Such A Great Salvation

This post is not meant to be an exhaustive, complete explanation of the gospel. It is a presentation of what was discussed in the Fight for the Faith class I taught on April 26 and May 3 at Trinity Baptist Church.

What is being deconstructed?

Faith.  

In today's world, faith is often more about personal preference.  This is evidence in the use of the phrase "your truth."  
Biblical faith is rooted in facts that are believed and trusted.  It is true no matter what one believes or feels about it.  Your personal faith needs to match the faith in the Bible.

The two topics  

total depravity and election.  

Our discussion on these topics went through several big words before discussing these two terms.  These word are theology (proper), anthropology, aseity, and soteriology.

Theology (proper) answers the question "who is God?"  God is creator, sustainer, and holy.  There is so much more that can be included in this answer, but for our study, we will focus on these three descriptions.  Anthropology answers the question "who is man?"  Man is created, needy from the beginning, a sinner in need of a savior.

There are connections with these words.  Creator and created.  Sustainer and Needy.  Holy and Sinner.  We need to understand that man's identity depends on God.  God's being is independent of us.  This deals with the concept of God's aseity - His self-existence and independence.  This is a key part of aseity, but there is more than independence.  "God is independent because he is the fullness of life" (Samuel Parkinson, 4 Reasons to Love God's Aseity.  Here is a podcast that explains this doctrine a little more - The Forgotten Yet Foundational Doctrine of Aseity

So, God is the one who gives life, and man needs God.

Soteriology answers the question "what is salvation?" Salvation is the decisive work of God through Christ Jesus to bring the sinner from sin and death into a right relationship with God.  HERE is a "Look at the Book" video by John Piper on Ephesians 2:4-7 that explains the decisive work of God in salvation.  This leads us to two important terms that have been debated for centuries.

The first term is total depravity.  Total Depravity is often wrongly thought to mean committing the worst possible sins.  It does not mean men will take every opportunity to commit the worst possible sins.  It does mean man is totally incapable of saving himself in his own strength.  Ephesians 2:8, 9 states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."   Total depravity impacts the will (John 8:34; Romans 7:14-24), the mind (1 Corinthians 1:21), emotions (Genesis 6:3), and behavior (Galatians 5:19-21).

The second term is election.  This doctrine is often broken down into two camps: Calvinists (named after John Calvin) and Arminians (named after Jacobus Arminius).  A basic definition of election I have read but cannot remember the source is that election is the act of God by which, in his sovereign pleasure, for his glory, by no merit of men, men and women are brought into a right relationship with God.  This challenging doctrine is a pride-crushing doctrine.  It shows us that God is the beginning, the end, and the everywhere in between, of the gospel.