In the last article, we explored the startling, offensive, and unique claim of Christianity: You cannot be good enough for God. Salvation and the Gospel is all about Who Jesus and what Jesus has done; it’s not about who you are. Salvation is all about the merit (worthiness) of Christ.
So, how do we attain this saving merit that God has offered through Christ?
The answer is faith. It is a trusting belief, an acceptance of Who He is and what He did, that brings salvation. It is never a matter of us somehow earning it.
Consider Jesus’ words in John 6:
Matthew 6:25-29: When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”
28 Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
This is Jesus’ response; the “work” required by God for salvation is to believe in Him, to believe in the work and person of Jesus. Let’s consider a few more verses on this topic.
Ephesians 2:1-10: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Romans 3:21-28: But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Galatians 2:15-16: “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Application – A Warning Against False Faith
Scripture is clear: we are saved by accepting Christ in faith, and not by anything else.
It’s all about Who He is, and what He’s done on our behalf.
That’s not to say that grace is to be abused, or that we can simply perform some lip-service prayer to God and then proceed to live in continuing rebellion against God. (This heretical misunderstanding of the Gospel is sometimes called Easy Believism.)
That isn’t to say that salvation demands more from us than faith; rather, it says that real faith will continue to produce real repentance. If you truly trust that Jesus is Who He claims to be, you will want to put Him in His rightful spot as the Lord of your life. Or, to put it in different words – you can’t simultaneously believe in Jesus and live like you don’t believe in Jesus. Real belief/faith will be lived out.
Salvation is not earned, or merited. It is a gift given by God through Christ, to be received by faith. But that faith isn’t just lip-service; it’s real, and will change your life, your habits, your character, and your identity.
May God help us all grow in faith, and in the repentance/fruitfulness that accompanies that faith.
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