34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:34 (NASB)
I am a Calvinist. In this age of not saying things in order to avoid causing offense I refuse to subject myself to that. I know who saved me. I know that without God’s sovereign grace working in me I would never have been saved. It would never have happened because I know what I was. Just a sinner….
I was as the Word of God says, dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). Since that time I have read many books, listened to many sermons, and have written much about the “process” of how a person goes from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive in Christ. The Reformers had it right. They developed what is referred to as the Ordo Solutis, which is Latin for “Order of Salvation.” Here it is.
- Election – God’s choice of people to save. This choice occurred before the foundation of the world.
- Predestination – The work of God to ordain to salvation those who have been elected to it.
- Calling – The preaching of the gospel message.
- Regeneration – The change in the person produced by God.
- Faith – The trust an individual has in the work of God on the cross.
- Repentance – Turning from sin.
- Justification – The imputation of righteousness to the individual thus making him righteous according to the law.
- Sanctification – God’s work in the individual to make him more like Christ.
- Perseverance – God’s work in the individual results in the person continually believing throughout his life.
- Glorification – Resurrection to glory with God.