For whom is the saving death of Christ efficacious?
The saving death of Christ is efficacious only for God’s people, as Christ was slain for God’s people in all times and places throughout the world, and bore their sins as He died on the cross (Is 53:8, 11-12). Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life voluntarily to save God’s people, His sheep, from their sins (Jn 10:15). It is only efficacious for the elect—that is, the people of God who were chosen and predestined before the foundations of the world (Eph 1:4).
May God’s saving grace be finally resisted/repudiated?
God’s saving grace is only efficacious for the elect (Eph 1:4). Those who receive God’s saving grace are saved according to the mercy of God as they are being renewed by the Holy Spirit—the third Person of the Trinity who never fails to bring salvation to sinners who are called to Christ by the Father (Jn 6:37-40, 44; Titus 3:5). Thus, saving grace cannot be resisted because it is a gift that is not based on works but rather on the mercy of God through the regeneration that the Holy Spirit brings (Eph 2:5, 8; Ps 3:8).
Does God preserve those included in Christ to the end, growing them to maturity in and conformity to himself, or are the redeemed able to fall away from (i.e. ‘lose’) salvation?
Once God saves a believer, they are always saved. The Spirit is the seal and guarantee of the salvation of a believer at the moment when He indwells them (Eph 1:13-14; Jn 14:17; Rom 8:9). God preserves those who are included in Christ to the end by the power of the Holy Spirit as He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and will never forsake those who are His (Heb 13:5, 8). Nothing can separate the believer from God’s salvation because of the security of the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30; Jn 10:28-29; Rom 8:38-39).
Of what does saving faith consist? And why do we say that faith is ‘saving’?
Saving faith consists of three things: knowledge, assent, and personal trust in Christ Jesus. Saving faith consists of knowledge of the true Jesus Christ of the biblical Gospel, differentiating Him from mere superstitions and error (Acts 17:16-34; Rom 10:13-17). It also consists of our assent, or agreement, to the biblical truths that define God and us. Lastly, it consists of personally trusting in Jesus as the Savior who will fulfill His promises to His believers (Rom 4:20-25; Heb 11).
What is the relationship between salvation and union with Christ?
Salvation can only be obtained through union with Christ, for in Christ all who believe will be made alive because He is the true Vine (1 Cor 15:22; Jn 15:5). In Christ, believers have redemption through His blood for the forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14). Christ is the cornerstone of our salvation, and we are the living stones built upon Him (1 Pet 2:4-7). As we are in union with Christ through our faith, we obtain an imperishable inheritance—that is, eternal life.
What is the saving benefit of justification?
God, in His just mercy, declares believers righteous by having judged our sins in Christ Jesus on the cross and imputed His own righteousness to us (Rom 4:5-8). Justification is appropriated by faith—that is, believing in the Lord through faith is what justifies the believer to be in right standing before God (Gen 15:6). It is not based on works that believers are saved, but rather, on their faith in Christ Jesus for the remission of the penalty of sin where God’s favor is restored (Rom 3:23-24; Eph 2:8).
What is the benefit of adoption?
God, in His love, declares believers a member of His family by loving us as He had unfailingly loved Christ the Son (Rom 8:31-39). Believers are given the privilege to call upon and trust God as Father (Mt 6:5-13, 25-34). Believers are given an eternal inheritance and a desire to live obedient, holy lives for God as children of God (1 Pet 1:4; Rom 8:13-14; Gal 4:5). As adopted children of God, we can receive the Holy Spirit who consoles and assures us of our identity as sons and daughters of the Most High God our Father (1 Jn 3:1; Rom 8:15).
What is the benefit of sanctification?
God, in His union with believers, conforms the hearts of believers to be like the heart of Jesus—that is, conforming us to the image of the Son as He is delivering us from our depraved natures (Eph 5:25-27). Because believers are justified, believers are to be sanctified through the enablement of the Holy Spirit by being holy as Jesus is holy. Sanctification, then, is a restoration of God’s people to the original image of God that they were originally created in and intended to be (Gen 1:26-27).
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