Man, Sin & Salvation

Why God sent His Son into the world?

Where will we spend eternity? We must know that we are saved.

Soteriology: Doctrine of Salvation Does man need to be redeemed? How?

Matthew 1:21 'She will give birth to a son & you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.'

John 5:34 'Not that I accept human testimony but I mention it that you may be saved.'

Acts 4:12 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.'

Acts 16:30-31 'Sirs what must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus  & you will be saved & your household.'

Romans 10:9-10 'If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe & are justified & with your mouth you confess and are saved.'

Salvation: saved from the wrath of God

Romans 5:9 'Since we have been justified by His blood how much more will we be saved from God’s wrath through Him.'

Redemption: Being bought back Christ’s blood buys us back from being lost at birth.

Doctrine of Man : Created sinless. Sinned lost eternal life. Expelled from Garden.

Augustine: Four stages.

1. Sinless able to sin.

2. Sinned, not able not to sin.

3. Saved, Able not to sin.

4. Glorified in heaven, Not able to sin.

Pelagius: All in Adam born before he fell. Thus need not be born in sin. Not helpless.

Soteriology assumes correct Christology

Genesis 1:26 'Let us make man in our image. So He created him.'

A spiritual being. Able to converse with God. Created with free will

Genesis 2:16-17 'Free to eat from any tree in the garden but must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil for when you eat of it you will surely die...'

Man could choose. Able to obey or sin.

God alone is immortal  1 Timothy 6:16 'and lives in unapproachable light.'

God gave immortality to man when he was created in God’s image.

Man was superior to all created beings. Genesis 1:28 'Rule over every living creature.' God let man name the creatures.

Man able to work Genesis 2:15 'Put man in the garden to work it and take care of it.' Man did not find it hard or tiring.

Man was created innocent and sinless. Without any guilt or shame Genesis 2:25 'Adam & Eve were both naked & felt no shame.'

Need of earthly fellowship Genesis 2:18 'It is not good for a man to be alone. I will make a helper for him.'

Role of man & woman. United with his wife.

Devil came is disguise. Changed word of God. Eve told by Adam.

Changed his command twice. Touch/lest   Eve gave in & Adam followed her.

Consequences of sin entering:

Death:  Genesis 3:19 'You will return to the ground from which you were taken'

Romans 6:23 'The wages of sin is death'

They continued to live. Both died much later.  Spiritual death took place.

Romans 5:12 By one man sin entered into the world & death through sin & so death passed on to all men for all have sinned.

Ephesians 2:1 'You were dead in your transgression & sin in which you once lived.'

Shame: No shame before they sinned but after needed covering to hide shame.

Both Adam & Eve refused to take the blame Adam blamed Eve who blamed the serpent.

Both guilty of self righteousness.

Woman punished, pain in childbirth,  Man: sweat of his brow, hard labour.

Creation: ground is cursed. Romans 8:20 Creation subject to frustration & needed liberation.

Romans 5:12 'Just as sin entered the world through one man  & death through sin, so death came to all men because all sinned.'

Man was never born like Adam before his fall.

Man inherits Adam’s death, shame self righteousness & fear. We sin because we are born sinners.

Psalm 51:5 'Surely I have been born a sinner from birth. Sinful  from the time my mother conceived me'

Psalm 58:3 'Even from birth the wicked go astray, from the womb they are wayward & speak lies.'

The image of God has been defaced. Man still has a conscience but unable to save him.

John 1:9 'The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.' Hope for man!

Man subject to sin is no longer free. No longer free not to sin Romans 3:14 'full of cursing & bitterness.'

Only the Holy Spirit can bring about a change in man. John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.

Salvation: Genesis 3:15 ' I will put enmity between you & the woman between your offspring & hers. He will crush your head & you will strike His heel.'

God chose to send a redeemer. He could have destroyed the devil.  He wanted man to choose to love Him  but had to work to enable man to love Him.

God made garments of skin to clothe their nakedness. Clothing of righteousness required. Blood shed Substitute slain. Covering provided  Genesis 3:21

Abel Hebrews 11:4 'By faith Abel brought a better sacrifice... By faith he still speaks.'

Gospel was preached to Abraham Galatians 3:8 'Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Galatians 3:6

God announced the gospel in advance to Abraham... He saw Jesus’ day & was glad. John 8:56, 58 'Abraham saw My day & was glad. Before Abraham was I am.'

The Law Romans 5:20 'The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.'

Sacrificial system introduced Hebrews 10:1 'The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming. It can never by the same sacrifices repeatedly endlessly make perfect those who draw near to worship.'

The Law fulfilled in Christ: Galatians 3:24 'The law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith'

Arrival of the Redeemer Galatians 4:4 'When the set time had come, God sent forth His Son born of a woman & born under the law.' Jesus born of a virgin He was man as though He were not God

Hebrews 5:8 'He learned obedience through what He suffered.' He was God as though He were not man.

John 1:1 'In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with God & the Word was God.'

Jesus promised to fulfil the Law Matthew 5:17 'Do not think I have come to abolish the Law & the prophets. I have come to fulfil them.'

He would be the first person who never sinned. Romans 3:23 'All have sinned & come short of the glory of God.'

Jesus never sinned 2 Corinthians 5:21 'He who knew no sin became sin for us.'

Hebrews 4:15 'He was tempted on every point as we are yet without sin.'

On the cross Jesus said, ”It is finished.” John 19:30

The debt of sin had been paid. He had completed what He had come to do. No other thing needed.

Our salvation accomplished without any involvement by man, All accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ.

A perfect sinless substitute to take on the role of a perfect sacrifice in death. Only that would satisfy a holy God to remove the sin of every individual so that God would no longer be angry.

The need for faith: Romans 3:22 'This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.'

Romans 1:17 'The righteousness of God is revealed through faith. As it is written: The just shall live by faith.'

Jesus died for all 2 Corinthians 5:15 Jesus 'died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them'

God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. Our faith must be joined to what He did or we will not be saved. But it only comes to those who believe.

John 3:16 If we believe we are saved  John 5:24 'Whoever hears My word & believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life & has passed over from death to life.'

John 3:36 'If we do not believe we will not see life but the wrath of God abides on him.'

The need of preaching this good news: 1 Corinthians 1:21 'God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believed..'

Romans 10:14 'How can they call on the One they have not believed in and how can they believe in the One they have not heard & how can they hear without someone preaching to them?'

We are commanded to witness to all. Matthew 28 You shall be My witnesses.  2 Corinthians 5:20 'We are therefore X’s ambassadors as though Christ were making His appeal through us. We implore you be reconciled to God'

If we keep quiet about our salvation we are being disobedient to Christ. Be sound in theology & witness.

Faith must be imparted: Ephesians 2:8 'For by grace are you saved through faith & that not of yourselves.'

Man is dead & on his own cannot believe.  John 6:44 'No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.'

We are powerless & passive in our natural birth & exactly that in our spiritual birth John 1:13 'Children born not of natural descent nor of human will, but born of God'

Regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit. God must begin the work. Philippians 1:6 'He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.'

It is effectual by the Holy Spirit alone 1 Thessalonians 2:13 'When you received the word of God which you received from us, you accepted it not as a human word  but as it actually is the word of God.'

2 Thessalonians 2:13 'God chose you as first-fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit & through belief in the truth.'

Faith is a gift of God.

Who believes ?

John 6:37 'Those given to Jesus by the Father. No one can come to Me except the Father draws him.'

Acts 13:48 'All those appointed to eternal life, believed.'  Romans 8:30 'Those He predestined, He also called, He also justified, He also glorified.'

Believers are given: imputed righteousness 2 Corinthians 5:21 The righteousness of God in Him.  Romans 4.

They are kept  John 10:28 'No one is able to pluck them out of My hand or My Father’s hand.'

They are given power not to sin Romans 6:2 'Those who have died to sin; how can they live in it any longer?'

Redemption completed in two stages. Satan defeated at the cross Genesis 3:15  & finally Revelation 20:10

Our redemption: Two stages Romans 5:1 'Being justified by faith we have peace with God.'

Glorification When Jesus comes 1 John 3:2 'When Christ comes we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.' (not able to sin)

Salvation of God is entirely the work of God. He so works in man so as to accomplish that.