Soteriology
By Jerry Batson, Th.D.
Special to The Alabama Baptist
For the past few weeks Theology 101 has given attention to various ways we might understand the beginning of the Christian life. Drawn from a variety of common analogies, we have seen the onset of one’s Christian experience in terms of spiritual birth, adoption, redemption, conversion, justification, reconciliation and forgiveness. These truths all primarily address the beginning point of salvation. These are instantaneous actions of God on our behalf when we turn from sin in sincere repentance and trust Christ as Savior and Lord in personal faith.
However, we are keenly aware that there is more to being a Christian than the starting point, as blessed as that occasion is.
This week we move on to think of salvation in terms of its continuation throughout life. The theological term for the progression of the Christian life is “sanctification.”
Progress in salvation
The truth about forgiveness in last week’s study is a good transition point for thinking about sanctification.
Just as the beginning of the Christian life involves forgiveness of sins, so its progress also involves continuous or repeated confession of our sins and their cleansing. The reality of forgiveness of sins is a necessary linkage between the onset of salvation and our progress in salvation.
As in last week’s discussion about forgiveness, we often describe the initial forgiveness of sins as having to do with the penalty that hangs over unconverted sinners. Obviously salvation viewed both as justification and as forgiveness deals with two very closely related truths. Although from the beginning of a Christian conversion experience we have been delivered from the eternal consequences of sin (that is, sin’s penalty), we need to be continuously cleansed and delivered from sin’s power in our lives. This is the point of 1 John 1:9, which was penned by one forgiven sinner to an audience of forgiven sinners — from an apostle of Christ to readers who were followers of Christ: “If we (Christians) confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
While our eternal relationship with God has been settled since conversion, our ongoing fellowship with Him requires regular confession of sin. The goal of sanctification might be viewed as living a life of meaningful fellowship within a secure relationship. We could also say that sanctification is the process of our cooperation with God’s ongoing work in freeing us from the practice of sin and enabling us to become more like Christ. We also might think of sanctification as the process of spiritual growth. Said yet another way, we could speak of sanctification as the process by which imputed righteousness that has been credited to us at conversion gradually becomes imparted righteousness that shows up in conduct, outlook, actions and attitudes. Viewed this way we might say that a close link may be seen between salvation as justification and as sanctification. Many of us are helped by simply thinking of sanctification as growth in likeness to Christ.
For most of us the actual growth in likeness to Christ does not happen as smooth upward progression. Rather we find that spiritual growth occurs in “starts and fits” in which we deal with struggles, lapses, regressions, omissions, inconsistencies and other assorted failures that are interspersed with seasons of revival, renewal, cleansing and rededication. More about sanctification next week.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jerry Batson is a retired Alabama Baptist pastor who also has served as associate dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and professor of several schools of religion during his career.
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