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The Certificate track answers the multiple choice. The Associate adds the fill-in-the-blank questions; M.Div. and Th.M. add those and the short-answer questions. 90% of each part is required to pass.
Day 1 — The Pastoral Aim
Salvation is the doctrine on which a hearer’s eternity turns, so before method comes aim. The great pastoral move of a salvation sermon is to shift hearers from working toward acceptance to working from acceptance — from trying to earn what God gives, to living out what God has already given in Christ. Many in the pew are exhausted by a religion of earning. The gospel of salvation sets them free, not to do less, but to serve from gratitude instead of fear.
(Doctrinal backbone — the threefold work of salvation — corresponds to Systematic Theology Unit 7; point students there for the fuller treatment.)
Day 2 — The Doctrinal Backbone (lean; ST Unit 7)
Systematic Theology presents salvation as one work of God in three tenses, dealing with sin in three ways. Justification is the past tense: at conversion God declares the believer righteous, dealing with the penalty of sin. Sanctification is the present tense: God is making the believer holy over a lifetime, dealing with the power of sin. Glorification is the future tense: God will complete the work, dealing with the very presence of sin. One salvation, three stages — past, present, future; penalty, power, presence.
Watch the agent in each tense, for the pattern itself preaches. Salvation past — I have been saved — is God’s work alone: “by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Justification is done to us and for us, not by us. Salvation present — I am being saved, becoming more like Christ — is where we work together with God: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you” (Philippians 2:12–13). Sanctification is the one tense in which we labor, and even then only because He is laboring in us. Salvation future — I will be saved, glorified — is God’s work alone again: “we shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). So the pattern preaches: grace at the beginning, grace at the end, and in the middle a working that is still all of grace. No one may boast, for the bookends are God’s; no one may drift, for the middle is ours to work out.
Day 3 — The Homiletical Move (Worked Example A: “Stages of Salvation”)
This is one of your own sermons. Subject: the stages of salvation. Interrogative: “What are the stages of God’s saving work?” Keyword: stages. Three points, each on its own text:
| Point (keyword: stages) | Anchor text | Tense / sin |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Justification — declared righteous | Romans 5:1 | past / penalty |
| 2. Sanctification — being made holy | Philippians 2:12–13 | present / power |
| 3. Glorification — made perfect | Romans 8:30; 1 John 3:2 | future / presence |
(The keyword “stages” keeps your sermon title “Stages of Salvation”; the lesson makes explicit that the three stages are the three tenses — past, present, future — so the precise frame is taught without changing your title.)
Day 4 — Developing the Points (E-A-I, with gradual release)
Point 1 — Justification (Romans 5:1), fully developed:
Point 2 — Sanctification (Philippians 2:12–13) is developed partly here, leaving the illustration for the student: Explanation — “work out your own salvation... for it is God who works in you.” We work out what God works in; sanctification is neither passive drifting nor self-powered striving. Application — the believer cooperates with a God already at work, so holiness is pursued in dependence, not anxiety. Illustration (student to supply): think of a sail — the boat moves only by the wind, yet the sailor must still raise the sail.
Point 3 — Glorification (Romans 8:30; 1 John 3:2) is left to the student to develop, with guiding questions: What is promised? (“we shall be like Him”) When is it certain? (the chain of Romans 8:30 runs unbroken to “glorified” — past tense, as good as done) How should that hope shape life now? Use the box on the exam to draft it.
Day 5 — Worked Example B (Six Images) and Craft Notes
The same doctrine preaches a second way, with a different keyword — images. Salvation is so large that Scripture paints it in many pictures, each from its own text:
| Image (keyword: images) | Text |
|---|---|
| Regeneration — new birth | John 3:3 |
| Reconciliation — enemies made friends | Colossians 1:21–22 |
| Justification — declared righteous | Romans 5:1 |
| Redemption — bought back from slavery | 1 Peter 1:18–19 |
| Conversion — turning to the narrow way | Matthew 7:13–14 |
| Adoption — made sons and heirs | Galatians 4:4–5 |
These are not six different blessings handed out one after another. They are six pictures of the same single event — the moment God saves a sinner — each set in a different room. Walk the one salvation through all six.
Regeneration — the birthing room. A child cannot decide to be born; it has no part in arranging its own birth. So the sinner, dead in trespasses, does not improve himself into life — he is born again, given a life he did not have and could not produce, by a Father’s will and not his own (John 3:3).
Reconciliation — the settlement table. Picture two parties long estranged, the relationship broken and the enmity real. But hear the direction of it: we were the enemies, and God is the one who came to the table and made the peace, bringing the alienated home and reconciling us to Himself (Colossians 1:21–22).
Justification — the courtroom. The defendant stands guilty, the evidence is in, and there is no plea to make. Then the Judge, on the ground of Christ’s righteousness and not the prisoner’s record, brings down the gavel and declares him righteous — the verdict is in, and it is settled (Romans 5:1).
Redemption — the slave market. See a slave on the auction block, shackled by sin and death, held fast with no power to free himself. The auctioneer is taking bids, and what could such a slave be worth — ruined, in chains, with nothing to offer? The price of his freedom is one he could never pay himself. Then Jesus steps forward and pays the ultimate price — not with silver, not with gold, but with His own life and His own blood. The bidding is over; the purchase is made; the chains fall off. And here is the wonder of it: He bought the slave not to own him, but to set him free (1 Peter 1:18–19).
Conversion — the roadway. A traveler is walking the broad road, crowded and easy, that ends in destruction. At the call of God he stops, turns his back on that way, and steps through the narrow gate onto the road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14).
Adoption — the family. God does not merely acquit the guilty man and send him out of the courtroom a stranger. He brings him home, names him a son, seats him at the table, and writes him into the will as an heir — with all the standing of a child of God (Galatians 4:4–5).
Six rooms, one event. The birthing room, the settlement table, the courtroom, the slave market, the roadway, the family — every one of them is a picture of what happened the moment you trusted Christ. No single room holds the whole of it, which is why Scripture takes us through them all. Preach them together, and the hearer begins to see how large his one salvation really is.
A Worked Example from Dr. Cook’s Pulpit: “Confessing Christ”
Alongside the unit’s two patterns — salvation by stages and by images — here is a full worked example from Dr. Cook’s own pulpit: a sermon on the confession that salvation calls for. Read it first as a hearer, then again as a builder, watching the skeleton beneath. The four divisions are parallel — each a way we confess Him — and each stands on its own text, as the method requires. Unity is the chief mark; the keyword is its tool.
Subject: confessing Christ
Text: Romans 10:9–10
Proposition: If Jesus is our Lord, we must confess Him.
Interrogative: How? — How do we confess Him?
Keyword: ways (the ways we confess Christ)
Transitional sentence: “Let me suggest some ways that we confess Him.”
Divisions — four, parallel, each on its own text:
I. We confess Him with our tongues — Romans 10:9
II. We confess Him publicly — Matthew 10:32
III. We confess Him through baptism — Romans 6:4
IV. We confess Him with our lives — Luke 6:46
The sermon as preached:
This text is one of the greatest in all the Bible: “That if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.” To confess means “to admit” or “to acknowledge.” Confession and belief go hand in hand.
We have all heard of Alcoholics Anonymous. There are many other groups where the members remain anonymous — others do not know who they are. But there can never be a Christianity Anonymous group. There is no such thing as silent Christianity. As someone said, “Either the silence will destroy the Christianity, or the Christianity will destroy the silence.” Christianity involves a witness before men — a confession of faith.
The fearful words of our Lord in Matthew 10:32–33 tell us, “Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”
How bitterly did Peter weep after his courtyard denial. Three times he was asked if he was a follower of Jesus, and three times he denied Christ; the last time he cursed and swore, “I do not even know the man.” If Jesus is our Lord, we must confess Him. Let me suggest some ways that we confess Him.
I. We must confess Him with our tongues.
The text says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.” The confession of this verse is not necessarily one before a huge group. It does not necessarily refer to someone going to the busiest intersection of town and shouting at the top of his lungs, “Jesus is Lord” — though it does not exclude that either.
It is the idea that to confess Christ with our lips means that Jesus is already in our hearts. Have you ever seen someone who is really excited about something? He might have bought a new car; he might be excited about trading stamps or arrowheads. That topic is all he can think about and talk about, and after a while I find myself getting excited too. His excitement is contagious.
When Jesus is our Lord, that is a good reason to be excited. We were lost and going to hell. We deserved punishment, and He offered forgiveness. It never ceases to amaze me what God can do for a miserable sinner like me. I believe that when Jesus is Lord of your heart, He is also Lord of your tongue.
Suppose that in the mail you received an engraved invitation from Ottawa: “The Prime Minister of Canada invites you to be his guest for dinner on the night of April 10th. Other guests will include the Queen of England, the Chief Justice, John Candy, and other noted figures. The Prime Minister sincerely hopes you will be present. R.S.V.P.”
What would you do with an invitation from the Prime Minister? You would show it to all of your friends. You would keep it for your children and grandchildren. In the same way, God invites you to have faith in His Son and to tell the world that “Jesus is Lord.”
On one occasion Jesus was talking with His disciples and asked them who people thought He was. They replied that some were calling Him John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Then He asked the direct question, “Who do you say that I am?” Old Peter often did the wrong thing, but not this time. The statement he made came not from Peter but from God. And I don’t imagine that he whispered it; I think he shouted in jubilation, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Confession is made with the tongue.
II. We must confess Christ publicly.
It stands to reason that if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we will acknowledge Him publicly, in whatever way is necessary to give testimony. In our church we have an invitation at the end of each service. During this time we ask those who have made a decision for Jesus Christ to walk down the aisle and take the pastor’s hand. In doing this you are publicly confessing Jesus as Lord of your life.
Not all churches give an invitation; in fact, many do not. We give an invitation because it is the natural outcome when men discover what God wants them to do. When you have heard the story of how Christ died for you, it is inevitable that a decision will be made — either you will decide for Him or against Him.
Time and again the Bible calls upon people to decide which side they are on. In the Old Testament, when Moses descended the mountain with the Ten Commandments, he was astonished to find his people worshiping a golden calf. They had fashioned this idol to worship while he was away doing God’s work, and then they practiced immorality. The problem was not that they wanted to abandon God altogether; they wanted to worship both God and the idol. In disgust, Moses called for a decision. He called out the faithful, saying, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me.” There was the necessity of decision.
Then later, when the Hebrew people had settled in Palestine, they were in real danger. They had disobeyed God by not getting rid of the idolatry around them, and they were surrounded by idol worshipers. Before he died, Joshua offered a great challenge: “Choose you this day whom you will serve” — whether the false gods or the Lord. And so there was again the call for decision.
Jesus likewise calls for a decision. We cannot remain neutral. To put off making a decision — to refuse the choice — is to decide against Him. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, “He who is not with me is against me.” And so we call upon people to publicly confess Christ.
III. We confess Christ through baptism.
Let us look back at baptism in the New Testament for a moment. There, baptism was closely connected to a confession of faith. Most of the believers were coming out of paganism, and when they were baptized into Christ Jesus they were making a total break with their old lives.
One example was the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip was witnessing to the man in his chariot from the book of Isaiah, and then the Bible says that Philip preached Jesus to him. What a tremendous message that is! The eunuch received Jesus, and as soon as they saw a pool of water, they both went down and he was baptized.
I remember a case like that from my own experience. We were planning a baptismal service one Sunday, and I gave the invitation. The sister-in-law of the girl to be baptized almost ran down the aisle to make a public decision. I expected that she would be baptized at a later time, and I left her sitting on the front pew while I got ready for the baptism. But when I walked down into the baptistry, she started down the steps from the other side in her fine Sunday dress. She didn’t care about the dress. She was ready to confess her faith in baptism and worry about her dignity later. If more Christians would stop worrying about their dignity and start worrying about whether they are right with God, revival would break out in churches across our land.
William Barclay, who was a minister of the Church of Scotland, said that New Testament baptism was adult baptism; infant baptism was not known, for an infant could not declare a faith he did not have. Barclay also said that New Testament baptism was by immersion. In Romans 6 we learn that in baptism there is a picture of the gospel: Jesus died and was buried, which is shown as we are lowered into the water; then Jesus was raised from the dead, which is shown when we are raised from the water.
So we can see why baptism is a confession of faith. There is the picture of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Sprinkling or pouring are not able to portray that powerful message of Christ.
On several occasions after a baptismal service, I have had people come and ask me what it all meant, and they were led to Christ as a result. Some time ago a pastor friend of mine told me of baptizing into the church a man who was the worst reprobate in town. The service was on cable television, and people all over town called to see what was going on. There is a powerful confession to be found in New Testament baptism, because Christ is preached through it.
IV. Finally, we must confess Christ with our lives.
All the words in the world about Jesus, all the public decisions, and a thousand baptisms are of no value without obedience. Jesus said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things that I say?”
Some early confessors of Christ were forced to give up their lives. All the apostles, with the possible exception of John, died for their faith. Tradition tells us that Peter and Paul and Thomas were martyred. All kinds of horrible tortures were devised for Christians. When the Christians were slaughtered in the arena, the sand became so encrusted with blood that it had to be scooped out before the next event. Mothers were tied to one end of the arena and the child released at the other; just before the child reached the mother, ravenous lions were released, and the mothers watched in horror as their children were torn apart before their eyes. But not one drop of blood was wasted. The devil tried to destroy Christianity with persecution, but it grew by leaps and bounds. Every time a believer died, that blood cried out for others to respond.
During the terrible Boxer Rebellion in China, the insurgents captured a mission station, blocked all the gates but one, and before it placed a cross flat on the ground. Then word was passed to those inside that any who trampled the cross underfoot would be permitted their freedom and life, but any refusing would be shot to death. Terribly frightened, the first seven students trampled the cross under their feet and were allowed to go free. But the eighth student, a young girl, refused to commit the sacrilege. Kneeling beside the cross in prayer for strength, she arose, moved carefully around the cross, and went out to face the firing squad. Strengthened by her example, every one of the remaining ninety-two students followed her to death.
In January 1941 a Reverend Stone baptized a woman in Bombay, India. A pastor congratulated him on his convert. “But she is not my convert,” said Stone modestly. “Then whose is she?” “Adoniram Judson’s,” came the reply. “But Judson lived over a hundred years ago, more than a thousand miles away, in the country of Burma.” “True,” he said, “but this woman fell into the company of a group of women from that city in Burma where Judson did his most intense suffering and work last century. You recall how he was imprisoned, physically harmed, placed on a starvation diet, and persecuted almost beyond description. Well, these women are descendants of the people who were converted by the incomparable life and outstanding witness of Adoniram Judson. The woman whom I baptized tonight fell into their company, and after a few days she came to me saying, ‘These Burmese have convinced me that Christ is Savior. I am ready to be baptized.’ You see — she is Judson’s convert.” When we confess Christ with our lives, God will use it, and it will never die.
Craft notes: preach reconciliation in the right direction — it is we who were the enemies and God who reconciled us, not the reverse. Guard both errors as you preach the stages: legalism (collapsing sanctification back into earning) and indifference (treating justification as license). And let the whole sermon arc to the invitation, because salvation is the one doctrine that most directly calls for a response. So Unit 8 has shown one doctrine preached two ways — by stages and by images — each point on its own text, with justification developed in full. Unit 9 takes up the Church.
Unit 8 Final Exam
Certificate track: the 20 multiple-choice questions. Associate: multiple choice and the 10 fill-in-the-blank questions. M.Div. and Th.M.: multiple choice, fill-ins and the 10 short-answer questions. 90% of each part is required to pass. If you do not pass, the exam waits a short time before you can try again.
M.Div. and Th.M.: all five assigned readings are part of the course. Their separate exam is required after activation; see its page for the current rule. Honors remains optional and does not replace the exam.
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