A statement of faith looks to summarize core beliefs or beliefs about timeless issues.

• Thus far we have covered the articles concerning Scripture, God, and man.
• Today, we will look at two articles related to God’s provision of salvation for man.

Article 4 >> Salvation

• This article covers the fact that salvation saves the entire person: body, soul, and spirit. Transformation touches each area in different stages: regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. It also addresses the exclusivity of salvation, specifically that salvation is only found by personal faith in Christ alone. This rejects any view of inclusivism or some other attempt to nuance or innovate this doctrine.

Article 5 >> God’s Purpose of Grace

• This article consisted of two articles in the 1925 edition, but was consolidated in the 1963. The goal of this article is to address the reality of election and predestination, which are clearly communicated in Scripture, while also providing language that does not fully align with some of the theological systems that have divided churches in the past.
• In my estimation, the article sets the tone for the conversation, exalting God’s sovereignty, stating clearly that human choices matter, while also defending the biblical doctrine of perseverance.

How do we hold these doctrines?

• Spurgeon >> There are two great truths which from this platform I have proclaimed for many years. The first is that salvation is free to every man who will have it; the second is that God gives salvation to a people whom He has chosen; & these truths are not in conflict with each in the in the least degree.
• James Boyce (founder of SBTS) >> Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life — not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ — in consequence of which choice they are called, justified & glorified.”
• A.W. Tozer >> Salvation is from our side a choice; from the divine side, it is a seizing upon, an apprehending, a conquest by the Most High God. Our accepting & willing are reactions rather than actions.
• During his days as guest lecturer at Calvin Seminary, one professor once used the following illustration of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility: I liken them to two ropes going through two holes in the ceiling and over a pulley above. If I wish to support myself by them, I must cling to them both. If I cling only to one and not the other, I go down. I read the many teachings of the Bible regarding God’s election, predestination, his chosen, and so on. I read also the many teachings regarding ’whosoever will may come’ and urging people to exercise their responsibility as human beings. These seeming contradictions cannot be reconciled by the puny human mind. With childlike faith, I cling to both ropes, fully confident that in eternity I will see that both strands of truth are, after all, of one piece.