Joe Thorn » God Systematic Theology Trinity Doctrine Justification

Shewing Means Showing

Several years ago I came across John Bunyan’s “A Map Shewing The Order and Causes of Salvation and Damnation” and promptly took it to Kinko’s to print up as a large poster to hang in my office. People see it in person or in photos and always ask about it, and it’s definitely worth looking at closely.

 

Ordo Salutis: The Order of Salvation

If you haven’t worked through a biblical understanding of the “ordo salutis,” I would encourage you to get on that. It’s not a trivial theological exercise, but important doctrinal work that bears fruit in many areas of the Christian life including worship and evangelism. In his Systematic Theology Louis Berkhof explains it this way.

The ordo salutis describes the process by which the work of salvation, wrought in Christ, is subjectively realized in the hearts and lives of sinners. It aims at describing in their logical order, and also in their interrelations, the various movements of the Holy Spirit in the application of the work of redemption. The emphasis is not on what man does in appropriating the grace of God, but on what God does in applying it.

 

So check out Berkhof (my favorite), Grudem, or any good systematic theology and get some clarity on this. Pastors and teachers might even consider doing a summer sermon series through the Ordo Salutis. I’ve done it, and it proved very profitable for our people.

 

Map found courtesy of Mount Zion Church

 

Dowload the PDF

 

 

---

 

This post orginally appeared on Joe Thorn's blog. Read his new Re:lit book, Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself.

 

 

« Newer Older »