THE BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE, Article Seven

This is Part 7 of a continuing series of articles examining the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. This statement of faith was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting on June 14, 2000 “to set forth certain teachings which we believe.”

Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
(Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)

Picture yourself trapped in a burning building. You are screaming for help. There is no way of escape. When hope seems gone, a firefighter chops through an adjacent wall with his ax, lifts you and carries you through the blinding smoke to a ladder. Emerging from the flames engulfing the building, you tearfully, thankfully cry, “I’m saved! I’m saved!”

So, we are in spiritual peril from the judgment of God—the flames of hell threaten to sweep over us. There is no way of escape that we can find on our own. Then Jesus comes. He lifts us out and we are saved. That is a picture of our salvation.

Another picture is of a slave on the auction block. In Bible times, slavery was a grim reality. Think of how brutal it would be to find you are in bondage without hope of release. You cannot free yourself. Then an amazing thing happens. Someone purchases you, and then to your astonishment—they set you free! That is the thought behind the great Gospel word, “redemption”—to set free by payment of a price. The Bible teaches that we are in the slave market of sin, in bondage to Satan, the world, and the flesh. But Jesus paid the price of His own precious blood to liberate us from the shackles of sin.

Regeneration is yet another term used to describe salvation. That is a second birth—a spiritual birth into God’s family. It is a work wrought by the Holy Spirit that makes us a new creation in Christ. By virtue of our first birth we are the children of Adam. We are in the flesh and under the curse of sin—the condemnation of the second death. When we experience the second birth we are children of God. We are in the Spirit and possess eternal life.

A diamond has many facets—each sparkling with beauty—and so it is with our salvation. Another facet of that great salvation is justification. Here is a person on death row—guilty and condemned. But then the word comes that the criminal has been pardoned, the record of their crimes has been expunged from the record. That’s what God has done for us spiritually, and has applied the very righteousness of Christ to our account, so that we can be pronounced just before a holy God.

Still another rich term is sanctification. This means to be set apart. The vessels of the Jewish temple were sanctified—holy unto the Lord—set apart as belonging to God and for His use alone. These vessels were cleansed and marked out for this purpose. So, in sanctification we have been set apart for God, as His special vessels, washed clean by the blood of Christ and identified as His own. Sanctification is positional and progressive. That is, when we are saved we are sanctified—this is our position before God, and nothing can alter that fact that we now belong to Him. But, sanctification is also progressive. We are in the process of being sanctified in our daily walk as we are led of the Spirit to become more and more like Christ.

At last, we will become like Him—fully like Him—and that is glorification. The Apostle John says it this way, “Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” (1 John 3:2 NLT)

So, we have salvation in three tenses:
1) I am saved—saved from the penalty of sin. There is no fear of condemnation for I am redeemed, regenerated, and justified. God has dealt with my sin.
2) I am being saved—saved from the power of sin. God is growing me in grace. As I walk in the Spirit, I am being conformed into Christ’s likeness daily.
3) I will be saved—saved from the presence of sin. Salvation will be complete, consummated in the glory of heaven.