Posted on by Michael Lawson

The Ordo Salutis

Doesn’t a title in Latin sound fancy? I don’t know why theologians have the habit of throwing in Latin and German terms. Maybe it’s to sound intelligent. I’m not really sure.

The Ordo Salutis simply means the “order of salvation”.

When we refer to the Ordo, what we are attempting to do is seek to understand the process in which God brings about salvation. We’re trying to put it into a logical order. Hopefully, the better we understand God’s saving work in our lives, the more we will love and appreciate Him. Theology should always lead to doxology.

“On the one hand, there can be no doxology without theology. It is not possible to worship an unknown god. All true worship is a response to the self-revelation of God in Christ and Scripture, and arises from our reflection on who He is and what He has done. It was the tremendous truths of Romans 1-11 which provoked Paul’s outburst of praise in verses 33-36 of chapter 11. The worship of God is evoked, informed and inspired by the vision of God. Worship without theology is bound to degenerate into idolatry. Hence the indispensable place of Scripture in both public and private devotion. It is the Word of God which calls forth the worship of God.”  John Stott

Because my theological lens is reformed Baptist, I hold to a classic reformed view of the Ordo. We’ll talk about the major differences between reformed and traditional baptists at the end.

So without further adieu…

  1. Election – Eph. 1:3-6 –Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
  2. (Atonement) – 1 Cor. 15:3,4 –For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,///Acts 2:22-24 –“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
  3. Gospel Call – Rom. 10:14-15 –How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
  4. Regeneration – John 3:1-8 – Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”///Eph. 2:1-5 –And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
  5. Conversion – (Faith & Repentance) – Acts 2:37,38 –Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.///Eph. 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
  6. Justification – Rom. 3:23-30 –for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.///Rom. 4:5 -And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,///Rom. 5:1 -Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
  7. Adoption – Rom. 8:14-17 –For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
  8. Sanctification – Rom. 8:28-30 – And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.///2 Peter 3:18 – But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…///Heb. 6:1 – Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…
  9. (Perseverance) – Rom. 8:28-30///Phil. 1:6 -And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.///John 6:37-40 –All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
  10. Glorification – Rom. 8:28-30///Jude 24,25 –Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Now, for the most part, Baptist hold to the above contents. Traditional Baptists would make the following alterations.

  1. Election would be corporate, not individual.
  2. Atonement – same
  3. Gospel call would be general, not effectual
  4. Conversion (Faith & Repentance) would proceed
  5. Regeneration
  6. -10. – same