MacArthur: Salvation is Divine Transaction & Transformation

This Sunday -- Resurrection Sunday -- we will be studying Romans 6:1-14 as it relates to how the gospel -- namely the cross and the resurrection -- transforms our everyday lives.  In other words, the gospel isn't just a transaction, but transformation.  This is the point John MacArthur makes in a sermon titled Dying to Live, Part 1 taken from Romans 6:1-14.  It is well worth the read and I encourage you to listen to the sermon (audio, manuscript)

Now listen to what I say. Holiness is as much a gift of God to the believer as salvation is in the redemptive act. I’ll say it again. Holiness is as much a gift of God to the believer as redemption is in the saving act. When a person is redeemed it is not only a divine transaction, it is a divine miracle of transformation. It is not only legal, it is real. It is not God just saying - Now you're saved. It is God transforming you. It is not only God saying something to be true, it is God making it true. It is not only God declaring you righteous, it is God recreating you in righteousness. You see, as I've been trying to point out earlier in the book of Romans, God doesn't say things that aren't so. And He's not about to call people righteous who aren't. And so, sanctification and justification are linked.  -MacArthur, Dying to Live sermon