Friday 9 November 2012

God's change agenda for every Christian


This coming  Sunday I'm preaching on the 'Ordo Salutis', as seen in Romans 8.

'Ordo Salutis' is a Latin phrase meaning 'Order of Salvation', and it's a logical sequence of stages that reformed theologians have traditionally found helpful in understanding the process of salvation. Put simply - it's God's change agenda for the life of every Christian.

It's a thrilling doctrine because it expresses how God's plan of salvation for us as individuals started way back in eternity past and reaches forward into eternity future. Appreciating these 9 stages (some of which happen instantaneously when we 'become a Christian') helps us see that salvation is far more than a simple decision to trust Christ on our part - it's God's work in us in order to transform us into the likeness of his Son. And because salvation is GOD's work in us, understanding the Ordo Salutis should also result in us having a greater sense of security and assurance as believers - which is how Paul famously concludes Romans 8:


'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 8:38-39)


Paul says that we were known by God and chosen by him before the creation of the world - in love he predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29), and because of that our eternal security and future glorification is absolutely certain.

I love the inevitability of the sequence Paul gives us in Romans 8:30:
'And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.' (Romans 8:30)
While studying the Ordo Salutis this week, I have come across some great resources that I won't have time to refer to on Sunday morning.
 
One of those  is the infographic that forms the thumbnail for this post. This is included in the handout for this week which you can download HERE. This also has all the other handouts from the series so far.

But there are some other great resources on the web that it's also worth highlighting:
  • VIDEO: is this the coolest a theologian has ever sounded? Follow THIS LINK to listen to 5 minute radio interview with theologian Wayne Grudem, where he outlines the Ordo Salutis in simple terms. It's worth listening right to the end just to find out what 'Fo-shizzel, my man vizzel' means!
  • POSTER: The Ordo Salutis is not a new idea. Way back in the 17th Century, John Bunyan, author of Pilgrims Progress, produced a beautiful poster showing the two paths through life. You can see a high definition version of it HERE.
 
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