We are sinners in need of salvation. Yet God loves us and has launched his rescue mission. The whole act of rescue can also be called salvation, which he offers to everyone. I also introduce a humorous mnemonic device S-E-R-F-F-F-B-OR-D, illustrating the gospel of salvation in its essential elements.

This is an old-fashioned Bible study, so it may not fit within the systematic theology category. If so, then that’s okay. Systematic theology should be based on Scripture.

Let’s learn the basics of this major theme and truth that appears in all of Scripture, from  Genesis to the Revelation. As we find out below, salvation is definitely multifaceted! But the facets point to the most important truth: salvation is found only in Christ, the Savior.

I.. Hebrew Words

A.. Two nouns in Hebrew:

1.. One is yeshuah (used 78 times)

It means “salvation, deliverance, and Savior.” We get the name Yeshua or Joshua or Jesus from this word.

2.. Another noun is teshuah (used 34 times)

It means “salvation, deliverance, and victory,” as in a battle, with the Lord’s help (Judg. 15:18; 1 Sam. 19:5; 2 Sam. 23:10, 12; 1 Kings 13:7). No need to trust in horses because victory belongs to the Lord (Pss. 33:17; 146:3). Only the Lord can be our Savior (Is. 45:17; Jer. 3:23).

B.. Three verbs in Hebrew

1.. The verb yasha (184 times)

It is often translated as “save, rescue, deliver.” It signifies rescuing or saving or delivering people from danger (Exod. 14:30; Num. 10:9; Judg. 2:16, 18) or personal enemies (Ps. 3:7; 54:1; 109:26) or sickness (Ps. 18:27; 107:19). Sometimes it is used in a spiritual sense—as in saving the soul (Jer. 23:6; Is. 45:17), though the case can be made this is also a physical salvation too.

2.. Another verb is malat (used 94 times)

It also means “to be delivered, rescued, or saved.” The best verse is Joel 2:32: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” because the NT authors pick up on it (Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13).

3.. The final verb is naṣal (pronounced nah-tsahl, the -ts- is like bits)

It can mean “recover,” as in possessions (Judg. 11:26). In most instances it is “to be rescue and delivered,” which only God performs (Exod. 3:7-8; Ps. 7:1; 25:20; 31:15; 59:1; 71:2).

II.. Greek Words

A.. Noun

1.. The noun is sōtēria (pronounced soh-tay-ree-ah and used 16 times)

This means “safe, sound, alive and well, in good case” (condition); of things: “sound, whole, safe”; of events: safe, sure, certain” (Liddell and Scott).

B.. Verbs

1.. The verb is sōzō

It appears 106 times and means “save, rescue, heal” in a variety of contexts, but mostly it is used of saving the soul. We will look at this too, in this post.

BDAG is considered by many to be the authoritative Greek lexicon, and it says that the verb means, depending on the context: (1) “to preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions, save, keep from harm, preserve,” and the sub-definitions under no. 1 are as follows: save from death; bring out safely; save from disease; keep, preserve in good condition; thrive, prosper, get on well; (2) “to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction, save or preserve from ‘eternal’ death … “bring Messianic salvation, bring to salvation,” and in passive mood it means “be saved, attain salvation”; (3) some passages in the NT say we fit under the first and second definition at the same time (Mark 8:5; Luke 9:24; Rom. 9:27; 1 Cor. 3:15).

2.. It is diasōzō

The prefix means “through.” It is used 8 times: Mark 14:36; Luke 7:3; Acts 23:24; 27:43-44; 28:1, 4; 2; 1 Pet. 3:20. It means what the regular verb does, but often to be rescued through and up to the very end, like Paul’s ship landing on Malta through the storm.

III.. Old Testament Salvation 

A.. God is called “Savior.”

First Chronicles 16:35 is part of a long song of praise from Asaph, the lead musician, appointed by king David. It is a prayer that God would deliver Israel from other nations. “God our Savior!”

Psalm 25:5 says that he trusts God and prays that God would teach him his paths. “You are God my Savior.”

In Isaiah 43:11 God prophesies poetically that Israel and his servant are his witnesses. And one fact to which they are witnesses is that they have no other Savior but he.

In Isaiah 45:15 and Isaiah 45:21, the prophetic poem says God is Israel’s national Savior. Israel lived in a rough neighborhood, so this nation needed protection.

Micah 7:7 teaches us that the southern kingdom, Judah, was so degraded that family members would snitch and betray each other. However, the prophet trusts in only the LORD, his Savior.

B.. God is Israel’s salvation.

Exodus 15:1-2 is part of the song that Moses and the Israelites sang after God delivered them from Egypt through the Red Sea. God was truly their salvation.

Psalm 27:1 teaches us that since God is our salvation, we have nothing to fear. He is our strong fortress.

According to Isaiah 12:2, after the Root of Jesse (David’s father) will stand as a banner, then Israel will say individually that the LORD himself is his salvation. The root turned out to be Yeshua ha Meshiach, Jesus the Messiah, offspring of David.

Jonah 2:9 teaches that when Jonah was going through the toughest time in his life—buried in a big fish’s belly, like Jesus was buried in the tomb—he sang a song of deliverance. “Salvation comes from the LORD.” The word could have been translated “rescue” comes from him.

C.. Worldwide salvation is promised through God.

Psalm 67:2 says that when God saves Israel, the surrounding nations will know and also experience God’s salvation. Of course this was fulfilled the most clearly in Yeshua (Jesus) and in his church that spreads the gospel to all nations.

Isaiah 49:6 tells us that Israel will be a light to the nations (Gentiles). Again, this was fulfilled and is being fulfilled in Yeshua the Messiah and through his church.

Isaiah 52:10 says that as the LORD was rebuilding ruined Jerusalem, all the ends of the earth will see God’s salvation. Verses 13-14 go on to describe the first glimpse of the suffering servant, Yeshua (Jesus).

To read Hebrew and Greek words for “save” or “salvation,” which frequently appear in the Bible, you may click on this link:

Word Study on Salvation

IV.. Salvation Required the Work of Christ.

A.. He came to earth.

In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul says that though Christ Jesus was rich (in heaven), he became poor (on earth). It is true that in comparison with heaven his life on earth was impoverished. Now he offers us his eternal riches, the riches of salvation and the eternal kingdom. Please do not interpret this as giving money to get more money–give to get rich. This is out of context.

Now for your eternal riches:

⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Cor. 8:9)

Apostle Paul Traveled on Cargo Ships

Philippians 2:6-8 says that the Son of God made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant, becoming a man. His servanthood went so far as dying on the cross!

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:6-8)

The NIV translators put this in a poetic format by intending each main line. Scholars believe that this was an ancient hymn or an ancient creed.

B.. He died on the cross.

John 3:14-15 says that Jesus came down from heaven, and he would be lifted up on the cross. If we believe in him–put our faith in him–we will have eternal life, beginning with our life right now on earth.

¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man ¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3:14-15; see Num. 21:8-9)

According to 1 Corinthians 1:18: the message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing, but for us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor. 1:18)

First Corinthians 15:3-4 is the great summary of the gospel in a nutshell. Christ died for our sins, and he was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

Philippians 2:9 teaches that Jesus humbled himself so much that he died an undignified death on the criminal’s cross, though he was sentenced to die on it unjustly.

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:9)

C.. He shed his blood.

First Peter 1:18-19 says that we were not redeemed by silver or gold, but by the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without defect (Lev. 4:32).

⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Revelation 5:9 proclaims in a praise song that Jesus redeemed all peoples with his blood.

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Rev. 5:9)

D.. He was raised from the dead (resurrection).

Romans 10:9 teaches us that if we confess with our mouths that “Jesus is Lord” and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we shall be saved.

⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9)

First Peter 1:3-5 strongly says that God our Father gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of the dead. Now we have an inheritance waiting for us in heaven, which we will have fully at his Second Coming.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

E.. He ascended on high (ascension).

Acts 5:30-31 teaches us that humans nailed Jesus to the cross, but God vindicated him by exalting him to his right hand as Prince and Savior so that God would bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.

³⁰ The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. (Acts 5:30-31)

So the exaltation or ascension is connected with salvation.

V.. Salvation Comes as the Gracious Gift of God.

A.. It is a gift of his love.

Romans 5:8-9 teaches that someone might die for a good man, but while we were still sinners Christ died for us, and since we were justified (declared righteous and forgiven) we have been saved from God’s justice-wrath-judgment.

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! (Rom. 5:8-9)

In the above verses, “wrath” is used (v. 9). Wrath does not mean what the critics and pop culture say it means. It flows out of God’s goodness, love, justice, and protection.

Next, according to Titus 3:4-5 God’s love and kindness appeared and he saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy.

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5)

First John 4:9-10 teaches that the clearest way God showed his love to us is by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. God’s love is active and demonstrative.

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

B.. It is a gift of his grace.

In Ephesians 2:4-5 Paul says God, out of his great love and rich mercy, made us alive in Christ when were dead in our transgressions, so it is by grace we have been saved.

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Eph. 2:4-5)

Ephesians 2:8 teaches that it is by grace we have been saved, through faith. Grace starts with God, and faith is the instrument or channel through which we receive his grace.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8)

Titus 2:11 straightforwardly teaches that God has appeared and offers salvation to all people. Some people receive it, but other people resist it. Don’t resist; receive it.

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. (Titus 2:11)

C.. It is a gift of his mercy.

Recall these verses in Titus 3:4-5a:

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us […] (Titus 3:4-5a)

First Peter 1:3 proclaims that in his great mercy he has give us new birth.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)

D. God initiates; we respond.

I call this interaction by the acronym S-E-R-F-F-F-B-OR-D, which I explain below. It is intended to be a mnemonic device and plays on surfboard. Or you could remember it by a “bored serf” or “serf bored.” I live in Southern California, so I prefer surfboard (not that I surf!).

But before we get there, let’s look into our response in another way, next.

VI.. How Must We Respond to Salvation?

A.. Repent of our sins.

Isaiah 30:15 wonderfully connects repentance and rest and salvation. When we repent, we rest in the sense that we do not have to be anxious about God’s salvation. We can rest in it.

¹⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it. (Is. 30:15)

In Acts 2:37-38, Peter just finished a strong word to the Jerusalem Jews, saying that they are the ones who hanged Jesus on the cross. They were cut in their hearts. They asked: What should they do? Peter responded that they should repent and be baptized.

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 2:37-38)

In Acts 3:19 Peter is a little softer and tells the people they acted in ignorance. Nonetheless, they should repent and turn to God so that their sins should be wiped out.

¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, (Acts 3:19)

Second Corinthians 7:10 says in the context that Paul’s strong letter brought them sorrow; he reminds them that godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.

¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Cor. 7:10)

B.. Believe in Jesus.

John 3:16 is the famous verse that says that God loved the world in a way that he gave his one and only Son, so whoever believes on him would not perish but would be saved.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

John 20:31 says that we must believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. What happens then is that we have a brand-new life, eternal life beginning the moment you believe in him.

³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

First John 5:13 repeats the same truth as John 20:31, as follows:

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13)

After we believe in the name of the Son of God, we then show love. Keep the sequence clear: Faith in the Son, and then love for others.

²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  (1 John 2:23)

The context of Acts 16:30-31 shows us that Paul and Silas were in jail, and they praised God at midnight. An earthquake shook them loose and opened the doors. The jailer was afraid because if anyone escaped he would be executed for incompetence and possibly providing a way to escape. Paul proclaimed to him that if he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall be saved and his household.

³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31)

C.. How to remember what faith is.

Faith and believing here does not mean just mental assent or a belief in doctrines—though those things are important. No, more than those things, people must put their full trust in Jesus.

F-A-I-T-H stands for

Forsaking All I Trust Him.

D.. Deeper meaning of faith / trust

Matthew 11:28-30 teaches us that you know you have faith in Jesus when you fully trust in him. You know you fully trust in him when you have rest in your soul. The clause “come to me” is the call of salvation. It is the call to put your entire soul in the hands of Jesus. Learning of him is to follow him. To follow him is to be his disciple. To be his disciple is to trust him. You are following and learning from the right person.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

E.. Accept salvation as a free gift.

If you work at a job, you get paid. It is an obligation from your company to pay you. But what if you trust or believe in God for salvation without working for it? God sees your trust and offers you his righteousness as a free gift. He credits it–imputes it–to your account. His righteousness is his payment deposited into our empty bank account. You offer him nothing but your faith and trust, which is the opposite of working for it, and he pays with his gift of righteousness. Now you have right standing with God and can survive his future judgment.

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. ⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. (Rom. 4:4-5)

Our sin deserves death, but God gives us the free gift of salvation. It cost him his Son who died on the cross. All we have to do is put our faith in his Son and receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life, which begins down here on earth. It lasts for eternity.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)

Isaiah 55:1 assures us that if we have no money, we can still eat and drink.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost. (Is. 55:1)

Revelation 21:6 has another water and drinking imagery. If we are thirsty, we can have water without cost.

⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  (Rev. 21:6)

F.. Realize we can do nothing to earn it.

Ephesians 2:8-9: let’s look at these verses again. They are the great passage about God’s grace. This grace does not come from our own selves and strength and work, but it is a free gift from God. But by grace we have been saved through faith–all of it is a gift of God. The basic plan of salvation in its entirety is a free gift, which we do not have to earn.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

Second Timothy 1:9 teaches us that he saved and called us to a holy life, but not by anything we have done, but by his purpose and grace. Note the sequence again. Salvation first, and then a holy life.

⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, (2 Tim. 1:9)

Titus 3:4-6—we have already seen Titus 3:4-5, and for good reason. This passage is a succinct explanation of God’s grace. But now let’s include the surrounding verses. He saves us through the washing of rebirth, not because of the righteous things we have done, but by the Holy Spirit, whom he has poured out on us generously.

⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (Titus 3:4-6)

G..  We must count the cost.

Luke 14:25-33 explains that if a man builds a tower, he must first figure out the cost; otherwise, he will not complete it and look foolish. And if a king were to go to war with another king, the first one must calculate the cost and figure out whether his army could be victorious. If not, he would lose and be humiliated.

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 15:25-33)

And so it is with following Jesus. We better count the cost, or we may get discouraged and walk away, after we made an initial commitment to him. We must give everything to be his disciples.

H.. Give our all, in response to salvation.

In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus teaches us that if a man finds a treasure in a field, he must give all he has to buy the field. And if a merchant finds a pearl of great price, he sells everything he has to buy it. So it is with finding Jesus and accepting his kingdom. We have to give our all, but then our reward will be great. We will have Jesus.

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matt. 13:44-46)

In Philippians 3:7-9 Paul tells his readers that he has given up and lost everything; yet he considered all those things as garbage. Now he stopped keeping the law, but now he received righteousness through faith in Christ instead of working for legalized righteousness.

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Phil. 3:7-9)

VI.. S-E-R-F-F-F-B-OR-D

Salvation in Acts

A.. Brief intro.

S-E-R-F-F-F-B-OR-D:

The acronym is not a flower like a tulip. It is instead a mnemonic device that is playfully intended to sound like “surfboard” a “bored serf” or “serf bored.” Be sure to hold your exhale on the three F’s! It boils down my view of salvation to its simplest interaction between God and humans and the Spirit-empowered gospel of grace. It is based mostly on my study of the book of Acts. I also refer a few times to the epistles, and so Acts and the epistles agree on the following basics.

Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?

B. An objection and reply

“Remember, you can’t build theology on narratives!”

However, I believe we can draw theological conclusions from narratives, especially where salvation and conversions actually happen in them, namely the book of Acts. Also, speeches are spoken, powerfully, in Acts. So the book is not only and entirely narrative. The stories in Luke’s history book are embedded with the gist of the Spirit-imbued gospel and people’s response, drawn by the Spirit if they say yes. It is Luke’s renewal or charismatic theology.

In addition, here are Scriptural examples of building theology on narratives.

In Acts 11, when Peter had to explain his eating with Cornelius and the Gentiles’ conversions, Peter appealed to his vision and Cornelius’s experience with the Holy Spirit. The elders accepted it (Acts 11:1-18). In Acts 15, Peter reminded the assembly that God gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit and cleansing. Gentiles are saved through grace just as Jews are (vv. 7-11).

At the Jerusalem Council, fresh after their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas also explained how God accepted the Gentiles by the evidence of signs and wonders (Acts 15:12).

Paul builds his justification by faith apart from the works of the law on Genesis 15:6, one verse alone, tucked away in the narrative about Abraham, before the law of Moses came around  (Rom. 4 and Gal. 3).

Deep theology is built into Jesus’s parables, like accepting Gentiles and rejecting the Jerusalem and temple establishment. Calvinists and Provisionists dispute over the Parable of the Prodigal Son, a story (Luke 15:11-32).

Didn’t Calvin and Luther write commentaries on the Bible and draw theology from the narrative sections? Yes, they did. Don’t systematic theologians scan the entire Bible in all its genres to develop their theology? Yes, they do.

Therefore, doctrine changed based on God’s intervention in people’s lives or seen in the stories. Theology can absolutely be built on narratives.

C. Clarification

One last word before we begin: this acronym is built on the foundation of God the Father’s offer of salvation through his Son’s life, atoning death on the cross, his resurrection, and redemption. We receive salvation by grace alone and faith alone. God is totally responsible for the plan and scope of salvation, and we are responsible for our sin. Our response in faith to the gospel does not constitute a work. The acronym merely looks into the elements of salvation.

D.. Basic meaning

S – Sinners

E – Empowerment

R – Repentance

F – Faith

F -Forgiveness

F – Filled with the Spirit

B – Baptism

OR – Conjunction OR that also serves a theological purpose

D – Deny or resist the gospel

E.. Explanation

It could read like this: sinners without Christ hear the gospel from empowered preachers, and in the presence of God, are empowered to repent and believe, receive God’s forgiveness, are water baptized and filled with the Spirit or are filled with the Spirit and are water baptized; OR they deny or resist the gospel and say no.

1.. Sinners without Christ

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

All throughout the book of Acts and many passages in the epistles, people are sinners in need of salvation because the gospel was brand new on the global stage. This implies that they were without God and needed salvation. This further implies they were sinner who needed God’s grace for salvation.

And Ephesians 2:1 says that people are dead in their trespasses and sins.

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinner and fallen short of the glory of God.” Paul loved to read Isaiah, and he surely had in mind Isaiah’s vision of God and the prophet’s sense of sinfulness in the presence of God’s glory (Is. 6:1-7).

I already covered the complication of imputed sin or inherited sin or personal sin in an earlier post in the section Hamartiology. I believe people are born with a sin nature in need of Christ and his salvation.

2.. Empowered by the Spirit

Maybe we should call this point the Environment of Empowerment. This empowerment happens both in the preachers because in Luke’s charismatic theology in Acts and in the atmosphere. which is charged up with God’s power. It is not about regeneration before repentance and faith. (Regeneration as such is not a theme in Acts, as in other passages in the NT.) It is about the Spirit empowering the preachers and influencing the hearers to receive the gospel.

The power of God does not confirm the apostles but the message.

This section can support the one titled Filled with the Spirit (no. 6).

Now we’re ready to look at the Scriptures.

Paul to the Corinthians:

⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2:4-5)

Clever words and turns of phrases are insufficient. Faith needs to be based on God’s power. But also the message is the key that opens up the heart and tells people what and how to believe, in whom to place their faith. The demonstration is of the Spirit’s power.

In Acts 1, Jesus told the eleven to wait for the power from on high, after the Spirit comes on them (Acts 1:8). The power of the Spirit.

In Acts 2, when the one hundred and twenty were filled with the Spirit, Peter stepped forward and preached the gospel with power. We have to assume that this initial empowerment is threaded through the entire book of Acts (1:8 and Luke 24:46-48).

Peter was filled with the Spirit before he preached to the Sanhedrin, the highest court and council in the land (Acts 4:8).

The community in Jerusalem is praying for empowerment and boldness.

³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” ³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:30-31)

“Hand” speaks of God’s power, The gospel, backed up by the Spirit, has power resident within it, just by people merely hearing it. Romans 1:16: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” And so the gospel itself, empowered by the Spirit, is sufficient to spark saving faith and bring salvation, and then people respond with yes to it.

The power of the Lord was powerful enough that miracles broke out. Peter’s shadow could heal people by God’s power. Both men and women believed in the Lord.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. ¹⁵ As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. ¹⁶ Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed. (Acts 5:14-16)

In Acts 8:5-13, Philip, not an apostle, was so empowered by the Spirit that when he proclaimed the gospel (vv. 5, 12), people repented and believed (vv. 12-13). He also worked signs and wonders—mostly healings and deliverances (v. 7). These signs and wonders confirm the power of the gospel through the Spirit.

Some believers in Jerusalem left when Saul (later Paul) persecuted them. Some escapees preached the gospel to Greeks in Antioch, and “telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:20b-21). Once again the hand of the Lord indicates God’s power. The gospel message was powerful enough to elicit saving faith in them.

The apostles in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch, and he approved of what the grace of God had done (Acts 11:23). That is, to repeat for emphasis and clarity, grace is powerful enough to elicit saving faith in the hearers and is the foundation of the gospel.

Paul told the Ephesian church elders that his task was to preach the good news of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). A large Christian community grew there. Paul calls the message of truth the gospel of their salvation (Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5). The churches in the two towns of Ephesus and Colossae thrived.

The gospel did not come to the Thessalonians with mere empty words but with power, with the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5).

Paul preached the gospel throughout the many regions, with the power of signs and wonders and miracles (Rom. 15:19-20). “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4). So we see two things that were empowered by the Spirit: the preacher and the gospel.

Now what about the hearers? I believe that God’s Spirit was at work in the hearers, both personally in their hearts and by the powerful atmosphere or environment of miracles and the Spirit’s presence.

In Acts 10, God sent his angel to Cornelius (vv. 3-6) and a vision to Peter (vv. 9-16). Then the Spirit spoke to Peter (vv. 19-20). Peter proclaimed the gospel, but God himself interrupted him. “While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message” (v. 44).

Next, in Paul’s missionary journey, he performed signs and wonders (Acts 13-14), which work on the hearts of the hearers, but it is the message of the gospel that is decisive. “When the Gentiles heard this [Paul’s long message], they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). God was already at work when they believed. The message of the gospel softened their hearts.

Does Acts 13:48 Teach Divine, Hard Determinism?

Lydia was a God-worshipper, so God was softening her heart, too (Acts 16:13-15).

Paul put blindness on a certain on Bar-Jesus Elymas, a sorcerer. The proconsul Sergius Paulus was amazed. “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord” (Acts 13:12). Miracles open the heart and back up the gospel, but the teaching about the Lord was decisive.

Today, recall the stories you may have heard that say God gives visions of Jesus to some Muslims. The message is: “Follow me” (or words to that effect). They have to go to a church or missionary to hear the full gospel.

God is always at work behind the scenes before people repent and believe. God draws people to himself. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all people to myself’” (John 12:32). The Spirit-empowered gospel can produce salvation in the hearers as God woos and draws them.

Even though the atmosphere of the preaching of the gospel is Spirit empowered, the hearers still need to cross the bridge to salvation by repenting and believing.

So let’s look at the next two elements.

3.. Repent

We will learn in the next post on repentance and faith that this verb means a change of mind and a 180 degrees turn.

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

Three thousand got saved (v. 41).

Peter said the same to even more people of Jerusalem (3:19) and to turn from their wicked ways (v. 26), for turning is also repentance.

Let’s expand on Acts 3:26. Peter uses a synonym for repentance, “turning”:

“When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26)

In the context of the above verse Peter latched on to the teaching of the blessing of Abraham, as seen in Galatians 3, for example. Jesus the Messiah is the blessing to these Jews. Later, the Messiah will be the blessing to all the nations. But in the broader, general context, everyone must turn from their wicked ways.

Peter told the magician Simon to repent (Acts 8:22).

The people of Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas healed and turned to the Lord (Acts 9:35).

In Syrian Antioch “a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21).

Paul told the Athenians that God is calling all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). Note the universal call to repent in that verse.

Paul said to King Agrippa that the apostle proclaimed repentance to those in Damascus, Jerusalem and Judea, and then to the Gentiles, once again showing the universal call to repent (Acts 26:20).

Paul writes to the Thessalonians that they had turned to God and away from idols (1 Thess. 1:9). When people hear the Spirit-inspired gospel, they sometimes respond positively by turning from or repenting of their sins. Other hearers say no.

When people do repent, they must demonstrate their repentance: Paul speaking to King Agrippa and Festus, telling his Damascus road experience and his subsequent mission:

I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20)

The next major element to salvation mainly in Acts is faith

4.. Faith or believe

We don’t need to spend much time here because the second and third points explain key verses.

Paul and Silas and the jailer at Philippi:

³¹ They [Paul and Silas] replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ […] then immediately he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴ The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. (Acts 16:31-34)

The Spirit-empowered gospel is so sufficient that it not only prompts repentance, but also saving faith. Recall that Romans 1:16 says the gospel is the power of God leading to salvation, to saving faith. This opening thesis of the powerful gospel should guide our interpretation of all of Romans.

In Acts 18, in Achaia (probably in or near Corinth): Apollos preached so effectively that “he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah” (Acts 18:27-28). He demonstrated through preaching from the Bible that Jesus was the Messiah. It was through grace that they had believed. Grace prepares the way and the heart, and people believe.

Ephesians 2:8 says that it is by grace we are saved through faith.

Next, “For it is with the heart that you believe and are justified” (Rom. 10:10). The heart has to believe it first and then God declares the believer righteous. Faith has to go deeper than intellectual assent.

In Romans 10:14-15, Paul explains that faith in the message of the gospel has to be preceded by God sending preachers who proclaim the gospel.

Many in Jerusalem heard the message and believed when the lame man was healed and Peter preached the gospel (Acts 3 and 4:4), including women (Acts 5:14). This is a powerful gospel.

The Samaritans heard Philip and saw the signs and wonders and believed (Acts 8:12). The source of their belief was the grace-filled and Spirit-empowered gospel.

The people of Joppa saw Tabitha dead and then alive, so they believed in the Lord (9:42). We can believe that Peter explained that what happened was from the Lord (see Acts 3:12, 16).

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, is born of God (1 John 5:1).

Romans 4, in its entirety, is about believing and placing faith in Christ, apart from the works of the law.

The same conclusion in the section on repentance applies here. The gospel by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit prompts faith in the Son of God. This is Luke’s basic charismatic theology of Acts. And I say it is the same theology in the epistles, if you know where to look.

5. Forgiveness

Paul is on trial before King Agrippa. The apostle is recounting his testimony seen in Acts 9, and ascended and heavenly Jesus is speaking to him:

¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:17-18)

Paul’s message will open the eyes of Gentiles and transfer them from darkness to the light, from the power of Satan to God; Paul was anointed and empowered to preach, and the message was anointed and powerful. The Spirit did this to him and it. That’s just how powerful the message is.

Recall that Peter said to the pilgrims and citizens of Jerusalem at Pentecost that they should repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

Peter preached to the Sanhedrin, the highest court and council of Judaism, that God exalted Jesus so that he may bring repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31).

Peter preached a hard message to Simon the sorcerer, telling him to repent, so that the Lord may forgive him of his wickedness (Acts 8:20-22).

Peter told his audience in Cornelius’s house the greatest message of all: Anyone who believes in Jesus receives the forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43).

Paul proclaimed and offered to the people of Pisidian Antioch the forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38).

Repentance and faith in Christ brings forgiveness of sins. This is a wonderful message of hope for humanity.

6. Filled with the Spirit

This section goes along with Luke’s charismatic theology in Acts. Sometimes the infilling with the Spirit is called the baptism of the Spirit (see Acts 1:5). Interestingly, though, Acts never uses the noun baptism of the Spirit, but only the verb baptize. This shows the Spirit’s activity.

This section coordinates well with Empowerment (no. 2).

In Acts 2, about one hundred and twenty were filled with the Spirit.

At Pentecost, Peter preached the promise of the Spirit to them (Acts 2:38-39).

The Samaritans in Acts 8 believed and were baptized in the atmosphere of the Spirit’s power:

¹² But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. [,,,] ¹⁵ When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.   ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:12, 15-17)

After the hearers respond to the gospel and are saved by believing it, they are baptized with the Spirit.

Cornelius and his household were filled with the Spirit and were baptized in water (Acts 10:

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10:44-48)

Some disciples at Ephesus had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Look what happens to them:

 ⁶ When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:6)

Paul wrote the the Ephesians: “Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Acts 5:18). The verb tense is present continuous, so it could read as “be continually filled with the Spirit.”

When we are baptized in or with the Spirit, we enter into the church or body of Christ:

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (1 Cor. 12:12-13)

We can drink deeply of the Spirit.

I will cover this topic more thoroughly here in Theology 101, under pneumatology: The Infilling and Empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Sec. 7, 1 Pneumatology, the Doctrine of the Spirit: The Basics

2 The Infillings and Empowerments of the Holy Spirit

4 The Holy Spirit and the Believer

7. Baptism in water

As noted, after the Samaritans respond to the gospel and are saved by believing it, they are water baptized and baptized with the Spirit (Acts 8:12).

About three thousand pilgrims and Jerusalemites were baptized in water (Acts 2:38-41). Verse 40 says: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Note that they accepted the message.

Cornelius and his household were filled with the Spirit and were baptized in water (Acts 10:47)

Philip baptized the eunuch just after he responded to the gospel message (Acts 8:38-39).

Ananias baptized Paul (Acts 9:18).

Lydia and her household were baptized, and so were the jailer and his household (Acts 16:33).

Crispus and his household were baptized (Acts 18:8).

Some disciples at Ephesus were water baptized in Jesus’s name, so their water baptism under John the Baptist was incomplete (Acts 19:5).

However, in many places in Acts conversions happened, but Luke does not record water baptism. Acts 13-14, two chapters describing Paul’s and Barnabas’s first missionary journey, is the best example. Never once in those two big chapters did Luke record water baptism. Why would Luke omit it? His style of writing is that once he introduces a topic, he assumes his readers will carry it forward throughout his history. Yet, it still may show that water baptism was not high on Luke’s agenda.

It’s clear that water baptism was not high on Paul’s agenda, either:

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Cor. 1:13-17)

Christ’s commission to Paul was not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. But the others were baptized with water.

I don’t want to belabor the point. Water baptism was the norm for new converts. In Acts 2:38, one verse, people repent and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

8.. OR

This conjunction serves a theological purpose. It express people’s option to negatively respond to the same powerful gospel.

9.. Deny or resist or refuse the gospel

In Pisidian Antioch, some refused and became abusive, while others people believed and were filled with joy.

⁴⁹ The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:49-52)

People have enough free will to refuse the Spirit-empowered gospel, but they do not have enough free will or inner strength to repent and believe whenever they want. They cannot strut their way into salvation by their willpower. They need prevenient grace and the Spirit’s prevenient wooing. (As noted elsewhere, prevenient means: ven- = coming, and pre = before, so it is grace that comes before repentance and faith.) We can also say the same about the prevenient work of the Spirit. He draws and works on people, often without their realizing it. This point does not teach effectual or irresistible grace. People can resist God’s grace because he graciously granted them a certain measure of free will.

10. Summary

All throughout Acts people heard the gospel, and some converted, that is repented and believed, and others said no.

The prominent ones who refused the gospel are the Sanhedrin and Saul (Acts 1-9), but he converted later in Acts 9. Some members of the council believed or were sympathetic to Jesus: Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:51) and Nicodemus (John 3:1-15; 7:47-52; 19:38-42).

In Acts 2:41, three thousand believed, and this is positive, but there were many times more than this number in Jerusalem.

In Acts 4:4, the number grew to five thousand, and this is good, but still others in Jerusalem did not join the Messianic Jewish community (see 5:13).

Many Jews and some Gentiles refused to believe Paul’s message, out of jealousy (Acts 13:45).

The same is true of the people of Iconium; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles (Acts 14:2-5). The Greek text says they disobeyed or refused, and this also happened in Lystra and Derbe (Acts 14:19).

In Thessalonica and Berea, the response was mixed, some believed, other did not, even though they all heard the same gospel. Credit to the Bereans who searched the Scriptures (Acts 17:1-15). But the response was still mixed.

In Ephesus, some hearers became obstinate and disobedient or unpersuaded, signs of refusal, and did not turn from their sins (repent) and accept the gospel (Acts 19:9). Others believed and a large church thrived there.

Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7 say that for the ones who believe in Christ, the cornerstone whom God lays in Zion, is precious and chosen. But some builders rejected the cornerstone.

Finally, 1 John 2:23 teaches us that the liar is the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah. And so God’s powerful gospel of grace can be resisted.

VII. The Acronym Contrasted and Compared to Other Systems

A. Brief intro.

Now let’s compare the mnemonic abbreviations to other systems.

B.. Pelagianism

First, it differs markedly from Pelagianism, which says, if I understand it, that we are not basically bad but good and born innocent without a sin nature through Adam. We can choose God by our own will power and not by his grace. All we need is an example to look at, which is Jesus. We have the innate power to choose holiness for ourselves. In reply, I cannot agree with this system, if it is accurately reported by its theological opponents at the time.

C. Semi-Pelagianism

The acronym even differs from some aspects of semi-Pelagianism, if I understand it. According to this belief, salvation is initially prompted by grace (yes, I agree), but humans must cooperate for it to be effective (no—we just need to repent and believe. But if repentance and faith is how semi-Pelagianism defines cooperation, then yes). The beginning of faith is based on free will (no—we don’t have enough free will to act on our own).

As for our entire Christian life, we still need God’s grace throughout our faith journey, beginning to end. The growth in faith depends on God’s work (yes). Christians need God’s help to overcome sin (true, though I’m not sure what “overcome” means. If it means sinless perfection, then no). And God’s grace is freely offered, and Christians can accept or reject it (yes, for we can refuse any help from God or accept it by the help of the sufficient gospel and the Spirit at work in us).

D. Arminianism

The acronym varies a little from Arminianism, for this system teaches, if I understand it, that we must first produce in ourselves a desire for Christ with God’s help. (But I prefer my wording: God woos us by his Spirit and the Spirit-empowered gospel to desire Christ). The belief about conditional election for people who believe in Jesus Christ sounds about right to me. Next, God saves those who believe in Jesus Christ based on God’s foreknowledge of their faith. (Maybe yes, as long as we do not conflate God’s foreknowledge with his causation. This conflation is the error of Calvinism.)

Let me spend more time here. As noted, just because God knows what will happen does not mean he causes it. This is hyper-sovereignty, not sovereignty. God gifted humans with a significant measure of free will to do good or bad on their own (e.g. an atheist millionaire can give lots of money to the needy, and a man can rob a bank on his own. However, they do not have enough free will to strut into God’s kingdom or even desire to walk into it on their own. God must be at work in them through prevenient grace and the prevenient work of the Spirit. Arminians believe in prevenient grace.

E. Calvinism

The acronym differs from Calvinism if the latter system teaches that total depravity means people cannot even respond to the Spirit-empowered gospel without regeneration before their repentance and faith. This is total inability. I say hearers of the gospel can respond positively to it with prevenient grace and the prevenient work of the Spirit. The Spirit-empowered gospel can elicit saving faith. The hearers do not need to be born again before they respond to the gospel.

Also, people can resist grace and God’s Spirit wooing them. God’s sovereignty is not so extensive and overbearing that it crushes their free will to resist the gospel. And of course, I in no way believe in double predestination: reprobation to hell. Rather, people who say reject the gospel send themselves to hell.

A Calvinist may reply that those who deny and resist the gospel were not predestined or elected to believe. Either God hardened their hearts or passed over the, ignoring them.

¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. (Acts 16:14)

Why reply in this way? Calvinists make much of God’s sovereignty. No one or nothing can resist the will of the all-powerful, sovereign God. Therefore the deniers or resisters were passed over out of God’s sovereign choice or will. He did not will them to be saved.

My reply is that I cannot find in Acts where the gospel call is entangled with this complication. People hear and respond by their own choice, on the Spirit wooing them, when the gospel is empowered by grace and the Spirit. The Spirit-empowered gospel prompts saving faith in the receptive hearers. The Spirit had been wooing them in the background. However, they say no on their own, even after they hear the same Spirit-empowered and grace-based gospel in an atmosphere of The Spirit’s power. The Spirit had been wooing them, but they still said no. The gospel can be resisted.

As for Lydia, she was a God-worshipper. God had already been working on her heart, creating hunger in her for the God of the Bible. On hearing the fuller gospel about God, she believed, and she and her household were baptized (v. 15).

The acronym, letter D (no. 8) teaches prevenient grace or the prevenient work of the Spirit, not effectual or irresistible grace.

Does Acts 13:48 Teach Divine, Hard Determinism? (Answer: No, for God was working on the hearers in Pisidian Antioch, so that some would say yes to the gospel. No word on God working on hearts to harden them, so that they would reject salvation.

F. Provisionism

I cannot summarize Soteriology 101’s complete statement of faith, because for me it is very complicated, for my purposes here. However, I like these two articles:

ARTICLE SEVEN: THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

We affirm God’s eternal knowledge of and sovereignty over every person’s salvation or condemnation.

We deny that God’s sovereignty and knowledge require Him to cause a person’s acceptance or rejection of faith in Christ.

Genesis 1:1; 6:5-8; 18:16-33; 22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:32; Psalm 23; 51:4; 139:1-6; Proverbs 15:3; John 6:44; Romans 11:3; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 11:6, 12:28; 1 Peter 1:17

ARTICLE EIGHT: THE FREE WILL OF MAN

We affirm that God, as an expression of His sovereignty, endows each person with actual free will (the ability to choose between two options), which must be exercised in accepting or rejecting God’s gracious call to salvation by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

We deny that the decision of faith is an act of God rather than a response of the person. We deny that there is an “effectual call” for certain people that is different from a “general call” to any person who hears and understands the Gospel.

Genesis 1:26-28; Numbers 21:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; Esther 3:12-14; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:20-24; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-24; 13:34; 15:17-20; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:12; Revelation 22:17

Source: Statement of Faith: What is Provisionism?

What these two articles say is that God is sovereign, yes, but he does not cause a hearer to accept or reject the gospel call to salvation. People respond to the call with either yes or no, depending on their free will, but on the basis of grace and the Spirit’s wooing. I agree that there is no effectual call, if it means that this call goes out only to a few, the elect, and is irresistible. In fact I changed this post to eliminate effectual calling that limits the reach and scope of the gospel and people’s positive response to it. Instead, I believe there is a general call for everyone.

G. My own view

I definitely lean towards Provisionism.

So what am I in terms of responding to the gospel and salvation? Does the acronym make me a synergist? I don’t like the term, nor its opposite, a monergist.

But let me answer the question. No, I am not a synergist because coming to Jesus in faith is not a work. God was drawing or wooing me. God is one hundred percent responsible for the plan of salvation and my salvation. And I am one hundred percent responsible for my sin. Think of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). He was responsible for his sin, and the father was responsible for restoring his son (vv. 20, 22-24), after the son had come to his senses (v. 17), and returned to his father (v. 18), and the father rescued him from his old life of sin. God’s whole plan of salvation is so powerful that when it is preached, some people respond to it, saying yes. This response is not a work. My response to the gospel was not a work, either.

To be clear, human free will is not strong enough for people to be saved on their own. They cannot strut into God’s kingdom and truly belong to his church on their own willpower. They need God’s power working on them, and the Spirit-energized gospel is powerful enough to elicit saving faith, so they can respond positively to it, with yes. However, human free will can empower them to walk away from this same gospel, heard at the same time as those who accept it. The gospel offers its refusers their liberty. God woos. He does not rape.

I just said I’m not a synergist, but maybe I am, if the previous paragraph describes synergy.

VIII.. Application

A.. The most important verses

They tell how to receive salvation. The verses are Romans 10:9-13, which read:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9-13)

We need to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. What happens then? We are saved. We call on his name, which stands in for his person and character and status.

B. Simplicity of salvation

Let’s build on an earlier section (VI.C).

To be saved, all you have to do is to obey the truths in these verses:

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  (1 John 4:15)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father [God] loves his child [the Son of God] as well.  (1 John 5:1)

¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  […]  ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9-10, 13)

Allow me to combine these verses from different chapters in Acts:

¹⁹ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, […] ³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 3:19, 16:31)

Here are two verses from John’s Gospel that speak of regeneration or being born again. The Spirit must do it.

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. […] ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3, 8)

Peter says in Acts:

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes on him receives forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43)

And so to be saved: Just call on his name, and with saving faith believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. Repent of your sins and turn back to God. Profess your saving faith out loud. Declare him Lord, with your mouth. Believe in your heart that God resurrected him (= vindicated his Son’s entire life, ministry, and death). The Spirit causes you to be born again. And then you shall be saved and born of God. Simple. Even a child can do this with his childlike faith.

C. Effects of Salvation

1.. Past tense: Saved from the penalty of sin.

This is a great truth because Christ was our penal substitution; that is, he took the penalty of our sin (death) on himself.

It is by grace alone:

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5)

The channel to receive grace is our faith, but the whole thing–salvation grace, and faith–is a gift from God.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

In those verse the Greek verb tense is in the past.

2. Present tense: He saves us from the power of sin.

We walk in the Spirit, and he empowers us to avoid the power of sins, especially our past sins:

We must purify ourselves from contaminations and grow in holiness from our reverence for God:

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Cor. 7:1)

After we are saved and justified, we work out what God has worked in:

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Phil. 2:12-13)

Keep in step with the Spirit:

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Gal. 5:16)

3. Future tense: Salvation will eliminate the presence of sin.

God will complete the redemption of our bodies at the end of the age.

²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved.  (Rom. 8:23-24)

We will be glorified at the Second Coming, which will wrap up this present age:

And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Rom. 8:30)

Our bodies, souls and spirits will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye:

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Cor. 15:51-53)

When our bodies, souls and spirits are transformed, the presence of sin that invades every parr of us will disappear.

D. S-E-R-F-F-F-B-OR-D

The entire NT is not as neat and tidy as we would wish in the doctrine of salvation. For example, where does being born again fit into the acronym? I suppose it could come under the third F, filling. The Spirit causes us to be born again. In any case, the acronym helps me remember the basics that Acts and epistles clearly teach.

E.. What we do next.

We proclaim his salvation to our friends.

¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Rom. 10:14-15)

We need to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers, because the fields are ripe for harvest (Matt. 9:37-38). Do you have a call to go out into the harvest? We all do, but what about in a full-time way that requires monetary support, like missionaries?

F. Prayer

If you want salvation through grace alone and faith alone, pray these words from the heart:

“Father in heaven, I confess my sins to you. I renounce them. I turn from them. I renounce all ties to Satan and his dark kingdom. I put my full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I declare with my mouth “Jesus is Lord.” I believe in my heart that you raised your Son from the dead. Send your Holy Spirit into my heart and cause me to be born again. Fill me to overflowing. Wash me in the inside. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.”

Please join a good, Spirit-filled church. Get to know them. Then God will send you out into his mission field which is right for you (Acts 13:1-4). However, if you are a girl living in a Muslim family, be careful. Someone may harm or kill you. Stay safe and find an underground church. And if your father makes you go to the mosque, then pray silently to the Father in Jesus’s name.

G.. What happens when you experience salvation?

You have experienced salvation. You can rest in Christ that he will never take it from you. Even when you sin, he works with you and draws you back to the paths of righteousness. Salvation depends on his grace. All you have to do is believe in him.

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