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Saved by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone

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Jesus CrucifiedThe gospel is the solution to a problem. The problem for us is that God is holy, mankind is sinful, and we cannot save ourselves. Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us through the Person and work of Jesus who is the Son of God incarnate (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Heb 1:8; 1 John 4:2), whose sacrificial death on the cross atoned for our sins (Rom 6:10; 1 Pet 3:18; 1 John 2:2), who was resurrected (Rom 6:9; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and who grants eternal life to those who place their trust solely in Him (John 3:16-18; 10:28; Acts 4:12; 16:31). Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2), but the benefits of the cross, such as forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), and eternal life (John 10:28), are applied only to those who believe in Him as Savior.

God is Absolutely Righteous and Hates Sin

The Bible reveals God is holy, which means He is righteous and set apart from all that is sinful and can have nothing to do with sin except to condemn it. It is written, “For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness” (Psa 11:7), and “Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy hill, for holy is the LORD our God” (Psa 99:9; cf. Isa 6:3). Habakkuk wrote, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13). And, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This means God is pure and free from all that is sinful.

Being absolutely righteous, God can only hate and condemn sin. God Himself said, “Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverted mouth, I hate” (Prov 8:13b), and “let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate, declares the LORD” (Zech 8:17). And of God is it written, “everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God” (Deut 25:16b), and “You hate all who do iniquity” (Psa 5:5), and “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness” (Psa 45:7), and “the way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:9a), and “evil plans are an abomination to the LORD” (Prov 15:26), and “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness” (Heb 1:9a).[1]

All Mankind is Sinful

To be saved, a person must accept the divine viewpoint estimation of himself as sinful before God. The Bible reveals “there is no man who does not sin” (1 Ki 8:46), and “no man living is righteous” (Psa 143:2), and “there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccl 7:20), and “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isa 59:2), and “all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa 64:6), and “there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), and “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8), and “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Solomon asked, “Who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?’” (Prov 20:9). The answer is: no one! God is righteous and we are guilty sinners. Biblically, we are sinners in Adam (Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22), sinners by nature (Rom 7:18-21; Gal 5:17; Eph 2:1-3), and sinners by choice (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:9-23). Sin separates us from God and renders us helpless to merit God’s approval.

We Cannot Save Ourselves

Sitting Near Lake of FireAll humanity is quite competent to produce sin, but utterly inept and powerless to produce the righteousness God requires for acceptance. Scripture reveals we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10), and prior to our salvation, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). We cannot save ourselves. Only God can forgive sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14), and only God can give the gifts of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9) and eternal life (John 10:28) that make us acceptable in His sight. Our good works have no saving merit, as God declares righteous “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5a), for “a man is not justified by the works of the Law…since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God saves us, but “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can stop the rotation of the earth, jump across the Grand Canyon, or run at the speed of light. Christ alone saves. No one else. Nothing more.

Salvation is by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone

The Gospel of GraceThe Bible teaches that we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Salvation is free, and it is received freely by “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5). Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus at the cross when He shed His blood at Calvary, for we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). And because our salvation was accomplished in full at the cross, it means there’s nothing for us to pay. Nothing at all. Salvation is a gift, given freely to us who don’t deserve it. That’s grace, which is unmerited favor, underserved kindness, unwarranted love, unearned generosity, and unprovoked goodness. Scripture reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us by sending His Son into the world to live a righteous life and die a penal substitutionary death on the cross in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).

Our faith needs to be in Jesus alone. This, of course, is the Jesus of the Bible, for no other Jesus will do. A false Jesus does not save anyone, such as the Jesus of Mormonism or Jehovah’s Witness. The Jesus of Scripture is the second member of the Trinity, God the Son (John 1:1; Heb 1:8), who added perfect humanity to Himself two thousand years ago (John 1:14; 1 John 4:2), was born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:26-35), in the prophesied city of Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; Matt 2:1, 6), a descendant of Abraham and David (Matt 1:1), as the Jewish Messiah (Matt 1:1, 17), who lived a sinless life (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5), and willingly went to the cross and died for us (John 10:18; Rom 5:8; 1 Pet 3:18), atoning for our sins (Rom 6:10; Heb 7:27; 1 Pet 1:18-19), and was raised again on the third day (Acts 10:40-41; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Th 4:14), never to die again (Rom 6:9). This is the Jesus of Scripture, the One who saves those who trust solely in Him for salvation. No one else can save. Scripture says of Jesus, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16), and “He who believes in Him is not judged” (John 3:18), and “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47), and “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25), and “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6), The apostle John wrote, “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:12). These passages emphasize that eternal life is obtained through belief in Jesus Christ. Salvation is exclusively in Jesus. Those who reject Jesus as Savior will spend eternity away from God in the lake of fire, for “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:9; cf., Rev 20:15).

To be saved, one must turn to Christ alone for salvation and trust Him 100% to accomplish what we cannot – to rescue us from eternal damnation. We must believe the gospel message, “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). Knowing the good news of what God accomplished for us, we must then “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31), and trust exclusively in Him, for “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” (Acts 4:12). We should not look to ourselves for salvation, for there is nothing in us that can save us. Nothing at all. Christ alone saves. No one else. Nothing more. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Walk Worthy of the Lord

Man Reading His Bible 2God’s children are called “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph 4:1), to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27), to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10), and to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Th 2:12). In biblical language, the term “walk” often represents one’s way of life or conduct. It’s a metaphor for the journey of life and how one navigates it. To walk “worthy” emphasizes the importance of living in a manner that is fitting or appropriate for the calling we have received as Christians. We are children of God by faith in Christ (Gal 3:26), adopted brothers and sisters to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and our performance in life should match our position in Christ. Salvation is free. It’s a gift, paid in full by the Lord Jesus who died on Calvary. God’s gift is received freely, by grace, no strings attached, and is received by faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph 2:8-9). That’s all. However, living the sanctified life as a new Christian is radical and calls for commitment to God. This requires positive volition and dedication to learning and living God’s Word on a daily basis. It means prioritizing and structuring our lives in a way that factors God and His Word into everything. It means bringing all aspects of our lives—marriage, family, education, work, finances, resources, entertainment, etc.—under the authority of Christ. This is the sanctified life when we learn Scripture (Psa 1:2-3; Jer 15:16; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15; 3 :16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1). As we advance, God’s Word will saturate our thinking and govern our thoughts, values, words, and actions. A sign of maturity is when God and His Word are more real and dominant than our experiences, feelings, or circumstances. This is the place of spiritual maturity and stability.

Unfortunately, not everyone answers the call to Christian service, as our justification does not guarantee sanctification. But for those who have positive volition and who answer the call, there is no better life, no higher calling, no nobler pursuit, than that which we live in our daily walk with the God of the universe who has called us “out of darkness and into His marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9; cf. Eph 4:8-9). As those who are now “the saints in Light” (Col 1:12), we need to act like it, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light; for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph 5:8-10). And we are to “lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12), and learn to function “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Phil 2:15). Being a light in the world means helping those who are positive to God to know Him. It means sharing Scripture with them. It means sharing the gospel of grace to the lost who want to know God so they might be saved (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Eph 2:8-9). And for Christians who want to grow spiritually, it means helping them know God’s Word so they can advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1; cf., 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18). This life honors the Lord, edifies others, and creates within us a personal sense of destiny that is tied to the infinite, personal, creator God who has called us into a relationship and walk with Him.

Dr. Steven R. Cook

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[1] The atheist rejects the existence of God; therefore, in his mind, there is no One to whom he must account for his life. In the mind of the atheist, good and evil are merely artificial constructs that can be arbitrarily adjusted to suit one’s life. Apart from the atheists, there are many who desire to be religious, but do not acknowledge or accept the true God, which was the case with the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees. Religion is man, by man’s efforts, trying to win the approval of God. Worldly religion is a works-based salvation where a person tries to live a good-enough-life to gain entrance into heaven. A false god is always self-serving and rarely condemns. And if the man feels condemned by his false god, there’s always a way for him to correct his wrong, pay some penance, and save himself by his own good works. Salvation by good works tells you the person worships a false god and not the God of the Bible.

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

 

Believe in Jesus for Salvation

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John 3:16 “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.”

       To be saved means to be rescued from harm or danger. Based on the authority of Scripture, all mankind is under the sentence of sin and death, and in danger of eternal damnation (Jo. 3:18, 36; Rom. 1:18; 3:9-10, 23). The good news, according to Scripture, is that God saves sinners based on the work of Jesus who died in our place. The only true God—according to Scripture—has punished sin as His justice requires, and saves the sinner as His love desires. But the sinner must receive the free gift of eternal life by believing Jesus is the Savior—trusting in Him alone for salvation.

       Some men dare to trust in themselves that they are righteous and good enough to earn acceptance into heaven. This is wrong according to Scripture, which teaches that all men are dead in their “trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), and “helpless” to save themselves (Rom. 5:6). The Scripture is clear that God saves sinners, “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Tit. 3:5). By sending His Son to the cross to die in the place of sinful men, God has rejected human good as a way of earning salvation.

       Some might ask how God can be just and at the same time declare righteous those who are guilty of sin? God is just in dealing with sin because He has judged it in His Son who died as our substitute and bore the wrath that rightfully belonged to us (Isa. 53:6). He is also loving toward the sinner and offers salvation to us who accept His free gift by trusting in Christ who died in our place (Jo. 3:16; Rom. 5:8). God is both just and the justifier of the one who believes in Christ for salvation (Rom. 3:25-26).

       Jesus alone is the Savior, and to trust Him for salvation is to have eternal life, and be rescued from eternal torment (Rev. 20:14-15). Jesus is the only Savior, “for there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me” (Jo. 14:6). This is good news to those who accept it.

       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 Scripture” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). It’s as simple as, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Steven R. Cook, D.Min.

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