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Objective

In this lesson, we will understand nine key biblical terms that describe how God accomplishes our salvation.

Key Verse

Titus 2:1: But as for you, speak the things that are proper for sound doctrine.

Introduction

We’ve seen in previous lessons that salvation is a work of God in our hearts, not something we produce by our own efforts. Salvation is a work of God’s grace as we put our trust in Jesus Christ. As we saw in the last lesson, justification by faith is the foundation of our salvation. Salvation is a single work that God does in our hearts. But there are many different aspects to this work. This is why the Bible uses different words to describe our salvation. From our perspective, it seems that these words describe different things that happen in steps. But God sees a single work that’s already been done.

Here’s an example to help us understand this important truth. When we bake bread, we go through several steps:

• We prepare the ingredients
• We mix the ingredients together one by one
• We shape the dough into loaves
• We bake the loaves in the oven

From our perspective, these seem like separate activities that happen one after another. But from God’s eternal perspective, it’s as though the bread is already prepared and baked all at once. Before we even began, God could see the finished bread.

This is exactly how salvation works. We experience different aspects of God’s saving work—justification, sanctification, adoption, and others—but God accomplished the entire work of our salvation when Christ died and rose again. What seems like a process to us is actually a completed reality in God’s eternal plan.

Notebook Moment: As you consider your own salvation experience, which of these terms feels most meaningful to you right now? Why do you think God chose to use so many different words to describe what He has done for us?

In this lesson, we will explore eight additional terms that work together with justification to help us understand the fullness of our salvation. Each word opens a window into God’s heart and shows us another aspect of His amazing love and grace:

• Atonement – Christ’s sacrifice that covers our sin
• Propitiation – The offering that turns away God’s wrath
• Redemption – Being bought back from slavery to sin
• Reconciliation – Peace established between God and humanity
• Regeneration – Being given new spiritual life
• Adoption – Becoming God’s beloved children
• Sanctification – Being set apart and made holy
• Glorification – Our future transformation to be like Christ

Atonement

Atonement means a sacrifice that covers sin and makes peace between God and humanity. Christ is described as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, fulfilling everything that the Old Testament sacrificial system pointed toward. The word itself comes from the idea of being “at one” with God—no longer separated by sin.

Under the Old Testament law, the priests offered countless sacrifices of lambs, goats, and bulls on the altar. But these animal sacrifices could never actually take away sin—they were pictures that pointed forward to the one perfect sacrifice that would come.

John 1:29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Hebrews 10:1-4: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Jesus did not die as a martyr or victim, but He willingly gave up His life as our substitute. When Christ died on the cross, He was not just setting a good example or showing us how much He loved us. He was actually paying the penalty that our sins deserved.

John 10:17-18: The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

Propitiation

Propitiation is an offering that turns away the wrath of God and satisfies His justice. Our sin is not just a mistake or weakness. It’s a serious offense against God’s holiness that deserves His righteous anger. Many people today are uncomfortable with the idea of God’s wrath, but we cannot understand the gospel without understanding that our sin has made us enemies of God.

Romans 1:18: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

The wonderful news is that Christ’s sacrifice has completely satisfied God’s justice and turned away His wrath from us. Because Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, God’s anger against our sin has been fully appeased.

1 John 4:10: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Romans 8:1: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

This means that when God looks at believers, He no longer sees our sin and rebellion. Instead, He sees the perfect righteousness of His beloved Son. The storm of God’s wrath has passed over us because Christ endured it in our place.

Redemption

Redemption means “to buy back” or “to purchase freedom for someone in slavery.” This beautiful word pictures us as slaves in the marketplace of sin, unable to free ourselves, until Christ comes and pays the price to set us free.

In the ancient world, redemption had a very specific meaning. If someone fell into debt and had to sell themselves into slavery, a relative could redeem them by paying their debt. Christ became our kinsman-redeemer, paying the price we could never pay and setting us free from sin’s slavery.

Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Colossians 1:13-14: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The price of our redemption was not silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ. Peter reminds us that we should live with gratitude and reverence because of the incredible cost that was paid for our freedom.

1 Peter 1:18-19: 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, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation means that peace has been established where there was once conflict and enmity. Before salvation, we were not just spiritually sick or confused—we were actual enemies of God, in active rebellion against His authority.

Colossians 1:21: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

The amazing truth is that God took the initiative to reconcile us to Himself. We did not come crawling back to God, begging for mercy. Instead, God came to us while we were still His enemies and made a way for peace to be established.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Notebook Moment: Think about a time when you experienced reconciliation with someone after a conflict. How did it feel when peace was restored? How much greater is the peace we have with God through Christ?

This reconciliation is permanent and complete. We never have to worry about becoming God’s enemies again because Christ has established eternal peace between us and our heavenly Father.

Regeneration

Regeneration means being given new spiritual life—literally being “born again.” This is not an improvement of our old nature or a reformation of our character. It is a complete spiritual transformation where God gives us an entirely new nature.

Jesus explained this miracle to Nicodemus by comparing it to physical birth. Just as we had no power to bring about our physical birth, we have no power to bring about our spiritual birth. It is entirely a work of God’s Spirit.

John 3:3: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Titus 3:5: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

When God regenerates us, we become completely new creatures. Our old sinful nature is crucified with Christ, and we receive the very life of Christ Himself.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This new life is not something we achieve through our own effort—it is the gift of God’s grace. Christ Himself lives within us through His Holy Spirit, and His life becomes our life.

Adoption

Adoption means being brought into God’s family as His beloved children with all the rights and privileges that belong to children. This is different from regeneration, which gives us new life. Adoption gives us a new relationship and a new standing before God.

John 1:12: Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Galatians 4:4-7: But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

The word “Abba” is a term of intimate affection, like saying “Daddy” or “Papa.” This shows us how close our relationship with God has become through adoption. We are not distant servants or fearful subjects—we are beloved children who can run to our heavenly Father with complete confidence.

Romans 8:15-16: The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

As God’s adopted children, we have become heirs of all His promises and blessings. Everything that belongs to Christ now belongs to us as well.

Sanctification

Sanctification means being set apart for God and being made holy like Him. This word has both a past and present meaning in our Christian experience. In one sense, we have already been completely sanctified the moment we believed. In another sense, we are being sanctified day by day as the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

When God saved us, He set us apart completely for Himself. He no longer sees our sin but sees us as perfectly holy in Christ.

1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Ephesians 5:26: To make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.

At the same time, God continues to work in our daily lives to make our experience match our position. This is why we still struggle with temptation and sin, even though we have been declared holy in God’s sight.

Romans 6:14: For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Notebook Moment: How does understanding that you are already holy in God’s sight change the way you approach your daily struggles with sin? How can this truth motivate you to live a godly life?

The goal of this ongoing sanctification is that we would become more and more like Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions. This work will not be completed until we see Him face to face, but it is a real and powerful work that God does in every believer’s life. The spiritual disciplines that we studied in the “Foundations” course are the tools God uses to make us more like Christ each day.

Glorification

Glorification refers to our future transformation when we will receive glorified bodies just like Christ’s resurrected body. This is the final step in God’s plan of salvation—the completion of everything He began when He first saved us.

Romans 8:17: Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Philippians 3:21: Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Right now, we live in bodies that are affected by sin, sickness, aging, and death. But when Christ returns, He will give us new bodies that are perfect, powerful, and eternal. These glorified bodies will never experience pain, decay, or death.

1 John 3:2: Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

This promise of glorification gives us hope and strength to endure the difficulties of this present life. No matter what trials we face, we know that they are temporary and that eternal glory awaits us.

Conclusion

These eight terms help us understand the fullness of what God has done for us in salvation. Each word shows us a different part of God’s amazing work. Together, they reveal that our salvation is the greatest work God has ever accomplished.

Can a believer ever lose their salvation? The Bible teaches clearly that God does not take back His gift of salvation. But the Bible also teaches that God knows from eternity who will continue in faith to the end. Those who continue are those who have genuinely believed. True faith perseveres because God Himself preserves it.

2 Timothy 1:12: That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

John 10:28-29: I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

The Bible does give us warnings to examine ourselves and make sure we are continuing in the faith. These warnings are not meant to make us doubt our salvation, but to help us confirm that our faith is genuine. We should not disregard these warnings or take them lightly.

2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?

1 John 2:19: They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

If we do not have fruit in our life, and if we do not desire the things of God and are constantly stuck in sinful patterns of behavior, then we should ask ourselves: “Am I truly a child of God?”

We can have complete confidence that the God who began this good work of salvation in our lives will be faithful to complete it. He who justified us will also glorify us. He who adopted us will never disown us. He who redeemed us will never let us be enslaved again.

Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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