Ordo Salutis - Introduction

Because of a great question over at a forum that I am apart of at the Reformed Evangelist I thought I would do a series on my thoughts on the Ordo Salutis. First, so that everyone at least starts on the same page, Ordo Salutis is the Latin term meaning, "The Order of Salvation." It usually refers to Romans 8:29,30 and what is called by the Reformed tradition: The Golden Chain of Redemption.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Romans 8:29,30


The golden chain of redemption is known to most Reformed theologians as the proof of the Calvinistic belief of the Doctrines of Grace. It is the hinge of predestinarianism and is fought off by most Arminians by their stance in one of two ways.

1. God's foreknowledge here is speaking of an entire people in mind. They take this passage to speaking of an entire race, namely, the Gentiles. They also see Romans 9 as exegetically teaching the same principle, even though individuals are mentioned throughout the chapter, and not nations (Pharoah, Jacob, Esau, etc.).

2. God's foreknowledge is speaking of God knowing beforehand who would choose Him and then He chose those whom He knew would respond to His grace. The ole "God looked down the portal of time" eisegesis.

My time that will be spent in these posts will focus on my views of my personal, which I believe to be mostly Reformed if not totally Reformed, exegesis of the Order of Salvation. I will not spend much time deterring other views of the order of salvation, but my focus will be on the affirmative of the Reformed view and not the negative.

To let all know where I stand before I start, I am Reformed in my beliefs on salvation and therefore see God as completely sovereign, never allowing God to give up this sovereignty in any way, even in the wide spread Aristotilian belief of free will and reason.

I find this first and foremost in the Golden Chain of Redemption, as the passage's focus is purely on God and His grace and us being merely the one's receiving the grace. Look at the passage again.

He foreknew
He predestined
He conformed to the image of His Son
He would be the firstborn among many brethren
He called
He justified
He glorified

Ephesians 1:7,8 lets us know what our one and only true gift to God in salvation: our trespasses.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
Eph 1:7,8

God imputed to us Jesus Christ's righteousness, and God imputed to Christ our sin. What a gift we gave to Christ!

The Ordo Salutis that I will defend is the following:

God's election
Common Call
Regeneration
The Gift of Faith
The Effectual Call
Repentance and Confession
Justification
Sanctification
Glorification

As I did with the Five Solas of the Reformation my intent will be to guide the reader to a "good start" in their study of these subjects. I will not be exhaustive but simply desire to see the people of God understand the greatness of God and foolishness of man. I believe a firm understanding of the order of salvation aids us in this attempt. I pray that you will glean some understanding through this series.