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The Salvation Formula

The Problem: Sin and Judgment

The Solution

1. God's Part

What God does for the world:

  • Atoning for Sin
  • Drawing people to himself
  • by sending messagers with the Bible
  • and by sending his Spirit
  • What God does for the Believer:

  • Forgiving - deals with the guilt of our sin
  • Sanctifing - deals with our innate sinfulness
  • Regenerating unto sonship
  • Giving the Holy Spirit
  • 2. Your Part - Compliance

    Cooperating with God as he draws you to Himself by
  • Seeking God through His Word and Prayer
  • with Humility and Repentance
  • When you come to saving faith,

    The CONTENT of Saving Faith consists of Believing in:

  • The Person of Christ
  • The QUALITIES of Saving Faith are characterized by
  • Being Application-Oriented


  • References

    The Problem

    1. Sin

    Rom 3:23  "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
    Ec 7:20  "There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins."

    2. Judgment

    Is 59:2a "your iniquities have separated you from your God"
    Rom 6:23a  "The wages of sin is death"
    Mt 12:36  "I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken."
    1Cor 6:9,10  "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

    The Solution

    1. God's Part

    Atoning for Sin
    1John 2:1b-2a "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins"

    Rom 5:8,9  "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!"

    Drawing People to Himself
    John 12:32  "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
    By Sending His Spirit

    John 16:8  "When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment"

    By Sending His Messengers

    Mark 16:15,16 "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

    Forgiving the Believer
    Heb 8:12 "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
    Acts 10:43  "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
    Sanctifying the Believer
    1Th 5:23  "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

    2Th 2:13  "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth"

    Regenerating unto sonship
    John 1:12,13 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God."

    1John 5:1a  "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God"

    Giving the Holy Spirit
    Acts 2:38  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

    Rom 8:9b  "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

    Gal 3:2,3  "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

    2. Your Part

    Seeking God though His Word and in Prayer with Humility and Repentance
    Is 55:6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
    Is 66:2b "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."
    Believing
    (The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John contain the information about Christ which is the content of saving faith)
    Acts 16:31b "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved"

    Acts 13:38,39  "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."

    Believing in the Person of Christ

    Believing in Jesus as the Son of God
    John 3:36  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him."

    Believing in Jesus as Christ
    John 20:31 "these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

    Believing in Jesus' Divinity
    John 1:3  "Through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
     Heb 3:3,4  "Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."
    Heb 1:10  "He also says (about Jesus), "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands."

    His Incarnation into Flesh
    John 1:14  "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
    2John 1:7  "Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist."

    Believing in Jesus as Lord
    Rom 10:9ac  "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," ... you will be saved."

    Believing in His Teachings
    John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples."

    John 10:27  "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

    Believing in His Promises
    John 6:50 "My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

    John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

    Believing in His Miracles
    John 10:37,38  "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.  But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."

    John 14:11  "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."

    Believing in His Death and Resurrection
    1Cor 15:3,4  "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"

    Believing in Jesus' Atoning work on the cross
    Rom 3:25a  "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood"

    Believing in his Resurrection
    Rom 10:9bc  "If you ...  believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
    Application-Oriented Faith
    Luke 6:46  Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
    Repenting
    Acts 3:19a "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out"

    Acts 2:38a  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."

    Acts 17:30 "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent."

    Compliant to the Commands of Christ
    (Not necessarily perfect obedience, but the sincere intention of doing what he said)
    Mt 7:21  "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

    1John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

    Confident Conviction Persevering Under Trial
    Heb 3:14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

    Mt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.


    The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources Jan 29,2022