40 QUESTIONS ABOUT SALVATION, by Matthew Barrett

A Brief Book Summary from Books at a Glance

By Mark Baker

About the Author

Matthew Barrett is associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the executive editor of Credo Magazine and has authored many books including God’s Word Alone, Reformation Theology, and Owen on the Christian Life (back cover).

Overview

To quote the book of Hebrews, believers in Christ get to participate in “so great a salvation” (Heb 2:3). This salvation is like a diamond—it has many facets to it, and they are all beautiful. Furthermore, every part of a believer’s salvation can be encapsulated by union with Christ. Salvation is for Christ and through Christ; indeed, salvation belongs to the Lord (Jonah 2:9). In Christ, believers are called, regenerated, born again, justified, adopted, sanctified, and glorified. This book will work through this “order of salvation” (ordo salutis) so that we might understand this great salvation with more clarity.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Sin and the Need for Salvation

1. What is Sin?
2. Do We Inherit the Guilt and Corruption of Adam’s Sin? (Part 1)
3. Do We Inherit the Guilt and Corruption of Adam’s Sin? (Part 2)
4. Are We Totally Depraved?
5. Do We Need God’s Grace to be Freed from Sin?

Part 2: Salvation and Union with Christ

1. What is Meant by Salvation?
2. What is the Order of Salvation?
3. What Does it Mean to be United with Christ? (Part 1)
4. What Does it Mean to be United with Christ? (Part 2)

Part 3: Election, Calling, and New Birth

1. Is God’s Electing Choice Conditioned upon us? (Part 1)
2. Is God’s Electing Choice Conditioned upon us? (Part 2)
3. What is the Difference between the Gospel Call and the Effectual Call?
4. Does God’s Call Ever Fail? (Part 1)
5. Does God’s Call Ever Fail? (Part 2)
6. What Does it Mean to be Born Again?
7. Is the New Birth Something We Bring About? (Part 1)
8. Is the New Birth Something We Bring About? (Part 2)
9. Does God Coerce Our Free Will?

Part 4: Conversion, Justification, and Adoption

1. What is Saving Faith?
2. What is True Repentance?
3. Are Faith and Repentance Gifts of God’s Grace?
4. Is Justification a Legal Declaration of Moral Transformation?
5. What is the Great Exchange?
6. Is the Righteousness of Christ Imputed to Believers? (Part 1)
7. Is the Righteousness of Christ Imputed to Believers? (Part 2)
8. Is Justification by God’s Grace Alone, through Faith Alone?
9. What Does It Mean to be Adopted as Children of God?

Part 5: Sanctification, Perseverance, and Glorification

1. What is the Difference between Definitive and Progressive Sanctification?
2. What is the Difference between Justification and Sanctification?
3. Who is the Author of Sanctification?
4. How Do We Die to Sin?
5. How Do We Grow in Likeness to Christ?
6. Will We Ever Reach Perfection in this Life?
7. Can We Lose our Salvation? (Part 1)
8. Can We Lose our Salvation? (Part 2)
9. Is Perseverance in the Faith Necessary? (Part 1)
10. Is Perseverance in the Faith Necessary? (Part 2)
11. What Role Do Warning Passages Play in our Perseverance? (Part 1)
12. What Role Do Warning Passages Play in our Perseverance? (Part 2)
13. What Will Glorification be Like?

Summary

Part 1: Sin and the Need for Salvation

Most fundamentally, we can define sin as “a failure to obey God’s moral law” (22). Yet this breach does not end with external actions; we can fail to meet God’s standard in our attitudes and motives as well. The Bible gives many vivid and specific examples of sin such as unbelief, idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and pride.

Ultimately, the problem of sin began with Adam, and that problem was then passed down to all of humanity. This belief is often called original sin, and it refers to “the state or condition man is born into” (23). While there are many theories of exactly how original sin occurs, it is best to understand original sin through the lens of immediate imputation or Federalism. This view especially appeals to Romans 5:12–21 and understands that, in God’s economy, Adam’s sin spread to all humankind because he was the representative head of all humankind. “When Adam sinned he acted as our representative. As a result, all of mankind was counted guilty because of Adam’s sin” (37).

So how should we think about humanity’s sinful state? Theologians have often used the term total depravity to describe this sinful state. While the Bible does provide evidence that all humanity is totally depraved, that term requires some nuance. Total depravity does not mean that every person is as bad as he or she could be. Rather, it means that “the corruption he has inherited extends to all of his faculties (intellect, will, affections, etc.)” (45). It is therefore true to understand every sinner as “enslaved to sin.” Only God can set these prisoners free.

Part 2: Salvation and Union with Christ

After understanding the total depravity and the utterly helpless condition of humanity, it makes God’s salvation sound all the more beautiful. His salvation is a great salvation! The Bible talks about salvation in past, present, and future tense. God’s salvation is past tense: Ephesians 2:4–9 tells us of how God has saved us through faith. As believers, we also currently possess this great salvation. Both Titus 3:4–7 and 2 Timothy 1:8–9 indicate how believers currently enjoy the benefits of God’s salvation. Last but not least, Hebrews 9:28 declares that God’s salvation will be fully present in the future.

Theologians have often wrestled with the question of the order of the process of salvation. This order is often called the ordo salutis. Before going into the specific order, it is important to note that many of these aspects of salvation happen almost simultaneously. A study of the ordo salutis is therefore less about chronology and more about cause and effect. For example, the Bible emphasizes the fact that regeneration precedes. . .

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40 Questions about Salvation

Kregel Academic, 2018 | 352 pages

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