Discussion Board 3
Understanding of the distinctive work of Son of God and God’s Spirit in attainment of salvation start with looking into the unity that is established between a new believer and Christ. Everything that the new believer gains spiritually depends on the being of Christ within. The hope of the believer is Christ within him and his spiritual strength is derived from the Lord’s indwelling presence (Erickson 878)[1]. Christ took up the human nature when he ascended into the world and through His death; he paid the ultimate sacrificial price the human race through the atoning death at the cross. His sinless life, suffering and even death met the full requirement of divine justice (1 Peter 3:18) and the broken relationship between God and human beings was restored Romans 5:10. Sin had alienated humans from God so that he rejected them and did not listen to their prayers Isaiah 59:2. God showed His love for the fallen humans in that while they were still sinners, Christ came and died for them Romans 5:8. Christ provided the appropriate example of the kind of dedication God desires from Christians, the extent of His love and highlighted the nature of sin and extent of His righteousness. Christ also triumphed over the power of sin and death and liberated believers from it, thereby rendering satisfaction to God for their sins (Erickson 729)[2]. The theory of atonement as compensation to God best demonstrates Christ’s role in procuring salvation for the entire humanity. The union established between the believer and Christ after salvation appears to have the greatest effect in relation to justification or God’s view of sinners as righteous before Him.
The role of God’s Spirit involves convicting sinners of their sinners and leads them to repentance John 16:8. The divine prompting leading up to Salvation is God’s own act and is referred to as efficacious grace. It involves inward revelation and effects that are imparted on one’s mind heart and soul and he becomes an immediate agent of God, the omnipotent (Hodge 683)[3]. The role of the Spirit involves a driving force towards regeneration. It is the process through which God transforms believers, gives them new spiritual power and direction after accepting Christ (Erickson 872)[4]. The Spirit then continuously sanctifies the believer by applying to his life the work done by Christ (Erickson 897)[5].
Assurance of Salvation involves believers knowing that he is saved from his sin and stems from God’s ability to see His Children’s hearts. In this case, a middle ground is non-existent since God is either the Lord of a person’s life or not. The question of whether a person accepts the testimony of God or not is beyond academic; the believer is assured of eternal life but only in Christ (Marshall 241)[6]. This means that assurance is a reflection of a person’s behavior. The major difference between assurance and Evidence of Salvation is seen once a person is saved. The salvation must be accompanied by proper action as fruit of his faith (James 2:17). One should be careful, however, not to only base their assurance on their actions but what has been done by Christ in their lives. Security involves a person surety for their salvation. Since a believer has been justified by faith, they can have piece with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5). After believing in Christ, believers are declared innocent of any charge brought against those who are sinners. According to Paul, the justification declaration is a past act in which the believer attains a new or permanent status in which he has been acquitted (Moo 298)[7].
Bibliography
Marshall, I. Howard. The New International Commentary on the New Testament – The Epistles of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.241
Moo, Douglas J. The epistle to the Romans. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996.298
Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing Group, 2013.
Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology Volume I. Vol. 1. Lulu. com, 2016.
[1] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing Group, 2013.
[2] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing Group, 2013.
[3] Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology Volume I. Vol. 1. Lulu. com, 2016.
[4] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing Group, 2013.
[5] Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Publishing Group, 2013.
[6] Marshall, I. Howard. The New International Commentary on the New Testament – The Epistles of John. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978.241
[7] Moo, Douglas J. The epistle to the Romans. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996.298
