Tag Archives: saved by faith alone

The Exclusivity and Sufficiency of Christ for Salvation

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grace-rock-blueIn Acts 4:12, Peter states, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” And the name he’s talking about is the name of Jesus, the theanthropic Person who came into this world (John 1:1, 14), lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:5; 1 John 3:5), and went to the cross and died a penal substitutionary death for all mankind (1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). Peter dogmatically states that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. This is exclusive, for it means there is only way to be saved. The word “must,” in Acts 4:12, translates the Greek verb δεῖ dei, which speaks of divine necessity. This means it is necessary to come to Jesus, and Jesus alone, for our salvation, “for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” We need only Christ to be saved. And to be saved (σῴζω sozo) calls for one action only, and that is to trust in Christ as our Savior. This means we accept the good news “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). And if we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we will have forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), eternal life (John 10:28), and the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9). Here is grace, as we can be forgiven and made right with God. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9). We are not required to produce any works to be saved (Rom 4:4-5). None whatsoever. No works before, during, or after salvation, “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Our forgiveness of sins and eternal life are a free gift from God to us, paid in full by the Lord Jesus. We are helpless to save ourselves (Rom 5:6-10), and we come with the empty hands of faith, offering nothing, only receiving the free gift that God offers to us. Once we are saved, good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10; Tit 2:11-14), but they are NEVER the condition of it. Good works that follow salvation earn us rewards in heaven; but heaven itself is the blessing that comes to us by grace, and this blessing to us is the work of Christ alone.

The CrossThe good news of the gospel is that Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2), which means everyone is savable. That’s unlimited atonement. But, though Christ died for everyone, the benefit of salvation is given only to those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. These are the elect. The gospel message is simple, even a child can understand it and be saved. If you’ve not trusted in Jesus as Savior, then I “beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). Turn to Christ as your Savior, believing He died for your sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day. And no matter what your past sins may be, no matter how many or egregious, God will forgive you (Eph 1:7), give you eternal life (John 10:28), and bless you with a portfolio of spiritual assets (Eph 1:3) that will open for you the most wonderful life you can have in this world; a life in relationship with God. And this all starts when you simply believe in Christ as your Savior. This is the most important decision you can make in your life, for it determines both the quality of life you have in this world, as well as your eternal destiny afterwards.

Dr. Steven R. Cook

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Saved by God’s Grace

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Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Rom 4:4-5)

      Good works do not justify us before God.  They never have and they never will.  Justification before God is a free gift to the ungodly person who simply believes in Jesus for salvation.  I know that sounds outrageous; but the biblical teaching is that God takes the ungodly sinner and declares him completely justified in His sight for no other reason than that he comes with the empty hands of faith and trusts in Jesus as his Savior.  We don’t deserve salvation.  We don’t earn salvation.  It’s completely by God’s grace, and is paid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ.  Every sinner is “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24).

       In Scripture we learn that God is holy (Ps. 99:9; 1 Pet. 1:14-16).  Being holy means God is positively righteous and completely set apart from sin.  The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor” (Hab. 1:13).  God can only do one thing with sin, and that is condemn it.  The Bible teaches substitutionary atonement.  It teaches that Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin.  He died in our place, “the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18).  He paid the redemption price for our sins, and we need only come to Him by faith alone, trusting that His death forever satisfies God’s righteous demands for our sin.  Scripture declares that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf. Rom. 3:25; 1 John 4:10).  That’s wonderful grace!  

       The gospel is the good news that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).  The biblical reality is that without Christ every person is spiritually dead, under the penalty of sin, and powerless to change their situation (Rom. 5:6-12; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 2:1-3).  The person who rejects Christ as Savior will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, forever separated from God (John 3:18; 36; Rev. 20:11-15).  The person who believes in Christ as Savior will spend eternity in heaven with God (John 3:16; 14:1-6; Acts 16:31).  Salvation is completely the work of God, and those saved are the recipients of His grace (Eph. 2:8-10; Tit. 3:5).  The salvation provided by God saves from the penalty of sin (Jo. 5:24; Rom. 6:23; 8:1), the power of sin (Rom. 6:11; 8:13; 2 Cor. 5:17), and ultimately the presence of sin (Phil. 3:21; 1 Jo. 3:2).  Once saved, the believer is in Christ and given the gift of righteousness, eternal life, and declared justified before God.  

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

John 10:27-28  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

       Salvation is never what we do for God, but rather what God has done for us by sending His Son to die in our place and bear the wrath for sin that was due to us (Isa. 53).  We are helpless to save ourselves because we are damaged by sin (Rom. 5:12; 6:23); therefore, salvation comes to us only as a free gift from God (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5).  Jesus paid the price for our sin, and we need only to trust Him for salvation (John 3:16, 20:31; Rom. 3:25; 5:8).  We do not earn or deserve salvation.  Human works are completely excluded from salvation altogether.  Salvation is said to be “the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8), “according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim. 1:9), and “according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit. 3:5).  God has prepared good works to follow our salvation (Eph. 2:10), but they are never the condition of it (Acts 16:30-31; Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5). 

       Too often people ask “how can a loving God send someone to the lake of fire?”  The real question is “how can a righteous God allow a rotten sinner into heaven?”  The answer is simple: because God accepts as perfect the person who trusts in Jesus alone for salvation (Rom. 10:3-4; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:8-9).

Dr. Steven R. Cook