BJU Th 360: Doctrines II Anthropology-Eschatology -- Midterm (Unit 1-2)

Biblical

Systematic

Historical

Practical

What are the four methods of theology?

biblical

Method of Theology that focuses on what the text says

systematic

method of theology that focuses on asking what is true

historical

Method of theology that focuses on what Christians have believed

practical

method of theology that focuses on what one should do

To know God

To grow spiritually

To teach others

To combat error

What is the purpose of studying theology

faith

reason

humility

workship

What attitudes should one adopt when studying theology

Ex nihilo: “out of nothing” (Heb. 11:3)

Divine Fiat: divine spoken authority which has the power of speaking and it coming to be

What does the Bible teach about man’s origin?

Atheistic evolution

Theistic evolution

Gap Theory

Day-Age theory

What are the four alternative views of human origins?

• Is man accountable to God?

• Romans 5:12, 19 — Did Adam and Eve exist?

• Is death due to man’s sin — Gen 2:17

What is the three critiques about the alternative views on human origins?

• Man is distinct from, but dependent upon God

• Man is part of the physical creation, but higher than anything else in it

• Limitations are not inherently sinful

• Man’s needs extend beyond the physical and social

What are the implications of the biblical account of creation?

• Gen. 1:26-27 - God created humans in His image and likeness

• Gen 5:1 - humans were made in God’s likeness

• Gen 9:6 - Human life is sacred because people are made in God’s image

• Acts 17:28 - humans exist and live through God

• James 3:9 - we should not curse other people because they are made in the likeness of God

• Col. 3:10 - Believers are being renewed in the image of their Creator

• Gen. 5:3 - Seth is to Adam as Adam is to God; Adam had a son, Seth, in his own likeness and image

What do these following passages teach about the image of God in Man?

Gen. 1:26-27 Gen 5:1 Gen 9:6 Acts 17:28 James 3:9 Col. 3:10 Gen. 5:3

Substantive

Relational

Functional

What are the three primary views of God’s and Man’s relationship?

True

T/F The three views of God’s and Man’s relationship don’t contradict each other

There is something essential about humans that makes us like God

What is the substantive view of God and Man?

Man is both related to man and God

What is the relational view of God and man?

God made man with the function of belonging to Him (gets skewed with sin).

What is the functional view of God and man?

• Man is in the image of God because he is like God

• Man is the object of God’s greatest love and attention

• The image of God has not been lost due to sin, yet establishes man’s moral responsibility before God.

• The image of God in man establishes the unique value of human life.

• The fact that man is in the image of God makes man the appropriate vehicle for the incarnation.

What is the implications of the relationships of God and Man? (What do all three primary views about Man and God teach?)

Fatherhood; brotherhood

Universal _____________ of God, universal ___________ of man

• Trichotomy: man made of 3 parts: body (material), soul (mental), spirit (unique, spiritual part). Luke 1:46-47

• Dichotomy: man made of 2 parts: body (material) and soul/spirit (immaterial) Matt. 10:28

• Monism: man made of 1 part, man may have been created with multiple parts, but they were never meant to be separated. Man is meant to exist as a whole.

What are the 3 views about the created nature of man? (e.g. how many "parts" is man composed of, where does the soul come from, etc.)

• Preexistence: every soul was created directly by God either during or shortly after Creation (Gen. 1-2)

• Creationism: God directly creates the soul at the time of conception

• Traducianism: soul comes into existence at conception, but God does not directly create the soul. God does not specially step in, but God created the universe so that kind produces after like kind. Sinful parents create sinful offspring.

What are the three views of the transmission of Man’s soul and how do each teach that the soul was created?

• Sin is not inherently part of man (as a created being)

• Sin and evil are in the world because of man (not God.

What does Gen. 3 teach about the origin of sin?

Free will, God gets more glory when we willingly obey and follow Him

He wants a freely offered love

Why did God make man capable of sinning?

1. Missing the mark

2. Transgression

3. Rebellion/Disobedience

4. Iniquity

5. Treachery/Breach of Contract

6. Perversion

7. Abomination (disgusting/recoiling)

What are the 7 views about the nature of sin?

• Judges 20:16 - taking aim at a target

• Prov. 19:2 - being too hasty and missing

• Ex. 5:16 - missing a quota

• Gen. 4:7 - sin is not just about the outcome of an action, it actively pushes you into destruction

• Rom. 5:12, 6:6 - yield not to sin but righteousness

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: missing the mark?

• Num. 14:41-42 - do not cross (transgress) over/past the line

• Deut. 17:2 - don’t cross the line/boundary of a covenant

• Roman 4:15 - there needs to be law/boundary in order for transgression to occur

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Transgression?

• 1 Kings 12:19 - Israelites turning away from Rehaboam

• Is. 1:2 - image of son rebelling against a father

• Ezek. 2:3 - compared against an animal

• Rom 1:30

• Eph 2:2 (5:6) - sons of disobedience

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Rebellion/Disobedience

Veering off the center of a path into the sides

• Lev. 19:15 - not favoring poor or richer higher than the other

• Ez. 18:24

• 1 Tim. 4:1 - veering off the path of faith

• Heb. 3:12 - Israelites following path of Lord in the wilderness

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Iniquity

• Num. 5:12, 27 - marriage contract being broken

• Lev. 26:40

• Heb. 6:6 - soldier turn against side

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Treachery/Breach of Contract

• Is. 21:3 - aging body getting out of shape

• Prov. 12:8 - perverted mind

• 2 Sam. 19:19 - being so out of place that it can’t be trusted

• Gal. 1:7 - perverted doctrine

• Philippians 2:5 - human culture

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Perversion

• Deut. 7:25-26 - idolatry

• Deut. 12:31 - sacrificing sons/daughters

• Deut. 18:9-12 - witchcraft

• Lev. 18:22 - homosexuality

• Matt. 24:16 - image set by Anti-Christ

• Rev. 17:4 - revolting food

What is unique about the view that the nature of sin is: Abomination (disgusting/recoiling)

• All sin makes a person guilty before God.

  • James 2:10 teaches that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point becomes guilty of all of it.

  • This shows that no sin is insignificant; every sin is ultimately rebellion against God and requires forgiveness.

• Scripture still teaches that some sins are greater than others in degree.

  • In John 19:11, Jesus tells Pilate that the one who handed Him over has the “greater sin,” showing that some sins carry greater guilt or responsibility than others.

• Greater knowledge brings greater accountability for sin.

  • Luke 12:42–48 explains that the servant who knew the master’s will but disobeyed will receive a more severe punishment than the one who did not know.

  • This indicates that sins committed with greater knowledge and intention are more serious.

• Some sins have uniquely severe spiritual consequences.

  • In Matthew 12:25–32, Jesus warns about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, describing it as a sin that will not be forgiven.

  • This demonstrates that certain sins are especially serious in their nature and consequences.

• Jesus distinguishes between different levels of wrongdoing in God’s commands.

  • In Matthew 5:19–22, Jesus speaks about breaking even the least commandments and also warns that anger and hatred place a person under judgment.

  • This passage shows that violations of God’s law can vary in seriousness and consequences.

• God’s law itself recognizes degrees of guilt.

  • Numbers 35:9–13 establishes cities of refuge to distinguish between accidental killing and intentional murder.

  • The different treatment of these actions demonstrates that Scripture recognizes differences in the severity of sins.

• The Bible sometimes compares punishments to show differences in severity.

  • Lamentations 4:6 states that the punishment of Jerusalem was greater than that of Sodom, indicating that some sins bring more severe judgment than others.

• Sin often progresses into deeper rebellion.

  • Romans 1:29–32 lists many forms of sin that characterize humanity’s rejection of God.

  • The passage illustrates how sin can grow into increasingly corrupt behavior and greater moral guilt.

• Therefore, Scripture teaches two truths at the same time:

  • Every sin makes a person guilty before God and separates them from Him (James 2:10).

  • Yet some sins are worse in degree, responsibility, and consequences, depending on knowledge, intention, and impact (John 19:11; Luke 12:47–48).

Is some sin worst than others?

Numbers 35:9-13 Lamentations 4:6 Luke 12:42-48 Matthew 5:19-22 Matthew 12:25-32 John 19:11 Romans 1:29-32 James 2:10

• Gen 3:6 - uses our senses

• Gen 4:5 - sense of spurning/cheating

• Gen 13:12 - us going in a certain direction

• Prov. 31:3-5 - bigger/different ripple effects of sin — following a leader

• Ex. 34:9 - habit

• 1 Cor. 10:13 - collective sin, learning from past sin

• 1 Tim. 3:6 - tempted due to certain situation/position

• 1 Tim. 6:9, 17 - not covetousness - don’t trust earthly positions

What is the nature of temptation?

• Sin is a violation of a standard

• God has set the standard that sin violates

• The standard can be violated actively or passively

• The standard can be violated by actions, words, thoughts or emotions

• Sin has a destructive power that cannot be tamed or controlled

What is the nature of sin?

1. Pelagian (“bad example”)

2. Armenian (“sin nature condemnation”)

3. Federal (“sin nature condemnation”)

4. Augustinian (“Sin nature condemnation”)

What are the 4 primary views that teach about the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind?

Bad example: is His sin just a bad example? Not inherited sin

What does the Pelagian view teach about the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind?

Sin nature condemnation: Adam passed along fallen disposition, but we do not get condemned because of Adam’s sin, but for our own sin(s).

What does the Armenian view teach about the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind?

Sin nature condemnation: Adam was our representative

What does the Federal view teach about the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind?

Sin nature condemnation: We were in Adam when he sinned

What does the Augustinian view teach about the effect of Adam’s sin on mankind?

the passage teaches two key things:

• 5:12 — Sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death spread to all people because all sinned.

• 5:18–19 — Through one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, but through one man’s obedience (Christ) many can be made righteous.

• Pelagian: Pelagians interpret “all have sinned” to mean everyone eventually copies Adam’s behavior, not that his sin directly affected our nature.

• Armenian: “Death spread to all” because everyone eventually sins personally, due to the fallen nature inherited from Adam.

• Federal: Just as Adam’s sin brings condemnation through representation, Christ’s righteousness can be credited to believers.

• Augustinian: “Many were made sinners” means humanity was truly involved in Adam’s fall, not just represented by him.

How is Romans 5:12 - one man caused sin to enter the world and passed death onto all men. "all have sinned" and Romans 5:18-19 used with the Pelagian, Armenian, Federal, and Augustinian views on the question "what effect did Adam's sin have on me?"

• I am separated from God

• I am no inherently sinful

• I cannot change my nature

• I cannot earn merit with God

This leaves us in a spot where a force outside has to save us

What effect did Adam’s sin have on me?

1. Regeneration

2. Union with Christ

3. Justification

4. Propitiation

5. Redemption

6. Reconciliation

7. Forgiveness

8. Adoption

What are the different pictures/views in the Bible that convey different aspects of salvation?

Regeneration from death to life

• John 3:3

• John 1:12-13

• 2 Cor. 5:17

• Titus 3:5

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Regeneration

Union with Christ from estrangement to identification

• 2 Cor. 5:17

• Eph. 1:3-4

• 1 Cor. 15:22

• Col. 1:27

• Eph. 2:10

• 1 Thess. 4:16

• John 15:4-5

• Gal. 2:20

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Union with Christ

Justification from guilt to righteousness

• Prov. 17:15 - being just as bad when we condemn good and affirm evil (cf: 8:33)

• Rom. 3:24-26

• Gal. 2:16

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Justification

Propitiation from wrath to favor

• Lk. 3:17

• Jn. 3:36

• Rom. 1:18 (2:5)

• Rom. 5:9-10

• 1 Thess. 1:10

• 1 John 2:2

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Propitiation

Redemption from slavery to freedom

• Rom. 6:16-22

• Rom. 3:24

• 1 Pet. 1:18-19

• Heb. 9:12

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Redemption

Reconciliation from being at war to peace

• 1 Cor. 2:11

• Rom 5:10

• 2 Cor. 5:18-20

• Heb. 2:17

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Reconciliation

Forgiveness from debt to solvency

• Acts 13:38

• Acts 26:18

• Eph. 1:7

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Forgiveness

Adoption from being an orphan to being a son

• Rom. 8:15

• Gal. 4:5

• Eph. 1:5

What does this picture from the Bible teach us about how to view salvation?

Adoption

• Salvation can be earned/bought

• Salvation can be taken away

What wrong ideas are contradicted by the 8 pictures of salvation?

• God initiates and secures the reestablished relationship (through the 8 views)

• Man does not deserve what God does for him

• Man cannot remain as he is

What are the implications of the 8 pictures of salvation?

Yes

1. God’s provision of a sacrifice

   1. Rom. 5:15

   2. Heb. 9:22

   3. 1 Pet. 1:18-19

2. God’s command to sinners (believe, repent, be baptized)

   1. John 20:31 - believe

   2. Matt. 28:19-20 - baptize

   3. Acts 2:38 - repent, baptize

   4. Acts 16:31 - believe

   5. Acts 17:30 - repent

3. 0. God’s plan to save His creation

Can the relationship between God and Man be reestablished? If so, how?

admit or accept something is true, often without evidence.

• Heb. 11:6

• Lk. 22:67

• Rom. 4:1-5

• 1 Cor. 15:14-17

What does God’s command to sinners mean when He says believe?

means to change of mind but also involves a “what have I done” attitude

• Matt. 3:2

• Matt 4:17

• Acts 17:30

• Lk. 24:46-47

• Matt. 21:29

What does God’s command to sinners mean when He says repent?

True

T/F The command to believe and repent are 2 distinct acts that can’t happen without the other (Mark 1:15 and Acts 20:21)

publicly showing you accept the beliefs of a certain rabbi

What does God’s command to sinners mean when He says be baptized?

No, but it should be done after to show your identity in Christ

• Acts 2:38

• Acts 10:44-47 - Gentiles do not need to be circumcised or baptized to be saved (cf. Acts 15:8-9)

• Eph. 2:8-9

Must a person be baptized to be saved?

• God has planned for individuals to be in eternal relationship with Him

  • Eph 1:4; Rom. 8:29-30

• God does what He pleases (and no one can stop Him)

  • Dan. 4:35; Ps. 2:1-6

• God desires that all be saved, and He calls all men to repentance

  • Is. 55:1 (cf. Mt. 11:28-30); Acts 17:30; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9

• Individuals can resist (and have resisted) God’s call to repentance

  • Is. 5:1+; Mk. 10:21; Mt. 28:37-39; Acts 7:51

  • It pleases God (repentance pleases God)

    • Ps. 115:3

    • Eph 1:5

    • Ez. 33:11 (cf 18:32)

How did God plan to save His creation?

• God has a plan and is actively working it out

• Man reaps the consequences of His own choices

What is taught by God’s plan to save His creation?

• God can make collective pronouncements of blessing, punishments, and change His mind.

  • Jer. 18 (Potter takes whole lump of clay and remakes into one new vessel)(18:1-10)

• God's sovereignty

  • Rom 9 (the potter (God) can take a section of a lump and make it into a separate vessel from the original lump (9:20-23)

  • God can take a segment of the Jewish nation who repented and then add repented Gentiles to this grouping

  • God can work in individuals and groups

• "vessel" in these two instances can refer to either individuals or groups depending on context.

How should one use Romans 9 and Jer. 18 to answer the question: If God chose some to be saved, did He choose others to be damned?

• God intends election to be a comfort

• God intends election to be a basis of our praising Him

• God intends election to motivate us to share the gospel

• God describes man as resisting Him and being judged for doing so

How does God intend election?

Difference between volitional/judicial love vs. emotional/personal love

• Volitional/judicial love (Ps. 5:5) is more positional. It has the idea of having to distance Himself from sinners due to their sin. Sinners are not part of God’s “court”/kingdom.

• Emotional/personal love (Rom. 5:8-9) is more the idea that God can have actual disgust towards what sinners have done with the good He has given us, but there is still a love towards us.

• He has provided us an option to obtain His love, but He hates us as sinners.

Does God love sinners, or does He hate them? (Use Ps. 5:5 and Rom. 5:8-9 (cf. Mk. 10:21))

• Limited Atonement (Particular Redemption): To secure the payment needed for salvation of a subset of mankind, that is, the elect.

  • Matt. 1:21

  • John 10:11, 15

  • Acts 20:28

  • Eph. 5:25

• Unlimited Atonement: to make available a payment for anyone (including those who never repent)

  • Is. 53:6

  • John 1:29

  • 2 Cor. 5:14-15

  • 1 Tim 2:3-6

• Blend

  • 1 Tim. 4:9-10

  • 1 Jn 2:2

What two views answer: What did God intend to accomplish by sending Christ to die? and Whom does God command to repent and believe?

1. Christ’s death is wasted if He pays for people’s sin and they go to hell.

2. God’s plan is thwarted if the payment is not actual.

3. An actual payment is more biblical than a provisional payment.

4. Unlimited Atonement leads (either possibly or by necessity) to universalism.

What is the systematic theology argument of believers in Limited Atonement?

1. This argument is based on a view that portrays Christ’s life and death as multiple rather than singular.

2. This argument assumes the position that needs to be proved

3. We should use the imagery Jesus proposes in John 3 (the serpent in the wilderness)

4. Again, this argument holds only if the position is assumed before the argument is made.

What is the systematic theology argument of believers in Unlimited Atonement?

• Universal Conversion: will take place due to everyone converting before or after death.

• Universal Reconciliation: God saving everything through Christ’s sacrifice. God has already settled everything.

• Universal Restoration: God unwinds time, unwinding not physically, but in the moral state of someone.

• Universal Opportunity: God, by His grace, makes it possible for man to come to Him apart from special revelation

What are the three views on: Will everyone eventually be saved?

For

• Rom 5:18 - “all men”

• 1 Cor. 15:22 - “all died…all alive”

• Col. 1:19-20 - “reconcile heaven and earth”

• Heb. 2:9 - “every man”

Against

• Matt. 25:41, 46 - “everlasting” used for both life and hell

• John 5:28-29 - resurrection of life vs. resurrection of judgment

• Rev. 21:8 - two destinies of human race

• These passages make distinctions between judgement and paradise

What are the arguments for and against Universalism?

True

T/F all versions of Universalism argue that every human being that has ever lived will somehow receive God’s glory

Limited

Unlimited

What is the scope of atonement?

Yes

• God will allow a person who is saved to become unsaved

  • Matt. 7:21-23 - Jesus says that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom

  • Gal. 5:4 - Paul warns believers that they can “fall from grace.”

  • 2 Tim. 2:12 - “If we deny Him, He also will deny us”

  • 2 Tim. 4:1 - Warnings about judgment encourage believers to remain faithful.

No

• God will not allow a person who is saved to become unsaved

  • John 10:27-29 - Jesus says His sheep cannot be snatched out of His hand

  • Eph. 4:30 - Believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit

  • Philip. 1:6 - God will complete the good work He began in believers.

  • 1 Pet. 1:5 - Believers are kept by God’s power through faith.

Some final passages to consider:

• Heb. 6:4-6 - This warns about those who have experienced spiritual things and then fall away.

• 2 Pet. 1:10 - Believers are told to make their calling and election sure, emphasizing perseverance.

Is it possible to stop being saved? What are the two views?

Galatians 5:16-17

Having established the believer’s freedom from any legalistic addition to salvation by grace alone, Paul turns toward the believer’s proper use of his liberty (5:13). Although the believer is free from the law’s absolute demands to earn merit through complete obedience, he finds himself bound to fulfill a law of love. Although the command “walk in the Spirit” may seem vague, the means by which the believer walks in the Spirit is clear based on the parallel contrasts made between 5:13 and 5:16. The command to serve others in love in 5:13 is contrasted with fulfilling the lust of the flesh, just as “walking in the Spirit” is contrasted with fulfilling the lust of the flesh in 5:16. In essence, the way to walk in the Spirit is to love others, as both are set in opposition to fulfilling the lust of the flesh. This conclusion is further supported by the statement in 5:22 that the “fruit of the Spirit is love.” “Walking in the Spirit” is diametrically opposed to “walking in the flesh,” and the way to walk in the Spirit is summarized as obedience to God’s law of love for others

James 1:13-14

No one can blame God for his sin, because not only is it not possible for God to sin, but he cannot even provoke man to sin. Rather, a man sins because of his own internal bent toward sin.

Eph. 4:17-19

This passage discusses the way of life before salvation. Man is not a sinner simply because of his behavior; his rational faculties (“the understanding”) have been darkened by sin. His feelings now lead him towards sin rather than towards God. God commands the believer to behave differently from the Gentiles, providing in subsequent verses (20-32) both a list of behaviors that distinguish the believer from the non-believer and the basis for those differences.

Genesis 6:5

expresses the magnitude of how completely sin has affected man. Several words amplify the affect: “great”, “every”, “only”, and “continually.” Man could not hide his sin from God; God saw his wickedness and announced the coming judgment of the flood

Romans 5:12, 19

These verses are the key passages that compare the transmission of Adam’s sin to all mankind with the transmission of Christ’s righteousness to all mankind. Adam’s sin resulted in death passing upon all men, whereas Christ’s righteousness led to righteousness being made available for all men.

Genesis 1:26-28

This passage, the first mention of man in the Bible, provides the basis for the recognition that man is distinct from everything else God made. Man is unique because he is made in the image of God (cf. Gen 5:3) and has been granted by the Creator the power (both the ability and the authority) to have dominion over the world God made. Many popular views of man propose that he is only an animal (evolution), that his use of the world’s resources is essentially parasitic (extreme environmentalism), or that he can create meaning in the universe only by making his own choices without reference to anything but himself (existentialism). In contrast to these theories, the Bible teaches the direct (i.e. “fiat”) creation of man by God, his dominion over the rest of the creation, and the unique value of each individual person.

Colossians 3:10

This verse teaches that the goal of our salvation is to restore us to the unmarred image of God. This image was granted at creation (Gen 1:26) and was never lost in a complete sense after the fall (Gen 9:6; James 3:9). However, the moral depravity represented by the old man and his deeds (Col 3:5-9) has no part of the new life granted to a believer; he is instead to be remade after the original plan God had for man: to reflect what God is like as much as it is possible for a creature to do, to bear the image of his Creator. Note that this image includes, among other things, knowledge, or an intellectual capacity

Hebrews 11:3

This verse teaches that God created ex nihilo (Latin: “out of nothing”), echoing the narrative of Genesis 1, where God spoke the universe into existence. It also places the author and reader (“we”) as members of the list of those praised for their faith in God throughout the rest of the chapter. We can join their ranks simply through believing God’s creation of the world (11:3), his existence and his favor on those who seek him (11:6).

Ephesians 1:4

This passage instructs the believers that they are the ones who are God’s eternal plan, in contrast to the common perception that only Israel was God’s chosen. God’s choice, which preceded his creation of the world, was that they would be in Christ, standing as holy and blameless as the Son of God

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

This passage begins an entire chapter devoted to a defense of the literal, historical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Paul includes this event as an undeniable piece of the historical basis for the Christian faith. Without the resurrection of Christ from the grave, there is no good news of God’s deliverance from the penalty of sin: death.

1 Timothy 2:5-6

This passage identifies Christ as the One through whom we are able to approach a holy God. It also deals with the scope of the payment that Christ made. Although only the sins of those who believe are in fact “paid for,” Christ’s payment was intended to be broadly available.

Romans 3:24-26

This passage follows the statement that “all have sinned.” Because God is a just God and cannot violate his innate standards of justice, he must declare sinners “guilty.” However, God offers “remission of sin” through Christ’s his payment on the cross and the imputation of his righteousness to us through faith. That makes it possible for a just God to call a sinner “righteous.”

2 Corinthians 5:21

This passage states explicitly the “exchange” made possible through Christ. Our sin is placed on him, and his righteousness is imputed to us.

Galatians 2:16

Man’s attempts to conform himself to God’s law do not result in salvation, for God’s law requires absolutely conformity. Because no sinner can be justified on the basis of his own works, God in his mercy makes salvation available through faith in the person of Jesus Christ and his righteousness

Romans 6:12-14

Paul anticipates the objection that salvation by grace through faith will lead to moral slackness. Rather, salvation not only changed our legal standing before God, but it also removed sin as being our master. Before salvation we yielded to sin as a slave yielded to a sovereign. Once we are saved, however, sin no longer has a claim of mastery over us, because God’s grace has broken our slavery and set us free to yield ourselves to God.

Titus 2:11-14

Salvation has a practical manifestation in a person’s life that distinguishes him from the present world. It distinguishes a person from the kinds of pursuits that those apart from God are bound by, and instead sets his focus on the future coming of Christ. The recognition of the sacrifice Christ made for us and the distinct zeal that we have for purity and good works sets us apart from the world that refuses to acknowledge Christ.