The Dynamics of Salvation

The Dynamics of Salvation

Pretext:

Salvation, in a nutshell, is a word that is generally used to describe the business that our Lord Jesus came to accomplish on earth towards humanity, as well as the effect of that business on those who subscribe to it by faith. It is our desire in this study that by the help of the Holy Spirit we will gain sufficient understanding of this business so that our lives will bring Jesus satisfaction. Isaiah 53:11 says “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: …”. May it be indeed that when the Lord looks at the transformation in our lives because of His labor on the cross, He will be satisfied. 2 Peter 1:2 says “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord”. May the Lord indeed grant us more of His knowledge in this bible study so that His grace and peace shall be multiplied unto us. Amen!

The Heart

  • Romans 10:10
  • What is the effect of the heart condition on a person’s Christian experience?
  • With the following sub-points in mind, read and discuss the parable of the sower:
    • Explore the parable also from the standpoint of the seed being the gospel preached to make a person a Christian (born-again citizen of the Kingdom of God).
    • Of the four heart types (wayside, stony, thorny, and good) discuss which of these will become born-again upon having the seed of the gospel preached to them (keeping in mind whether or not the seed that was sown germinated).
    • Discuss the implication of the heart type on the Christian experience (for the stony, thorny and good). 
    • The parable is recorded in Matthew 13: 1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:1-15
  • Discuss practical ways or scenarios in which a person with a way-side heart will behave towards the gospel when it is preached to them? Also, can a person who is already a Christian regress into having a way-side heart? If yes, discuss practical scenarios of what that will look like?
    • Repeat the same discussion for stony and thorny heart.
  • Is it possible to see a person with a stony ground heart and evaluate them as a “good Christian” while they are in the “anon with joy” phase (Matthew 13:20) ? Selah!
  • What kinds of contradictions can find expression in the Christian experience of a person who received the gospel and joyfully became born-again with a stony ground heart (keeping in mind the way stony ground is described in Matthew 13:20-21, Mark 4:16-17, and Luke 8:13) ? 
  • What can be done to a stony ground heart to make it a good ground heart ?
  • What kinds of contradictions can find expression in the Christian experience of a person who received the gospel and became born-again with a thorny ground heart (keeping in mind the way stony ground is described in Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:18-19, and Luke 8:14) ?
  • What can be done to a thorny ground heart to make it a good ground heart ?
  • What can be done to a good ground heart to improve its yield from 30 or 60 fold to 100 fold ?

The Mouth

  • Romans 10:6-10
  • What is the effect of the mouth’s confession on a person’s Christian experience? Matthew 12:36-37?
  • With salvation in view, what manner of words should a Christian confess with His mouth? Romans 10:8
  • How do confessions contribute to the salvation experience? Hebrews 11:3

What is salvation?

Thus far, we have discussed the role that the heart plays in obtaining righteousness, and the role that the mouth plays in obtaining salvation. Scripture says: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45); and we have discussed the different kinds of heart conditions and how they can affect the manner of confessions we make and thus affect the degrees of salvation we consciously witness in our Christian experience. Selah! 

That being the case, we can begin to explore the following discussion points: