Soteriology

This opening lesson defines soteriology (from sotera and logos) and establishes that God planned redemption before the fall, foreknowing man's rebellion. It presents Christ as the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) who took flesh in order to die, then traces man's need through the entrance of sin (Genesis 3) and the tenfold results of the fall, summed up as depravity, total inability, evil, and death.

This lesson follows the history of salvation from its first announcement in Genesis 3:15, that the woman's seed would bruise the serpent's head, through Abraham and the prophets who foretold Christ. It shows salvation revealed in the Messiah, accomplished at the cross (typified by the brazen serpent of John 3:14), rejected by Israel, extended to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28), and finally praised in heaven (Revelation 7:10).

The first lesson on God's provisions centers on the death of Christ, tracing its Old Testament types (Eden's skins, Abel's lamb, Isaac's ram, the Passover, the offerings, the brazen serpent) and prophecies. It refutes the accident, martyr, moral-love, and governmental theories, then defines the atonement as vicarious substitution, propitiation, reconciliation, and ransom, before turning to Christ's resurrection, ascension, and exaltation.

This second lesson on God's provisions expounds grace as God's provision for men so fallen they cannot help themselves, unpacking charis and Ephesians 2:8-10 to contrast grace with law and works. It charts grace's increasing abundance from grace to more, all, great, manifold, and exceeding grace, then explains redemption through its four senses, to tear loose, to rescue, to purchase, and to ransom, along with its effects.

This lesson examines man's response, opening with election understood through God's foreknowledge rather than arbitrary foreordination. It defines repentance as a change of mind involving intellect (a change of view of sin), emotion (godly sorrow), and will (turning from sin to God), stressing its centrality in the preaching of John, Jesus, and the apostles, then treats saving faith (Hebrews 11:1) and heartfelt acceptance of Christ.

Built on John 3:3 and the account of Nicodemus, this lesson teaches the new birth. It first clears away what regeneration is not, reformation, becoming religious, or a mere change of heart, then defines it as a birth, a cleansing, a quickening, a new creation, and a resurrection. It presses the necessity of being born again through the Holy Spirit and the Word as a divine mystery.

This lesson surveys ten results of the new birth: no condemnation (Romans 8:1), joy, peace, reconciliation, new life, becoming a child of God, being made a new creation partaking of the divine nature, victory over sin, adoption, and sanctification. It distinguishes adoption as the placing of a mature son and explains sanctification's primary and secondary meanings and its positional, progressive, and final phases.

The concluding lesson addresses assurance, diagnosing why believers lack it and offering positive grounds: the witness of the Spirit, the testimony of the Word, love for the brethren, obedience, and a transformed life. It defends the eternal security of the believer, sealed by the Spirit and kept by God's power (John 10:28), and closes with justification by faith as pardon, restoration to favor, and imputed righteousness received by grace alone.