Soteriology Simplified

Well, we come now to the fourth week in our study Bible memorization for evangelism. This is our Ongoing Wednesday night study if you don't have one we made some extra copies. I want to make sure everyone has a worksheet to fill out.

Not only does this give you the worksheet, but it gives you the verse that we're studying in various translations including the Greek New Testament, which of course the New Testament was written originally in Greek.

It was written in what is called. I'm sorry. Do you not get one? Okay. The New Testament was written in what is called coin a Greek does anybody know what coin a means. Yes, it means common. It was the common language of the day.

It was the day it was the language that the majority of people spoke. It was the language of commerce. So it was the Sensible language to put the scripture in because it would be able to reach the largest amount of people.

It was shortly before the writing of the New Testament that the Old Testament That was the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. We have that translation. It's called the Septuagint. The Septuagint is one of the greatest Testimonies to the Old Testament reliability of the scriptures because we have the Translation of the Old Testament Hebrew scriptures, which date back 5 ,000 years.

We have the translation of them in Greek. Which shows us the tenacity of the text the the continual God's continual preservation of the text. I always like to hear when people argue against the Bible and they say oh the Bible's been Mistranslated it's been translated so many different times and it's been translated over and over and over and we can't really know what Paul wrote.

We can't really know what Moses wrote and it's all hogwash. If you know anything about textual history, if you know anything about textual reliability, you know that the Bible is by far the most well-attested Document of antiquity.

I mean the next is not even close. The next is the writings of Homer not even close. We have over 5 ,700 handwritten copies of the New Testament. And that's just the handwritten copies. Of course after Guttensberg printing press Explosion so the New Testament Comes to us in Koine Greek in its original form after that very shortly.

It was translated into Latin Jerome Translated the Vulgate and of course it was translated multiple other languages very quickly as well Syriac Coptic and others. Very quickly because obviously not everyone spoke Koine Greek.

So very quickly after it was written it began to be dispersed in various languages. So we have copies of 1 ,800 year old copies of the Coptic and the Syriac and different languages and of course Jerome's Vulgate was in the fourth century and Jerome's Vulgate Vulgate became the Foundational Bible for the church for a thousand years.

In fact by the time that they began to write the Bible in English. It was no longer it was it people didn't the the church hierarchy did not want it because they said if you don't know Latin. You don't get to read the Bible because that is the language of the Bible.

Not even realizing I guess that it was originally written in Greek, but the idea was Latin was the Bible. In fact, there were Latin only us like today. You have the King James only movement people who think that that's the only translation you should use because that's the the most important most valuable translation.

Well the time when the Bible is being translated into English first by.

Oh.

Goodness, what was his name? 1300s you guys know who the Morning Star of the Reformation Wycliffe John Wycliffe. John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English from the Latin. Later, it was William Tyndale was the first to translate it from the Greek into English.

And then it was less than a hundred years later. The King James Bible was translated 1611. The King James Bible was translated and that's the reason why I give you all these Translations is to show you that really what we want to do when we memorize the text of Scripture.

I don't care if you memorize it the SV. I don't care if you memorize the NASB. I don't care if you memorize in the King James Version. I don't care if you memorize from the from Young's literal translation.

Whatever you do. Memorize it. Memorize a version a translation which is faithful to the original because that's what matters. That's why I'm not a big fan of things like the message Bible, which is a paraphrase because often Paraphrastic translation is not translation at all.

It's an attempt to take an idea and translate an idea rather than a word and that can be very dangerous. So I've given you three Essentially literal translations that you can look at and then of course I gave you the Greek and the breakdown of the words.

Underneath it tonight. We're going to be looking at the doctrine of salvation. Salvation Simplified so far. We've looked at three Bible verses who can who memorized all three so far. Okay, I love the amount of hands that the recorder knows.

From the recording. It's great to see so many hands. The first Bible verse was 2nd Corinthians 521, which you all have on your bookmark, which said what? God made.

Yeah.

Okay, since we're not all translate since we're not all learning at the same translation. We can't all just recite it. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. That we might become the righteousness of God in him.

That's 2nd Corinthians 521 and I and we called that the gospel in 15 words. You might be reading the bookmark one. Well, that's more than 15 words. Well, yeah in English. It's more than 15 words, but in Greek it's 15 words.

It's the gospel in 15 words. The next one that we learned was what anybody know week two. Good job right there. We're gonna give it a good job. Okay, that was Hebrews 9 27 and Just as it is appointed for man wants to die and after this comes Judgment and we said this is a very important verse for us to remember because it reminds us of two things.

One The universal knowledge that everyone has we're all going to die. But the thing that most men reject and rebel against is that we will also be judged and as sure as we will die We will certainly also be judged.

What was last week? Act 1730. Can't can't remember it anybody. Yes. Very good miss and absolutely the times of ignorance God overlooked. But now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. I tend to memorize in King James English.

Because of it it sticks in my brain better. It's sort of like, you know when you put primer under paint. It makes it stick better for some reason the King James is sort of like a primer for me. It just sticks a little better.

So that's why you'll often hear me if I'm quoting I'll quote and use the little King James vernacular. It's just more helpful. And I need that I need something to help me remember things. So now we're going to move on to the doctrine of salvation so far.

We've looked at the gospel. We've looked at the promise and reminder of death and judgment. We've looked last week at the command of The gospel remember when we share the gospel with someone we're not sharing a suggestion.

God has not suggested that all men repent. God Commandeth all men everywhere to repent. That's the key to last week this week. We're going to step into the arena of doctrine. Because one of the things that is often misunderstood in modern Christianity is the importance of Understanding doctrine.

I remember one time and some of you've heard this story, but I like to tell us I'm gonna tell it again. I Was at a another church and I was at like it was some kind of event they were having. There was some kind of like maybe like a like an outing.

And I was standing there talking to a young man who wanted to go to seminary. And he was asking me about seminary and I was telling him various places He could go and where he could go and to do his biblical training and I said, here's a school that you should go to.

And it's good because they are very doctrinally sound and the young man looked at me and he said, but I hate doctrine. And I stopped him and I said look I Said don't hate doctrine. Because it is what separates the false teacher from the truth.

What you believe about God. What you teach about God. What you teach about Jesus Christ. What you teach about the Holy Spirit. What you teach About the Word of God is what separates the heretic. From the faithful proclaimer of God's Word.

Doctrine is not a bad thing. Doctrine became a bad thing last generation of Christianity when everything became about feelings and nothing became about facts. How many of you have seen my train illustration?

I like do this for kids. I draw a picture of a train now I just I'll make it very quick. This is the Engine and then you have the caboose. I don't know why the caboose had that but it said that's the caboose.

And we and we say we have we have three things. That all are a part of our faith are all part of Christianity. We have facts. We have faith and we have emotion. Now if each one of these cars the engine of course pulling the car the caboose.

Bringing up the rear and the middle car if these were in successive value, which one is most important. What do you think is going in the engine? Facts a lot of people say faith comes first, but that's not true.

It doesn't do you any good to believe in something. That's not true. Facts come first. You believe in what's true. Faith follows facts and the emotions. Result from that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

I believe that he rose from the dead and thus I expressed that in hope and joy and passion for the gospel. Now this is how the church often goes today. We put the.

The.

Emotions up front and what happens is your faith lasts only as long as the emotion lasts. And when your faith lasts only as long as the emotion last guess what? I come to church and I get all high on Jesus and then come Wednesday.

Or maybe even Sunday afternoon. I bring nothing at all with me and Thus we trust in the truth. You could put truth if you wanted to. I just always like the facts faith the motion. Set up as you can say truth faith and emotion and.

So doctrine is important because that's what it's the facts. What is it that the Bible teaches? About Jesus. What is it that the Bible teaches about salvation? What does the Bible teach about me? What's the biblical anthropology?

What's the biblical theology proper? What's the biblical Christology all of those things matter? For without them What would we have? Well, I have my opinion you have your opinion and everybody's opinions equally, right?

That's the moral equivalent of Psychotic behavior if everybody's right. Nobody's wrong. Then guess what? Nobody's right either because nothing's right. That's psychotic. That's why when somebody says well all religions can equally be right at the same time.

No, they can't because they're saying something different. The polytheist and the monotheist cannot both be right at the same time. Because the monotheist says God is one the polytheist says God there are many gods.

There is either one God or there's not one God and the law of non-contradiction States that something cannot be and not be at the same time and in the same relationship. Cannot and that's the simplest logical law.

I can't be here and not be here at the same time and in the same relationship. I'm either here.

I ain't.

God is either one or he's many but he cannot be both and thus the two Religious systems that say God is one and then another that says God as many cannot both exist on the same plane. So all this being said doctrine matters what we believe matters how we express it matters.

And one of the simplest most Important things that we need to understand When sharing our faith is that we need to have a right Soteriology. Now, I didn't just throw that word out there to be fancy. I wanted you to learn it.

Soteros is the Greek word for salvation or saved. Soteros is to save. Soteriology is the study of salvation. It's the doctrine of how a person is saved and we have in the New Testament a verse which simplifies and Boils down the doctrine of salvation in a very very simple Outline when.

That's the verse that we're gonna look at tonight. I used to wear this verse on my wrist.

I.

Used to have a leather bracelet and I just I lost it. I'd wear it again if I had it, but this was the verse it was at EPH 2 8. EPH of course is Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8. The ESV it reads as such for by grace You have been saved through faith and This is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God. That's our pulpit translation. That's what I teach from the ESV the New American Standard. For by grace you have been saved through faith same and That not of yourselves. It changes the pronoun from this to that.

It's still the same thing. It is the gift of God. Well that that's verse 9 and since I limited us to learning one verse each week I'm going to encourage you to learn 9 and 10 because for my grace You've been saved through faith and that not of yourselves the gift of God not of works.

This anyone should boast for we as his work for we are his workmanship creating Christ Jesus unto good works. That's important to memorize the whole thing. But for the rules of the group I said I was gonna do one verse a week.

So I limited it just to verse 8. But yes memorizing through 10 is good and it is on the sheet The King James Version for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.

If you look at these three verses together you notice one thing there is very little deviation in the English and The reason why there's very little deviation in the English is because the Greek is so clear.

It is absolutely clear and It's not it doesn't leave a lot open to Translational variation so you see in the three translations. It's very very simple the Greek is Reads as such take our Kariti s day say sauce minnoy dia pisteos Chi to talk X moon they ooh ta.

Do wrong or do wrong do wrong. Actually, it's the proper on that. And again, I don't expect everybody in here to know Greek or to be studying Greek. But what I do want to just kind of go over with you is the word meanings.

Because this again is where you find whether or not the translation you're studying is correct. You go back to the original and by the way, you can get this Online you do not have to be. You don't have to have a full library full of all kinds of expensive textbooks to get the Greek New Testament go to Bible hub.

Calm and I'm not plugging this for any website or anything. We've got a Bible hub calm. You know a translation you want you can get an interlinear translation. I just want to I brought this to show you tonight my my my my true Greek scholar friends would say an interlinear is bad.

But I will I will tell you they're not all bad but an interlinear looks like this it has the English underneath the Greek and it also has for you the number at the top that number Corresponds to the Strong's concordance so that you can look up that word and see the root meaning of that word.

It also has underneath it whether it is a verb or a noun whether it's in what case that it's in. What whether it's masculine feminine or neuter all that is on the on this sheet is very simple. And the reason why I bring this up is there are some times when Understanding how the language works can help you understand better.

What something is saying for instance in this particular Sentence it says for by grace. You're saved through faith. That is not of yourselves. What is it that's not of yourselves. Well, let's break this sentence down.

Very quickly, by the way, those who don't normally come on Wednesday night. We sort of treat this like mini seminary. We really dig into this stuff because we think it's it's fun and it's helpful. It gets us deeper.

But looking at this sentence. For by grace, are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves? The second portion and this is not of yourselves or that is not of yourself. That is a pronoun. Okay, and what does a pronoun require?

Antecedent a word that it points back to if I said Bobby and Keith are going to the movies and they are going to get popcorn. They is the pronoun which refers back to Bobby and Keith. Bobby and Keith are the antecedent of they we know that.

It's a plural Pronoun if it were singular if I said Bobby and Keith are going to the movies and he is going to get popcorn. You wouldn't know who the he was. Right, you wouldn't say it that way because it'd be a singular pronoun with multiple antecedents unless you said Bobby and Keith are going To the movies and he is getting popcorn.

You would have to refer back to the the direct antecedent would be Keith because there's a second noun. But that's not the way we would normally say it. It gave me some popcorn. Okay. The reason why I'm making all that important is because the word that is hugely important because preceding that are.

Two.

Nouns, what are the nouns that precede the word that? For by grace, are you saved through faith? What are the two nouns there?

Grace and.

And it says and that is Not of yourselves in some translation says this is not of yourself. And this is.

Is.

Singular. But it has multiple Antecedents, so the way that you would determine in Greek is you would look at the gender of The noun and Compare it to the gender of the pronoun. All right. The gender of that in this particular sentence the gender is neuter.

So you would look to see which one of the pronouns has a neuter gender. Okay, so which is it? Huh?

Ye.

Ye, where you at? Okay, you You are is a participle. Yeah, this you are is not a noun. Yeah, you are saved is a you have there a S they says says sas minnoy is. That's a verb and then you have the participle there.

So it's not you're you're looking at it as a noun. But it's not a noun in Greek. Yes, you were. Yeah, it's not. All right. So Greek in the Greek that that is neuter. What does it refer to? Well, here's the problem.

Pisteaus is Greek or is the faith and that is in.

Feminine.

Feminine. So that means grace is it right? No, it's not because grace is in the feminine as well. So now your singular Pronoun does not match either of your preceding nouns. That creates a problem for some people, but I'm going to solve it for you in just a second.

But very quickly before I solve it. I want to make a point.

We argue as.

Reformed Christians those who come out of the Protestant Reformation that salvation is a gift of God from beginning to end and That even our faith is a gift from God. Would we agree those of us who are performed that even even that which we express as belief?

Comes from God and oftentimes this verse is used to prove that and they'll say see that is the pronoun it points back to. Faith is the exact preceding noun. So that is faith. The problem is the genders don't line up.

So some people say no, it's grace. And then what do we say to them? Well, those genders don't line up either. That does not refer to grace or faith. That refers to the entire preceding clause. For by grace are you saved through faith and that whole thing is The gift of God.

So it's not just faith. That's being referenced by that and it's not just grace that's being referenced by that and it's not even salvation. Because that's word is there to say says awesome. You know, I is it's not that that's being referenced either all of it.

That precedes the that is now being referenced as the gift. Yes. Yeah, we haven't got there yet. We're gonna talk about that the fact the requirement of the fact that it's a gift is the fact that it comes to a dead Person we're gonna really I like to step it up here.

Yes. In the Greek it's it's it's gender in in English we don't do this in other languages they. Did you ever take Spanish. And you know how in Spanish there were different genders and how different genders worked it's the same similar.

Well, not the same but it's similar in Greek that you have something we don't have in English what we do. But it's not the same. We don't ascribe gender to all things where they do in Spanish ascribe gender to various things.

We don't. But we do in a sense. We you know, we talk about ships and we call them she right. We ascribe it to a ship or a hurricane often is given a name. Well, that used to be like lady names and things but but specifically though.

This is how. This is how the language would work together. Yeah, this is not English. This is Greek and that and and and all. I hope I haven't lost everybody my point in this is simply to solve an exegetical issue.

Because for some reform folks who want to make the argument that that refers to faith there they're going too far. That refers to the entire preceding clause. Yeah, and they're reading into it. See see just because it's saying what we're saying doesn't mean it's saying all that we're saying.

Hope I didn't just lose everybody. We have to be fair with the text and we can't go further than the text goes and people often do that on both sides. Those who would oppose what we teach would argue from other verses.

We often argue from our own verses. This is one of the ones that we often argue from and we often argue incorrectly. Arguing that that references faith. It doesn't it references the entire preceding clause.

Yes. For by grace are you saved through faith? Yes, but now you're dealing with the order of Saludis you're you're you're you're addressing Regeneration. Regeneration is what brings about our new birth.

But it is not the only part of salvation that we enjoy. Would you agree? That we enjoy adoption that we enjoy justification that we enjoy sanctification. Glorification and all the other aspects of salvation which are talked about in Scripture.

Yeah, the righteousness of Christ imputed us are said imputed to him, you know those things so when you yes Regeneration is a part of this but regeneration is not the only part of this. So, so that's my point is is is regeneration is.

Regeneration is the cause of our belief. We go from death to life and because of that we hope our hearts are open to believing. I feel like I may have lost. I may have gone further than I intended to with this.

I just wanted to bring out How language matters and how understanding the language can help us make better arguments for our doctrine? Understanding we know that salvation is a gift from God. This text is so clear and what this text is really clear about is that the whole process?

Grace and faith are.

Both.

Gifts from God. God gives us grace that way the way that we're. Kiriti there Kiriti there is the from the root Karis means a Unmerited gift. It is something that's unearned. Paul tells us that if you think that you earn the grace of God you take grace away.

You make it a wage that you earned. The only thing that we earn from God is.

Judgment.

The Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. What's that? No, you don't you can't and that's why grace is so important. Understand that grace is a gift that you couldn't.

Earn.

Faith is an exercise of trust. You know, we all do it. I remember a guy who told me one time. I'm incapable of expressing faith. I Said you came in and sat in that chair. Well, I tested the chair before I sat down.

I Said. But you had to trust at some point that it would hold you. Well, I. I shook it to make sure he was really argumentative. I said you never exercise faith. I said you drove here today in a car where you press the middle pop.

That's the pedal to the left hoping it would stop you. You exercise faith in the in the pedal. Well, I put those brakes on. I.

Couldn't win.

I said you if I had to go somewhere and I asked you to go with me you would get into my truck and ride With me never thinking for a second that my brakes don't work and you didn't put them on.

You.

Exercise faith every day. Faith is an act of trust. But trust in Christ is an unnatural act. The Bible says That the natural man cannot do that, which is pleasing to God. Romans chapter 8 Faith pleases God and thus it is not natural.

For the NAT for the for the person who is unregenerate to express faith.

And.

That's where we come to Ephesians because I want to go back up and read verses 1 through 10. Now read the context To see how this verse fits into the context. Because it begins by telling us about the nature of man.

It gives us a very clear biblical Anthropology an understanding of man. It says. And you Paul is writing to the Ephesians, but by extension to us all. He is saying. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.

You were dead in those Dead de ad dead you were dead. You were not sick. You were not dying. You were not Almost dead. You were dr. T Dead right there. You were dead and you're trespassing. That's an important word.

Because Paul expounds on that in other passages such as in Romans 3 where he tells us that no one seeks after God.

Why?

Because we're dead in sin. We don't want to seek after God. We want to seek after sin. We want to seek after unrighteousness. We love our sin. And when we are confronted with the holiness of God, we are Confounded because we love sin and God hates sin and thus we in turn hate God.

We don't like to think of it that way. But that's what happens. And you just think when you talk to the natural person the person who has no affection for God no desire for God and you tell Him about God and you start talking to him about God.

What is his immediate response? I don't like him. He tells me what I can't do. He tells me what I shouldn't do. He tells me how I should behave and I like those things. Thus I don't like him. Why do people love God who are unbelievers?

Because they create a God in their own mind. They're idolaters. They create a God that's like them. Oh my God would never send anyone to hell.

You're right.

Because your God doesn't exist. He can't do that. You created an idol and you're worshiping an idol you win. You're right. I don't argue with that person. I say you are exactly right. Okay, the King James go ahead.

You were dead. Yeah, there's a small text. Yeah, there's a textual variation there. But I don't want to get into that right now. But yeah it's okay, you're the King James. New King James is based on the Byzantine manuscript tradition and There's some variations between that the Alexandria manuscript tradition.

That's where there's 5 ,700 manuscripts. So we were talking about earlier. Well, it doesn't change the meaning but it but there are some words that you're going to find in certain manuscripts that you won't find in others and this is what textual.

Textual Criticism not higher criticism, but textual criticism is all about determining what the original was. You saw it in italics. There you go. If you see in italics, that means it wasn't in the original.

Yeah.

If it's in the King James in the italics, that means it was not part of the original. Just keep that in mind. Yes, ma 'am. I'll touch your hand. Okay, I Will keep reminding I'll do my best. And you were dead.

In the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Following the course of this world. Following the Prince of the power of the air. The spirit that is not working. The sons of disobedience.

Among whom we all.

Paul is very emphatic that we all once lived in the passions of our flesh carrying out the desires of the body in the mind and were by nature children of wrath. I Remember in this very room we used to have a little stage over there that was in the corner because the door used to be here before we move the sounder.

And I remember teaching On this text one night and I remember a person telling me but we are not sinners by nature. No, I'm sorry. I was teaching on something else and the person we're not sinners by nature.

We're sinners by choice. I Said well, we are sinners. Both is right. We are sinners by nature and by choice. But the reason why we choose to sin is because we're sinners by nature. We don't sin. We're not sinners because we sin.

We sin because we're sinners. That makes sense. Okay, and it says this is by nature. I took the verse I said right here by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind Paul is using universal language about sanity.

He says all of mankind is dead and sin.

But God.

The two most beautiful words in the English Bible. Because this is where the plan Changes not the plan rather because the plan has always been the mind of God. This is how this is how life changes when God intervenes.

We who were dead and our trespasses and sins. Just like the rest of mankind, but God Being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us. Even when we were dead in our trespasses. And that's a beautiful text as it tells us God loved us when we were dead.

God loved a dead sinner.

And.

This way God showed his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. We see that here.

Even.

When we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved by the way that same Construction is used later in verse 8. He uses the same the phrase by grace. You've been saved twice.

And anytime we see that any sentence like that used twice and in this proximity, it's focusing on a theme. The reason why he's focusing on death is to show you the power of the life that he brings. It is all of grace.

By grace, he pretty much stops the sentence here. He's talking he even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. He made us alive together with Christ by grace. You have been saved in the ESV they put it in a and they put a hyphen between those two as if to say and I think it's correct in The in the original it's it's this is a this is this is like Paul is just writing and he goes and don't forget.

Yeah, because it is a parenthetical statement. So it's it's don't forget that the whole reason why the death matters and all this matters is because it's all of grace and he goes on and raised us with him and Seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus a lot of people don't understand that because they say well We're not seeing with Christ right now.

Well, we are in a sense because we are in Christ and Christ is seated in heavenly places and thus because we are in him Spiritually, we are already our salvation is already completed. Salvation is something not something we work for.

Salvation is not something we earn. Salvation is something that has already been accomplished. We are enjoying the accomplishments of our King. We are not accomplishing our own salvation.

It's done.

Okay. So that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace You have been saved. That's in the perfect tense meaning that it's a past tense.

But it has effect in the future and the focus is on the effect. You have been saved in the past because Christ saved you on the cross, but that salvation has an effect that's ongoing and even to now you are being saved and You will be saved forever.

Because of that past completed action and this is not your doing it is the gift of God not a result of works. So that no one may boast no one no one's gonna get to heaven.

And say.

Lord I.

Deserve this in.

Fact.

The only people who are gonna say they deserve it are the people in Matthew 7 who Jesus said he's going to say to them Depart from me. I never knew you because they're the ones who say but Lord Lord. Didn't we do many mighty miracles in your name and cast out many demons in your name and do these works in your name?

And I will say unto them what well, I didn't know about that. Come on in. No, that's not what he says. Well, I forgot it was you I Just I missed mister. It was not miss. I would had the wrong list. Did you believe I brought out the wrong list?