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1. Foreknowledge and election
• Foreknow: to foreordain or decree and to lovingly know in advance; to set one’s love upon another. Rom 8:28
• Election: a free and unconstrained selection by God; to choose. Eph 1:4
2. Predestination: a sovereign, eternal, unchangeable decree of God concerning the elect and determining their destiny. Rom 8:30; Eph 1:11
3. Effectual calling: a sovereign and effective summons by which the people of God are ushered into the fellowship and union with Christ as their Redeemer, Savior and Lord. Rom 8:30, 11:29; John 6:44-45
4. Regeneration or new life: a miraculous change in a person’s heart and life wrought by a re-creative act of God. It is a radical, effective transformation and spiritual resurrection that results in repentance, faith and new obedience. Eph 2:1-5; 1 John 5:1-2[note Greek verb tenses]; John 1:9-13, 3:1-8; Titus 3:5
5. Faith and Repentance—Conversion: “Saving faith is permeated with repentance and repentance is permeated with faith.”
• Faith is a whole-souled movement of self-commitment to Christ for salvation from sin and its consequences.
• Repentance is a turning from sin unto God. It a change in heart, mind and will concerning God, ourselves, sin and righteousness. It includes a “true sens of our sin” and results in “a grief and hatred of our sin” along with a turning from it unto God. Acts 20:21; Eph 1:12-13, 2:8-9; 2 Tim 2:25-26; Rom 4:3-5:21
6. Justification: to be declared righteous by God. It is an objective, outward, legal act on the basis of Christ’s accomplished work. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the believer’s account and they are accepted as righteous in God’s sight. It is a change in legal standing before God from guilty to not-guilty. Rom 5:1-2; 2 Cor 5:21
7. Adoption: to be received as a part of the intimate family of God as either His son or daughter. As such, the believer receives all rights, privileges and inheritance as His children. It is an outward legal act that results in a new relationship and the receiving of the Spirit of adoption, the Holy Spirit. It is a change in position. Eph 1:5, 13-14; Rom 8:9-11, 14-17; 1 Cor 12:13
8. Sanctification: this is an act of God “whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God.” It begins at conversion and remains a process until glorification. It is the work of God in us that begins with a radical division from sin and then continues the war with sin in our minds and bodies. It is a change of character. Heb 2:11, 12:14; Acts 20:32, 26:18; Rom 6:19, 22, 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; 1 Thes 4:3-7; 2 Thes 2:13
9. Perseverance of the saints: to continue in the faith. True believer’s will persevere, endure and continue in the faith until their death. They are kept by God’s power, which will result in an enduring faith and a pursuit of holiness throughout their life. However, make-believers will not continue in the faith or continue on the narrow road. True saving faith will continue through trials and not die from struggles, falls into sin or set-backs. Genuine believers will return to trusting God and a pursuit of holiness again and again throughout their lives or they will be under God’s loving corrective discipline until they do. On one hand, the believer is responsible to exercise the means of grace to aid in spiritual growth and perseverance throughout their lifetime. On the other hand, God promises perseverance to all who are genuinely converted by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. A real Christian cannot become lost once he/she has been granted everlasting salvation. Matt 7:23; John 6:37, 63-65,10:9-10, 14, 24-30, 17:11; Rom 8:1-14, 25, 30; Phil 1:6; Heb 3:14, 6:12-13, 12:1-15; 1 Cor 1:2-9, 6:14; 2 Cor 1:22, Eph 1:11-14
10. Glorification: this is an act of God towards His people in which He makes them perfect in holiness by a supernatural act. The believer’s soul passes into glory at his/her death. Their soul is made perfect in holiness, but this is only the beginning. The consummation of the glorification takes place at the first resurrection of believer’s at the second coming of Christ. John 5:24-29; Rom 8:23, 30; 1 Cor 15:20-28, 42-58; 1 Thes 4:16-18; Rev 19:11-20:6
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