them in that particular order because that\u2019s the order of events as you discover them in the Bible. Genesis 1 and 2 is anthropology, God creates man and woman. Hamartiology is Genesis 3, what went wrong. And then soteriology is the whole rest of the Bible, really, what is God going to do to restore man to his original state.\n\nI think it was Dwight Moody that said you\u2019ve to get a man lost before you can get him saved. A lot of people out there don\u2019t realize they\u2019re lost and the reason they don\u2019t realize they\u2019re lost is they don\u2019t understand hamartiology. But you can\u2019t reach out for the life preserver if you realize you\u2019re drowning, right, so that\u2019s why we teach hamartiology before we teach soteriology, which I\u2019m not going to be able to do given some of the time limits I\u2019m under; I\u2019m just going to have to focus on soteriology. But normally, if you take the full course with me at school we cover hamartiology first, before we cover soteriology, and then we cover anthropology before that.\n\nAnd by the way, that\u2019s exactly how Paul structures the book of Romans. Have you read Romans 1:18 through chapter 3 verse 21 lately? There\u2019s absolutely nothing in that section about Jesus; there\u2019s absolutely nothing in that section about the love of God. He doesn\u2019t even mention the gospel in that section, it\u2019s all sin, sin, sin, sin. As a matter of fact, I\u2019ve taught Romans at this church and I noticed that our attendance went down when I was in Romans 1-3. There was not a lot of warm fuzzy thoughts for the day.\n\nAnd the reason Paul does that is he wants to get people lost before he can get them saved. And finally after revealing the Gentiles are guilty, the Jews are guilty, the religious world is guilty, and the world is guilty, Paul finally can get around to chapter 3, I think it\u2019s around verse 21 and following, he starts to disclose the gospel. So Paul never really taught soteriology before he taught hamartiology; just look at the structure of the book of Romans and you\u2019ll see that.\n\nSo that\u2019s why we teach anthropology first, hamartiology second, soteriology third. You don\u2019t even see you need for soteriology until you understand who we are in Adam as condemned sinners and only the study of hamartiology reveals that. Unfortunately I have to skip anthropology and hamartiology and so we\u2019re just focused in our class on soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation.\n\nSo here is an outline of what we\u2019re going to cover in the course, we\u2019re only going to cover, Roman numeral 1 this evening. We\u2019re going to deal with definition and introduction of soteriology. Now if you\u2019ve ever struggled with election versus free will, does God choose us or do we choose Him, we\u2019re going to try to hit that subject next week. And then we get into the subject of the atonement, which is the substitutionary death of Christ. Then we\u2019ll get into a subject called salvation words. And you\u2019ll discover that God has disclosed our salvation through different words in Greek and each word brings out a nuance that the others do not. And if you understand those salvation words you\u2019ll have a beautiful picture of what God has done for us in salvation.\n\nAnd then we\u2019re going to spend a lot of time, it\u2019ll probably take us a few lessons to get through it, Roman numeral V, God\u2019s one condition of salvation. And you\u2019ll see that that\u2019s a huge area of confusion today in the body of Christ. In other words, what does a person have to do to become a Christian? And that\u2019s what we deal with in \u201cGod\u2019s one condition of salvation.\u201d\n\nAnd then, number VI, once you become a Christian, what are the results of salvation? After a person has trusted in Christ what transpires in their life. That\u2019s what we call the results of salvation. And then Roman numeral VII, once you have salvation can you lose it? And here\u2019s where we get into the whole subject of eternal security. And you\u2019ll discover that the way I teach is I don\u2019t just give you my view on things, I\u2019ll give you the passages that people who have a different point of view will use and we\u2019ll learn how to think through those.\n\nAnd then finally we\u2019re going to end in Roman numeral VIII at the very end of the course on what we call the faulty views of salvation. There\u2019s a lot of wrong views of salvation going around. So that\u2019s sort of the outline that we\u2019re following\n\nLet\u2019s go ahead and start off with a definition of soteriology, and an introduction. You might want to take your Bible and go over to the book of Galatians, chapter 1, verses 8-9. By the way, you need to bring your Bible with you every week to class. You\u2019ll find that we\u2019re going to be using it quite a bit. I personally don\u2019t believe we should hold theological views unless they are anchored in the text of the Bible, so every point that I make you\u2019ll find that it\u2019s going to be well backed up with multiple Scriptures.\n\nSo introduction to soteriology, let\u2019s kind of start off with the importance of soteriology. In other words, is this topic a big deal. I mean, should we invest Wednesday nights from 7:00-8:00, in the rain, studying this stuff. There\u2019s a lot of other things we could be doing. Right? So is this a big deal. Well, I believe this, that of all the subjects, of all of the areas of systematic theology that I just walked through, I believe soteriology is the most important for us because what you believe about this topic determines whether you\u2019ll spend eternity with Christ in heaven or not.\n\nNotice what Paul says in Galatians 1:8-9. He says, \u201cBut even if we,\u201d that would be himself, right? \u201ceven if we or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is the be accursed!\u201d\n\nNow the word \u201caccursed\u201d there you\u2019ll see it\u2019s used two times, it\u2019s the translation of a Greek word anathema, and anathema is a condemnation to hell. Paul is saying if we preach to you a different gospel let us be condemned to hell; let me be condemned to hell Paul is saying. He is saying if an angel from heaven, now isn\u2019t it interesting that some of the major religions of the world claim to have gotten their truth from an angel? Mormonism, for example, claims to have come to Joseph Smith through an angel named Moroni. Islam has come to the world through Gabriel\u2019s manifestations to Mohammed. Now I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the same Gabriel of the Bible, I think it\u2019s a demon masquerading as the Gabriel of the Bible.\n\nBut it\u2019s interesting that Paul says an angel could show up at your bedside tonight and give you some kind of manifestation, but if it\u2019s different than the gospel that you know, that angel is to be condemned to hell, anathematized, and even if we, as apostles give you a different gospel, let us be condemned to hell. And you look at these words and those are very strong words, are they not. So what this is teaching us is of all the areas of doctrine to understand correctly the area of soteriology is primary.\n\nLewis Sperry Chafer, one of my theological heroes, the founder of Dallas Seminary, says this in his book, Salvation, page 118. He says: \u201cThe privilege of preaching the gospel to one soul is priceless. So, in like manner, any blunder in its presentation may contribute to an eternal disaster and woe. Carelessness in preaching is criminal and ignorance is inexcusable. The gospel is plain. Earnestness is important, but no amount of earnestness can be substituted for the exact statement of God's message to lost men.\u201d\n\nAnd I love to take Chafer\u2019s words and compare those to what Paul said and you see how both men, Paul an apostle, Chafer just a human teacher, but both men took this issue of the gospel very, very seriously. They wanted their language to be precise because they knew if they fumbled the message it could contribute to an eternal disaster in someone else\u2019s life We don\u2019t give them the gospel that they need many times; many times we\u2019re so clumsy in our language that we teach a gospel of works, as I\u2019ll show you, without really knowing that we\u2019re doing that.\n\nAll of that to say this subject of soteriology is a BIG deal; this is important stuff. We can disagree on the rapture; we can disagree on the millennial kingdom and still go to the same heaven. But you can\u2019t disagree on what the gospel is and end up in the same place eternally. So soteriology is quite significant. What is the meaning, looking at definitions here for a little bit, what does it mean to be saved? Let\u2019s take a look at what I like to call the salvation word group. These are four words that all come from the same root, just so we know what it is that we\u2019re talking about.\n\nThe verb to save in the New Testament is the Greek word s\u014dz\u014d. Now words can be used in the noun form, or in a verbal form. Right? We do this all the time with the word Google; when someone says Google, they\u2019re about a search engine, a noun, but when we say google such and such we\u2019ve just converted it to a verb. So the verb run, a run in my stocking, I went for a run, you can convert that to a verb, you need to go run a lap. So that\u2019s how language function, there\u2019s a common root and you can use it in a verbal form, you can use it in a noun form. So the verbal form to save is the Greek verb s\u014dz\u014d. The noun, salvation, coming from that same root is the Greek word s\u014dt\u0113ria, sometimes it\u2019s s\u014dt\u0113rion, both those are nouns meaning salvation. And then the Greek noun for Savior is s\u014dt\u0113r. So those are the words that we\u2019re using here as we try to define a little bit this evening the doctrine of salvation.\n\nAnd what you will discover when you actually sit down and begin to study through the Bible and try to figure out what these words mean is the word \u201csaved\u201d has a very broad meaning. It does not always mean the same thing everywhere it\u2019s employed. Typically, in twenty-first century evangelicalism, when I use the word \u201csaved\u201d typically what I mean by it, typically what you mean by it is some\u00acbody trusted in Christ and is not going to hell. I mean, that\u2019s typically how we think of the word \u201csaved.\u201d But what you\u2019ll discover is the Bible has, strictly the New Testament, has a much broader range of meanings.\n\nSo let me give you what I would consider some non-theological uses of the word \u201csaved.\u201d You might want to look at Matthew 9:21-22, here is s\u014dz\u014d and it\u2019s really not talking about salvation in terms of going to heaven, by trusting in Christ. Matthew 9:21-22 says: \u201cfor she was saying to herself, \u2018If I only touch His garment, I will get well.\u2019 [22] But Jesus turning and seeing her said, \u2018Daughter, take courage, your faith has made you well.\u2019 At once the woman was made well.\u201d Now this word, \u201cmade well\u201d is s\u014dz\u014d. That\u2019s not talking about going to heaven, that\u2019s talking about being saved from a sickness. So that would be what I would call a non-theological use of the word.\n\nNotice Luke 8:36, \u201cthose who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.\u201d There\u2019s s\u014dz\u014d again, \u201cmade well\u201d is the translation from the Greek verb s\u014dz\u014d. Well, that\u2019s not talking about trusting in Christ and going to heaven, that\u2019s talking about being protected from demons.\n\nNotice the book of Philippians, chapter 1, verse 19, just for a moment. I told you we were going to be using our Bible a lot. Philippians 1:19, it says, \u201cfor I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.\u201d The word translated \u201cdeliverance\u201d there is s\u014dt\u0113ria and Paul uses salvation, or s\u014dt\u0113ria, basically to describe him getting out of prison.\n\nSo you could say I got in the car and drove to the Bible study before the rain storm hit, before a traffic jam it, so I was saved from the rain, I was saved from the traffic jam. So you\u2019re using the word \u201csaved\u201d in a certain way, but it really has nothing to do in that non-theological sense of trusting in Christ and going to heaven. I\u2019m just trying to show you the broad range of this word.\n\nNotice John 12:27, this is Jesus speaking, He says, \u201cNow My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, \u2018Father, save Me from this hour?\u2019 But for this purpose I came to this hour.\u2019\u201d So if you think \u201csave\u201d always means trusting in Christ and going to heaven, then you have to conclude that Jesus had to trust in Himself to go to heaven, because even Jesus had to get saved. Well, \u201csave\u201d here is not talking about a theological concept, He\u2019s praying to be kept out of the ordeal of the cross, because then He said \u201cNot My will be done, but Thy will be done.\u201d That\u2019s s\u014dz\u014d once again.\n\nHebrews 11:7, here is another non-theological use of the word \u201csave.\u201d Hebrews 11:7 is talking about Noah, it says, \u201cBy faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.\u201d So when it says there Noah \u201cprepared an ark for the salvation of his household,\u201d what it\u2019s talking about is him being protected from water, protected from the flood, in the ark. Another non-theological use of the word \u201csaved.\u201d\n\nAnd you have to start thinking this way because if you think \u201csave\u201d always means trusting in Christ and going to heaven in the theological sense you\u2019ll vet very confused. One verse that will really confuse you is Matthew 24:13, I can\u2019t tell you how many Christians are in bondage because they misunderstand what Matthew 24:13 is talking about. Matthew 24:13 says, \u201cBut he who endures to the end, he will be saved.\u201d Now your Calvinist or your Arminians will come up to you and say hey man, are you producing fruit? You\u2019d better not have any doubt in your life, you\u2019d better be enduring to the end because if you\u2019re not enduring to the end you\u2019re not saved, because the Bible says \u201che who endures to the end will be saved.\u201d\n\nYou have to watch theologians very carefully because they do this constantly; they cherry-pick verses to support their preexisting belief system. And so they\u2019re understanding, \u201csaved\u201d here in a theological sense, but what is the context of Matthew 24;13? It is the tribulation period. In fact, when you study Matthew 24, the Olivet Discourse, it\u2019s the Jews in the tribulation period. What\u2019s happening to the Jews in the tribulation period? They\u2019re being pursued by the beast, the antichrist. In fact, Satan, when you factor in Revelation 12, is about ready to be kicked out of heaven and he\u2019s going to be pursuing these Jews with full force during the final three and a half years of the tribulation period. So Jesus says this: \u201cHe who endures to the end will be saved.\u201d The end of what? The end of the tribulation period, because once the end of the tribulation period transpires Jesus will return to the earth, His feet will touch the Mount of Olives, and He will physically protect the Jews from the wrath of Satan and the beast. And Matthew 24:31 is basically that\u2019s what it\u2019s talking about, \u201cAnd He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET AND THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one of the sky to the other.\u201d\n\nSo this isn\u2019t talking about making it to the end of your life in good works so you\u2019ll go to heaven; that\u2019s not what it\u2019s talking about at all. It\u2019s talking about the protection that Jesus is going to give to the Jews who make it to the end of the seven year tribulation period. That\u2019s just an example of why you need to understand that s\u014dz\u014d and s\u014dt\u0113ria, these words, have a broad range of meaning.\n\nHowever, having said all that, most of the time when these words, are used, whether it be s\u014dz\u014d, s\u014dt\u0113ria, they typically have a theological meaning; they\u2019re typically being used the way we understand it, trusting in Christ for salvation so I won\u2019t go to hell. For example, notice Matthew 1:21, here is the word being used in a theological sense. Matthew 1:21, it says, \u201cShe,\u201d that\u2019s Mary, \u201cwill bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.\u201d So that\u2019s the normal use of the Word, I\u2019m being protected from the consequences of my sin which would be hell.\n\nHere is s\u014dz\u014d also in a theological sense, notice Romans 5:9, \u201cMuch more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.\u201d So there\u2019s s\u014dz\u014d in a theological sense. We all know Luke 19:10, \u201cFor the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was\u201d what? \u201clost.\u201d There\u2019s \u201csaved\u201d in a theological sense. And you might want to jot down 2 Corinthians 2:15, it uses \u201csaved\u201d in a theological sense as well. It says, \u201cFor we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.\u201d So there \u201csaved\u201d is used in the way we normally use the word, which is being saved from the consequences of our sin, which would be hell.\n\nSo hopefully what I\u2019ve tried to communicate is this word \u201csaved\u201d really has a very broad semantic range. \u201cSaved\u201d does not mean the same thing every time it\u2019s used in the Bible. So how do you determine which meaning to plug in when you see the word \u201csaved\u201d in the Bible? What are the three rules of real estate? Location, location, location. What are the three rules of Bible study? Context, context, context. The better you understand context the better you\u2019ll understand what a given word means. And that\u2019s why I\u2019m more of a verse by verse teacher because it forces me to keep everything in its context in my teaching. But what you\u2019ll discover out there is people aren\u2019t doing this, they\u2019re just grabbing verses here and there, throwing them around kind of like ping pong balls, making them sound any way they want. And that\u2019s not really a proper Bible study method.\n\nOne other major concept that I want to cover tonight is the three tenses of salvation. I find there\u2019s a lot of confusion out there because people really do not understand salvation in what I like to call three time zones. And if you understand is used in three different senses, past tense, present tense, future tense, it will save you from a ton of confusion. So here is the chart that I like to use, I\u2019ve used this from the pulpit so some of you have probably seen this before. But it deals with the three tenses of salvation. The first tense of salvation is justification; justification is something that happened in my past as a Christian. I have been saved, in other words, something has happened in my life where I\u2019ve been saved from something. And in justification, the past tense of salvation, I have already been saved from sin\u2019s penalty.\n\nSin brings a horrific penalty which is eternal separation from God, eternal death, the wrath of God, and the moment I place my faith in Christ I have been justified before God; it\u2019s already happened, it\u2019s not something I have to get. I mean, it\u2019s already transpired, it\u2019s salvation in the past. And this is true of every child of God. So you\u2019ll notice Ephesians 2:8-9, very famous verses, basically place our salvation in the past. Some of you know these verses by heart. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, \u201cFor by grace you have been saved through faith,\u201d so my salvation has already transpired. Titus 3:5 is another very good verse on the past tense of salvation, \u201cHe saved,\u201d see, it\u2019s already happened, \u201cus, not on the basis of works which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration\u2026\u201d and so forth. So you notice once again \u201csaved,\u201d something that\u2019s already happened. [Ephesians 2:8-9, For grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, so that on one may boast. Titus 3:5, \u201cHe saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.\u201d]\n\nThen you have the middle tense of salvation, sometimes called progressive sanctification and that\u2019s where I am being saved. Unlike justification, progressive sanctification is more of a process. Now when you\u2019re talking to your Roman Catholic friends essentially they\u2019re going to try to convince you that justification is a process and that\u2019s not the Protestant belief, that\u2019s not the biblical belief. We believe justification is a onetime event, it\u2019s not a process. It\u2019s something that happens in a nanosecond, the minute you trust Christ. It\u2019s already been accomplished. The process though is not justification, but it is progressive sanctification where I am being saved, saved from what? Not sin\u2019s penalty but sin\u2019s power.\n\nAnd so what is happening is I\u2019m growing as a Christian, I\u2019m learning about my divine resources in Christ, I\u2019m in a Bible teaching, Bible preaching environment, I\u2019m around God\u2019s people and I\u2019m learning about the resources God has given me to live my life as a Christian. And as I begin to tap into those resources moment by moment, hopefully what is happening is not that I become sinless but I begin to sin less. And gradually what is happening is my life is being conformed and transformed into the moral image of Jesus Christ. And that\u2019s a process that we\u2019re all in until we die, and everything God brings into your life is basically designed to contribute to that process to get us to grow, to make us more Christ-like in daily life, not in position. It\u2019s a one-time act that already happened. But in daily life hopefully we\u2019ll be becoming more Christ-like.\n\nHaving said all of that, look at Philippians 2:12, here you\u2019ll notice the word \u201csalvation\u201d not used in the past tense but used in the present tense. Look what it says here, \u201c So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.\u201d Now if you\u2019re debating a Roman Catholic they\u2019ll throw this verse at you because what they basically believe is we contribute to our\u2026 not progressive sanctification but our justification. God did 95% and I\u2019ve got to kick in my 5%. What do I have to do? I have to pray, pay, and obey. So I\u2019ve got to sort of supplement what God has done. And this is one of their favorite verses, \u201cwork out your salvation with fear and trembling,\u201d if you\u2019re not sensitive to the three tenses of salvation you\u2019ll be easily fooled by their argument. But you, as a member of Sugar Land Bible Church, if you\u2019ve gone through the soteriology class, knows, wait a minute, didn\u2019t the pastor say something about the three tenses of salvation, and what determines which tense I\u2019m working in? What\u2019s our three rules of Bible study? Context, context, context.\n\nNow look down at verse 14, \u201cDo all things without grumbling or disputing.\u201d He\u2019s not talking about justification that already happened; he\u2019s talking about their daily lives in Christ, he\u2019s moved into the middle tense of salvation. And in fact, if you go over to Philippians 4:2-3, he says, \u201cI urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. [3] Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.\u201d\n\nHere you\u2019ve got two women fighting with each other in the church. Can that happen to Christians? Can Christians get carnal? Sure, because these women clearly are believers because they once contended with Paul in the cause of the gospel and then the dead giveaway is in verse 3, their \u201cnames are in the book of life.\u201d You can\u2019t get more saved than these two women were. They weren\u2019t stumbling in justification, they were stumbling in what? The middle tense of salvation, progressive sanctification.\n\nThe third tense of our salvation is the future tense and this is where I will be saved. See, justification, I have been saved; sanctification, I am being saved; glorification, I will be saved, saved from sin\u2019s what? Sin\u2019s very presence. See, in justification I\u2019m saved from sin\u2019s penalty in the past; in sanctification I am being saved gradually from sin\u2019s power, but in glorification the day will come where I will be saved from sin\u2019s presence. In other words, I will be out of this body, I will be in the presence of the Lord, and I won\u2019t even have a desire to sin any more. Won\u2019t that be nice.\n\nAs long as you are in this body you are in the process of progressive sanctification, but the moment you die or the rapture comes (I\u2019m praying the rapture comes before we die, I can\u2019t guarantee that), but the moment we\u2019re out of this body, either through rapture or death we are into glorification and that\u2019s the third tense of our salvation where we are delivered from the very presence of sin. The temptation to sin won\u2019t even be an issue. That\u2019s why Paul said \u201cto be absent from the body is to be\u201d what? \u201cpresent with the Lord.\u201d He said in Philippians 1:21-23, \u201cFor to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.\u201d [22, \u201cBut if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. [23] But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.\u201d]\n\nI\u2019d rather depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Paul couldn\u2019t wait to die; I\u2019m not saying he was suicidal, but he really had no fear of death because he knew that after he died he would be in tense three of his salvation, glorification, and the temptation to sin wouldn\u2019t even be a reality any more in his life as it is in sanctification. So here is saved in the future tense; notice Romans 5:10, \u201cFor if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.\u201d See how he puts \u201csaved\u201d there in the future? So saved, past tense\u2014justification; saved\u2014present tense, sanctification; saved, future tense\u2014glorification. And if you can just sort of master those three tenses you\u2019ll spare yourself from a ton of confusion and every time you hear the word \u201csaved\u201d in the Bible you\u2019ll be asking yourself, is this past tense, present tense or future tense. And what\u2019s the determining factor? Context, context, context!\n\nSo if someone asks you, are you saved, the correct is I have been saved and I am being saved and I will be saved. And they\u2019ll probably say that\u2019s a little bit more information than I was looking for. But that\u2019s to think biblically about this great subject of salvation.\n\nLook at Romans 8:29-30, and as I\u2019m reading this somebody tell me, or what seems fishy about this verse? But let\u2019s read this verse, Romans 8:29-30, now we just talked about the three tenses of salvation. Look at this verse here. \u201cFor those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] And these whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.\u201d\n\nSee how he says justification at the end? And he leaps right over into what? Glorification. What phase did he skip? Sanctification. So really the $20 question becomes why in the world did he skip sanctification? Now think about these three tenses of salvation for a minute; think about what\u2019s different about sanctification as compared to justification and glorification. You see, just for the sake of time I\u2019ll give you the answer. Justification, the only thing you have to do to be justified, as I\u2019ll be showing you in this course, is to trust in Christ, period. If you have trusted in Christ you\u2019re justified. Glorification, the only thing you have to do is die, eat too many hamburgers and French fries and clog your arteries and die or be raptured. But sanctification is quite different, isn\u2019t it. To really grow as a Christian you have to, number 1, start becoming aware of what this book teaches. You have to be in an environment that\u2019s teaching the book correctly. You have to start looking at the multiple, multiple, multiple commands in the Bible and you have to start appropriating those commands through God\u2019s resources that are within you, by faith, moment by moment.\n\nSo the only command that\u2019s given to an unbeliever is to believe the gospel. The only thing you have to do be glorified is to die or to be raptured. But what do you have to do to grow? You have to be aware of these commands, you have to start obeying these commands, and you have to tap into the power God has given you to obey these commands.\n\nThink about how many commands are in the Bible to the Christian. Hebrews 10:25, \u201cforsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of some,\u201d how many Christians blow that command off. \u201cPray without ceasing.\u201d \u201cPut on the full armor of God.\u201d \u201cStudy to show thyself approved to God, a workman that need not be ashamed,\u201d but accurately handling \u201cthe word of truth.\u201d \u201cDo not let the sun go down on your anger.\u201d\n\n[Hebrews 10:25, \u201cnot forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.\u201d\n1 Thessalonians 5:17, \u201cPray without ceasing.\u201d\nEphesians 6:11, \u201cPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.\u201d\n2 Timothy 2:15, KJV, \u201cStudy to show thyself approved to God, a workman that needeth not\nto be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.\u201d\nEphesians 4:26, \u201c\u2026do not let the sun go down on your anger.\u201d]\n\nI mean, I\u2019m just giving you a handful here; command after command after command after command is given, and a lot of Christians try to fulfill those commands through human power and that\u2019s where they get frustrated and burned out. The Christian life is\u2026 someone has said it\u2019s a difficult life; it\u2019s not a difficult life, it\u2019s an impossible life. The Christian life was meant to be lived under divine power every single moment.\n\nSo we have to know what the commands are, we have to have to have it taught to us accurately, we have to develop proper Bible study habits, we have to develop a prayer life to God. And quite frankly some Christians make great, great strides in this area, and others don\u2019t. That\u2019s why justification is automatic if you believe; glorification is automatic, you just have to die or be raptured. Sanctification is non-automatic in your life, it\u2019s a possibility. And that\u2019s why, I believe, Paul leapfrogs from justification to glorification, because both of those are automatic; sanctification is not, it is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.\n\nNow let me show you what I mean. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Ray Stedman used to call used to call 1 Corinthians 1 Californians. Here\u2019s how most Christians think about people: saved\/unsaved; heaven\/hell; you\u2019re a child of God or you\u2019re a child of the devil. That\u2019s about the depth of thinking that you have amongst most Christians.\n\nPaul is a lot more sophisticated and nuanced than that. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, \u201cAnd I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.\u201d \u201c\u2026infants in Christ!\u201d notice that. Verse 2, \u201cI gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,\u201d you\u2019re still not able, [3] \u201cfor you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men.\u201d\n\nIf you want to really think the way Paul thinks you can\u2019t just say saved\/unsaved, because within the ranks of the saved there are three kinds of people. The unbelievers are unbelievers, we just call them the natural man. But within the ranks of the saved there are three kinds of saved people because Paul uses three kinds of words, different words. \u201cI, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual,\u201d that\u2019s category one, \u201cbut as to men of flesh,\u201d that\u2019s category number two, that\u2019s what we call carnal, that\u2019s a translation of the Greek word sarkinos, flesh, carnal. Then he uses a third word, \u201cinfants in Christ.\u201d\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\nUnbelievers vs Categories of Believers\nUnbelievers \u2013 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2 psuchik\u00f3s; Natural, pertaining to the natural as distinguished from the spiritual\nSpiritual Believers \u2013 \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2 pneumatik\u00f3s; of persons who are spiritual, enlightened by the Holy Spirit\nInfant Believers \u2013 \u03c3\u03ac\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 s\u00e1rkinos; with propensities of the flesh unto sin; \u03bd\u03ae\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 n\u1e17pios; an infant, child, baby without any definite limitation of age. (This relates to immaturity and lack of instruction)\nCarnal Believers \u2013 \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2 sarkik\u00f3s; tendency to satisfy the flesh, implying sinfulness, sinful propensity, carnal (This relates to disobedience and open rebellion)\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nSo who are these three kinds of people? Well, let\u2019s start with the infants in Christ; those are very young Christians, those are Christians that really haven\u2019t had their minds transformed yet and they\u2019re acting like little kids. And then you have a different group called the carnal Christian, you recognize the word \u201ccarnal,\u201d from the word meat or flesh, carnivorous is derived from that Greek word, you have some chili con carne, chili with meat. So carnal would be a Christian that is still living for the sin nature. You see, a child sucking their thumb is appropriate at age one or two, right? When the child is sixteen years old and it\u2019s still in a crib sucking its thumb it\u2019s not cute any more. Right?\n\nIt\u2019s appropriate to be a little child when you\u2019re brand new in the Lord, but see, some Christians, because they are devoted to the sin nature and not living above the sin, and keep regressing back to the sin nature, they should have matured a long time ago and yet they\u2019re stuck in a place of immaturity. And then the top of the screen is the spiritual Christian, that\u2019s the Christian that is basically not sinless but is sinning less; he\u2019s maturing and growing in Christ.\n\nThe spiritual Christians will bless your socks off. The infants in Christ are kind of cute to look at because it\u2019s appropriate for their spiritual age. The carnal Christians will put gray hairs on your head. They\u2019ll make your life miserable as a spiritual leader and as a pastor. And unless you\u2019re called to be an evangelist, which is basically transferring unbelievers to believers, unless you have that specific calling, most of us have ministries based on the different gifts that God gives to the body of Christ where were transitioning people from carnality or infancy into spirituality.\n\nHow do you recognize a carnal Christian? [1 Corinthians 3] Verse 2, \u201cI gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able.\u201d So when we brought Sarah home from the hospital we didn\u2019t plop her in the middle of the room and say, when she was born, help yourself to a ham sandwich or whatever, because she doesn\u2019t have the ability to digest meat. And that\u2019s how you recognize a carnal Christian, they can handle preaching as long as the pastor lets everybody out by noon, because we\u2019ve got to beat the Baptists to the cafeteria. And they can handle sort of very minimal messages. You cannot take them to a deeper place. They would be very uncomfortable in a study like this because we\u2019re going deeper places. So they thrive on milk but reject the meat.\n\nA carnal Christian is a lot like looking at a child in the natural world. Have you notice that children, the whole world revolves around them? The sun rises or sets with them; they have to be the center of attention. That\u2019s how you recognize a carnal Christian; everything is focused on them, they\u2019re sort of, if I could use a psychological term, narcissistic. They haven\u2019t grown beyond that. I\u2019m not saying they\u2019re going to hell, I\u2019m saying this is what their life is like because they haven\u2019t progressed in the middle tense of their salvation. And then Paul goes on and he talks about jealousy and strife. You see, that\u2019s how you recognize carnality, there\u2019s jealousy, there\u2019s strife, there\u2019s bickering, there\u2019s fighting. And Paul says \u201care you not acting like mere men.\u201d What\u2019s the mere man? It\u2019s the natural man. Paul says when I look at your life I see no difference between you and the unsaved person. An out of fellowship carnal Christian can out sin an unbeliever anytime. And this is the teaching that Paul is giving. He\u2019s not threatening them with hell, what he\u2019s saying is you\u2019re missing out on maturity, you\u2019re missing out on growth, and if you read verse 15 this week, we don\u2019t have time to take a look at it tonight, he warns them that they are going to have an unfavorable ruling at the Bema Seat Judgment of rewards. That\u2019s the whole point that he\u2019s making here in chapter 3.\n\nHebrews 5:11-14 is also dealing with infants in Christ and carnal Christians. A parallel passage, the author of Hebrews says, \u201cConcerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. [12] For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. [13] For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. [14] But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.\u201d\n\nPeople look at that verse and they say that\u2019s unbelievers there. It can\u2019t be unbelievers because he says \u201cby this time some of you ought to be teachers.\u201d Would you ever want an unbeliever to teach? Of course not. He\u2019s talking here about people not progressing in the middle tense of their salvation. He\u2019s not dealing with justification here, folks; he\u2019s dealing with middle tense progressive sanctification. You might want to jot down 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 because Paul talks there about, \u201clest I have preached to others I might be disqualified for the prize,\u201d the prize is heaven? No, if the prize is heaven then Paul contradicted everything he said; heaven you gain through faith alone. The prize is reward, he\u2019s worried that he\u2019s going to drift back into carnality and be disqualified for a prize or a reward.\n\nSee, what I\u2019m trying to communicate is simply this: justification, automatic; glorification, automatic; middle tense of salvation, progressive sanctification, not automatic. That\u2019s my point. A very clear verse which teaches this very clearly, as Paul says in Galatians 4:19, \u201cMy children,\u201d they\u2019re obviously Christians, right? \u201cwith whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you.\u201d Well, how could he be in labor with them a second time, because he says I\u2019m like your mother who gave spiritual birth to you, I shared the gospel with you, I birthed you into justification, now I\u2019m pregnant with you all over again. I mean, how could he be pregnant with them, using this spiritual metaphor, all over again? Because Paul is not dealing with here justification, that\u2019s been accomplished.\n\nWhat does he want them to move into? Progressive sanctification, the middle tense of their salvation. That\u2019s why, when you study Paul\u2019s missionary journeys in the book of Acts what you\u2019ll see is Paul always retraced his steps because he wasn\u2019t just interested in winning people to Christ, checking off a box, saying okay, these folks are going to heaven. He goes back into the same areas that he was in earlier to make sure that these folks that have experienced justification are now developing properly in progressive sanctification.\n\nYou see, in the world of medicine you have obstetricians and pediatricians. Right? Obstetricians help the birthing process; pediatricians help the child grow and mature correctly. And I\u2019ve noticed\u2026 I\u2019ve never seen an obstetrician who\u2019s also a pediatrician, or a pediatrician who\u2019s also an obstetrician. Those are two totally different disciplines.\n\nSo the gift of evangelism is more focused on birthing; the gift of pastor-teacher, along with other spiritual gift\u2019s that God gives is more focused on helping people to grow correctly. And those gifts have to be in operation because progressive sanctification is not automatic in the life of every child of God. That\u2019s my point.\n\nAnd when I start talking this way I have a lot of students that are very strongly Calvinist or Arminian; they think I\u2019m teaching heresy and I say you guys need to read your own doctrinal statement. Look at what our own doctrinal statement says at the College of Biblical Studies:\n\u201cEvery true believer is promised positional and ultimate sanctification\u201d those are synonyms for justification and glorification, \u201cwith the\u201d what? \u201cpossibility of progressive development in life spiritually,\u201d i.e. \u201c(progressive sanctification.).\u201d In other words the doctrinal statement of our school very clearly says that progressive sanctification is not automatic. Forget the doctrinal statement, the Bible says that our progressive sanctification is not automatic. So that\u2019s why, when we study these three tenses of salvation we have to distinguish the middle tense from the others.\n\nNext week we\u2019re going to talk about election, not Ted Cruz or Donald Trump but does God choose us or do we choose Him? Anyway, hopefully you learned a little something that you may not have known before, we talked about the importance of this subject, what the word \u201csaved\u201d means and we\u2019ve spent a little time on the three tenses of salvation. So at this time we will conclude the class. Anybody that would like to ask questions we\u2019ll do that for about 10-15 minutes.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t