THEO 2 Final Exam

Grace

Armenian (conditional election):1. God chooses those who will want to believe.Reformed (unconditional election):1. It is consistent with God’s character2. Election is based on God’s good pleasure and will3. Divine sovereignty (God’s freedom to do what He wants, how He wants, to whom He wants) demands unconditional election4. Salvation in general is not based on human desire or doing

Objections to Unconditional Election:1. Free will: denies that human beings can make real choices· Compatibilism: God is absolutely sovereign, but His sovereignty does not absolutely eliminate human responsibility.o God allows humans to choose according to their nature, not forcing them to act against who they are.o We are morally responsible creatures, but our freedom does not make God absolutely contingent upon us.· We have free will within boundaries; the boundary is God’s will.2. Evangelism/Prayer: why bother if God elects?· God ordains not only salvation for the elect, but the means as well. We are the means by which God accomplishes His purposes, and we are held responsible for that. Our prayer and evangelism is the surfacing of the elect.3. 2 Peter 3 and 1 Timothy 2: election goes against God’s desire that none should perisho Peter is addressing the Church; “you” and “anyone” is limited to the Church (anyone among you).o “God’s promise” refers to judgment of the wicked.o 2 “wills”: will of God’s purpose and will of God’s desires.§ God can want something without it being in His plan or purpose.o “All men” is a general way of speaking, not referring to every person in the world (all categories of men).§ In context, Paul tells Timothy to pray for different demographics.4. Unfair

Augustine- Grace: We are all sinners going in a downward trajectory, but God reaches his hand out to save some- Sin: Created without fault. When Adam fell, all of humanity fell with him so we are corrupt and guilty before God. Lost our ability to choose the good.- Freedom: We need divine grace to enable us to follow God’s law. Grace enables our wills to choose good again - beyond Adam (freedom).- Grace: God must take the initiative in our salvation if Grace is to be grace. Salvation in its core cannot be chosen - it is only freely given. God has priority in our purity. Monergistic view of salvation: salvation by God alone.- Predestination: God choosing destiny.- Election: the ones God has chosen for heaven.
Pelagius (greatly distrurbed by Augustine’s views) - trying to uphold the view that man needs to make the conscious decision to follow God - undermines human responsibility to live moral lives. If God issues commands to us but we cannot do them and he punished how for not doing them, how is that just? - Sinnergistic view: God and man working together to bring about salvation. There is no such thing as original sin, but we just follow society. We are originally good - we just choose to do all not just some. - Grace: offered to those who deserve it.

Five Points of Arminianism:1. Human ability· Prevenient grace – God giving all humanity the ability to freely choose God.2. Conditional election· God elects people based on human choice (who’s going to believe).3. Indefinite/universal atonement· Christ died for the sins of all humanity.· Christ created the possibility that all could be saved.4. Resistible grace· We can (and do) resist God’s grace (ex. The Spirit) all the time.5. Defectible grace· We can lose our salvation, and fall from grace.
Five Points of Calvinism:1. Total Depravity· The Fall effects every aspect of humanity; we are dead in sin at birth.2. Unconditional election· God elects based on the condition of His own will and purposes (based on God Himself).3. Limited atonement· AKA particular redemption. Christ died for the elect, not all humanity.· Christ’s death actually saved the elect.4. Irresistible grace· The only way we can make a move toward God is for Him to break in and overcome our resistance.5. Perseverance of the Saints· Those God has elected in the past, He will preserve to the end.

- Luther wrestled with “who was this God.” Felt the weight of judgment. If we believe in this 1 Holy God, we should feel this tension. Rom 1:17: “righteousness” of God meant we, as sinners, deserve judgment. How can I obtain a positive verdict before God? Recognizes a distance between righteousness of him and God. Do we have to be righteous for God to accept us as righteous?

The Nature of Justification:· Justification: a legal act of God in which he declares us not guilty but righteous on the basis of Christ’s work.o Justified by faith, not by workso Given as gift, not earned as wages
The Basis of Justification:· Justification is on the basis of Christ’s meritso Christ’s obedient lifeo Christ’s obedient death· Justification is not on the basis of personal worth or works· Justification is not based on any actual righteousness in us

Catholic Justification·God’s verdict: Not guilty. oJustification = sanctification·Catholic justification oAn event AND a process oProcessWorking towards righteousnessThe sacraments oFinal justification is not assured in this life. oPURGATORY-Where our righteousness is made complete.-Declared righteous/justified after purgatory, when we are completely righteous/justified-Not punishment. The means in which God’s elect receive justification-The more righteous in life, less time in purgatory, less righteous = more timeo Mortal sin-Go to hell-Breaking the 10 commandments, premeditated, prior knowledge of the fact that it’s sin-All three must be present in order for it to be mortal sin
Augustine (Not catholic)oJustification-Not only to be declared righteous, but also to be made righteous.

1. Positional (Objective) Sanctification:· God’s setting apart of believers for Himself and his purposes when they plant their faith in Christ. (Eph 1:1, 2 Cor 1:1, Heb 10:10)2. Progressive Sanctification:· A gradual and ongoing work of God and the believer in which he/she is transformed to become more like Christ3. Completed Sanctification· when the believer is fully conformed to the image of Christ and is completely free from sin

Wesleyan View:“Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?”1. “yes”: “entire sanctification” (Christian perfection)1. Second experience after conversion that makes Christians fully sanctified in this life2. Christians need to long for this experience3. Not arguing that Christians are going to be made entirely sinless, he argues that Christians will no longer willfully sin against God.4. A second post-conversion experience is needed for a believer to be sanctified.

.Creation/preservation- Giving gifts/skills- Empowering groups of leaders Ethical/spiritual renewal of God’s people

1. Presence2. Power3. Purity4. Prophecy

OT - The Messiah and the Spirit· Isa 11:1-4· Isa 61:1-3NT - Jesus and the Spirit· The incarnation: Luke 1:35· Baptism: Mark 1:9-11· Temptation: Matt 4:1-11· Ministry: Luke 4:14-21; Matt 12:22-29

Jesus continues the OT sense of anticipation regarding the Spirit. Jesus says no one knows when he will return.

The Personhood of the Spirit:1. The Spirit has personal attributes· “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor 12:11).o Will is attributed to the Spirit· “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Eph 4:30)o Emotion is attributed to the Spirit2. The spirit engages in personal activities· “the Advocate, the Holy spirit… will teach you all things and will remind you…” (John 14)· “The Spirit told Philip…” (Acts 8:29)The Deity of the Spirit: 1. “Spirit” and “God” are used interchangeablya. Acts 5:3-4 (“you have lied to the Holy Spirit… You have lied to God”)2. The Spirit has divine attributesa. Heb 9:14 (“eternal Spirit”)3. The Spirit performs divine worksa. Rom 8:11 (“He will give life to your mortal bodies”)