On Whose Terms?
To what should the necessity of SALVATION be attributed? If there is a requirement that one should be 'saved' then it must be necessary that they be rescued from some imminent peril which carries with it some life-threatening consequence from which they cannot escape by their own effort. Salvation, as described, is defined within the religious realm and it applies to the spiritual and to the physical being of man, both in this life and the next. What is the origin of this jeopardy in which humanity finds itself imperiled? "God has revealed to us this account as an explanation of the sinfulness and fallenness of our universe. Now this is by far the saddest event in history, obviously. All problems, personal and environmental...all that is wrong, evil, immoral, incomplete, all that is decaying, all that is inferior, all failure, all disappointment, all weakness, all sadness, all sorrow, all pain, all disillusionment, all trouble, all discomfort, all remorse, all regret, all conflict, all hate, all jealousy, all envy, all bitterness, all vengeance, all fear, all crime, all selfishness, all confusion, all lies, all deception, all error, all intimidation, all manipulation, all deviation, all distortion...everything that fails to be as perfect as God is came from this one event. This then is a monumental event. It truly defines life in our universe. It is the reason for all imperfection and death."The Christian looks to the Bible as the historical record of the condition of man and that history begins with the book of Genesis; the book of origins. Without a proper understanding of the book of Genesis, the Christian world view cannot be understood, the grounds and purpose of Christian doctrine have no meaning, and it is impossible to comprehend why the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was necessary. The book of Genesis provides the foundational pretext for Christian belief and presents the circumstances, at the very inception of human existence, that necessitate the action of a redeemer to accomplish a salvation, which it is said that every human being must be a part, in order to escape the greatest of cataclysms. READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Fall Of Man - Part 1 - Genesis 3:1-5 The Fall Of Man - Part 2 - Genesis 3:6-7 Confrontation in Eden - Genesis 3:8-13 The Curse On The Woman - Part 1 - Genesis 3:16 The Curse On The Woman - Part 2 - Genesis 3:16 The Curse On The Man - Part 1 - Genesis 3:17-19 The Curse On The Man - Part 2 - Genesis 3:17-19 John F. MacArthur Man's Utter Inability To Save Himself Thomas Boston 1676-1732 Natural Man In A Dreadful Condition - Part 1 - Acts 16:29-30 Natural Man In A Dreadful Condition - Part 2 - Acts 16:29-30 Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758
"What you have here in this amazing little section is the introduction of salvation, the introduction of redemption. And this is literally pregnant with meaning. Here is the true "proto evangelium." Here is the first gospel. Here is the first promise of the gospel unfolded, the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption. I can't resist saying again, as I often consider that here again, with very few words, with an amazing economy of words, God has said all that needs to be said about the vast reality of salvation. Here in this text are given the necessary components for salvation. Here is the theology of redemption from man's side and from God's side. For here in the verses that I just read to you, five brief verses: From man's side, faith and repentance are introduced. And from God's side, atonement and security are introduced. And that, essentially, sums up salvation. Man believes with a penitent heart, and God provides atonement and secures the believing sinner for eternity. That is the sum of the plan. What is required of the man or the woman is to repent and believe. What is required of God is to provide atonement and secure the sinner. And it's all here. The salvation of sinners, their deliverance, their rescue from sin, has always been by faith and repentance through atonement and the power of God to secure us unto eternal life." —John F. MacArthur, The Promise Of Redemption READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Promise of Redemption - Part 1 - Genesis 3:20-21 The Promise of Redemption - Part 2 - Genesis 3:20-21 John F. MacArthur 1939 Safety, Foulness And Sweet Refreshment In Christ Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758
"When God designed the redemption of mankind, his great wisdom appears in that he pitched upon his own, his only-begotten, Son, to be the person to perform the work. He was a redeemer of God's own choosing, and therefore he is called in Scripture, God's elect (Isa. 42:1). The wisdom of choosing this person to be the redeemer, appears in his being every way a fit person for this undertaking. It was necessary that the person that is the redeemer should be a divine person. None but a divine person was sufficient for this great work. The work is infinitely unequal to any creature. It was requisite that the redeemer of sinners should be himself infinitely holy. None could take away the infinite evil of sin, but one that infinitely far from and contrary to sin himself. Christ is a fit person upon this account." —Jonathan Edwards, The Wisdom Of God Displayed In The Way Of Salvation READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Lord Our Righteousness George Whitefield 1714-1770 For Whom Did Christ Die? Charles H. Spurgeon 1868-1956 Did Christ Die For Us Or For God? John Piper 1946 Was Anyone Saved At The Cross? James White 1963 Christ Exalted Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758
Since salvation is necessary in Christian doctrine, just what is the nature of that salvation? What does salvation accomplish and what is its relationship to man? To some, salvation is going to heaven, while to others it may be the establishment of a happy life or freedom from sickness or oppression. But the reality is, that what people might think does not define what salvation accomplishes. What God provides, He provides for His own reasons, and the provision of the salvation that He has established is defined at His good pleasure. So, what is His good pleasure that salvation should accomplish? READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Nature Of Saving Faith John F. MacArthur 1939 Deliverance: The Neglected Doctrine - Sermon 1 Deliverance: From Error to Truth - Sermon 2 - Part 1 Deliverance: From Error to Truth - Sermon 3 - Part 2 Deliverance: From Sin To Righteousness - Sermon 4 - Part 1 Deliverance: From Sin To Righteousness - Sermon 5 - Part 2 Deliverance: From The Temporal World To The Eternal Kingdom - Sermon 6 John F. MacArthur 1939
"What a marvelous origin 'the salvation of your souls' has (I Peter 1:9)! It ante-dates creation, being conceived in the mind of God in the dateless past. It came to us according to the eternal purpose of God (Ephesians 3:11; II Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2). It began with God's foreknowing. It was no immediate, unpremeditated plan to meet a sudden emergency, no after- thought on God's part. 'Deep and far in an untraceable Eternity its foundations were laid. It is not a thing of yesterday. It will not pass away with tomorrow. The Father has endorsed it with His own everlastingness.' Salvation, then, is great seeing that God is its Source or Origin." —Robert Lockyer, All The Doctrines Of The Bible READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Sovereignty Of God In Salvation John F. MacArthur 1939 Gospel Grounds And Evidences Of The Faith Of God's Elect John Owen 1616-1683 The Method Of Grace George Whitefield 1714-1770 Marks Of A True Conversion George Whitefield 1714-1770 The Manner In Which The Salvation Of The Soul Is To Be Sought Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758 Grace And Salvation John Calvin 1509-1564
Who sets the terms, parameters and determining the elements of salvation? Is it the one needing to be saved or the one providing the salvation? There are many who claim that the one needing the salvation dictates the terms, even to the point of denying that salvation is even necessary. For them, the drowning person determines the acceptability of the person who is there to rescue them, and for others, as they are going under the water for the last time, they deny the reality that they need to be rescued at all. READ ABOUT WHAT THIS DOCTRINE MEANS ON THIS WEBSITE The Gospel Of Inclusion On Doctrine The Sin Of Resting In Duties Thomas Shepard 1605-1649 Pharisees and Sadducees J.C. Ryle 1816-1900 Christ's Warnings Of False Prophets Martin Luther 1483-1546 or E-MAIL ON DOCTRINE at: ondoctrine@ondoctrine.com
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