The Gospel of Grace
There are probably as many descriptions of HOW someone is to be saved eternally, as there are denominations in the church. Well, perhaps not that many, but it sometimes seems as everyone has a slightly different answer. Of course, if everyone would simply ask for MY opinion, I could straighten them all out
Seriously – the question of how to be saved is fundamental to our understanding of scripture. Do we have to do anything before we are saved? Do we have to do anything after we are saved to preserve our salvation? Do we have to repent to be saved? Do we have to pray a prayer to be saved? What exactly does our salvation depend on?
What I am going to describe here is my belief about what scripture teaches. You may or may not agree with me – please, feel free to comment! I will not be so arrogant (I hope!) to think that I know all the answers. However, I figure I might as well lay my cards on the table, so to speak, and see what happens.
To put it succinctly, then, I believe in the necessity and sufficiency of the blood of Christ. What does that mean, exactly? I believe that Christ’s blood was necessary for my salvation, and that it is sufficient for my salvation. Let’s look at both of these terms.
NECESSARY
Jesus said in John 14:1 - 7 (NIV) - " Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Notice how he says “No one comes to the Father except through me.” He does not indicate that Allah is a path to God. He does not mention that Buddha is a path to God. He does not say that he is only ONE path of the many that available to God. His words are clear – No one comes to God except through him.
Now consider his words in John 3:14 – 18 (NIV) – Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
Jesus makes it abundantly clear that we must believe in the Son in order to be saved. Faith in the existence of God is not enough – a lot of people in the existence of God. We must believe in God’s one and only Son to have eternal life.
Finally, look at 1 Peter 1:18 – 19 (NIV) – For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
It was with the precious blood of Christ that we were redeemed – not with silver or gold. The blood of Christ is necessary for our salvation.
SUFFICIENT
Is the blood of Christ sufficient? Or is something more needed? Or, to put it even more simply, “What must I do to be saved?” Isn’t that the same question the Phillipian Jailor asked of Paul and Silas? Look at the answer: Acts 16:30 – 31 (NIV) – He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
Believe in the Lord Jesus – that is the only thing this jailor was told. He was not told to pray. He was not told to change his behavior. He was not told to confess his sins. He was not told to repent. He was told, very simply, to believe.
Which of the four gospels is almost always stated as the best one to use for evangelism? Generally, the Gospel of John. How many times does the word “repent” occur in the Gospel of John? Not once. How about the word “believe”? Fifty-four times in the NIV! That would seem to indicate that “belief” is critical to the process of salvation, and should make us question whether repentance is part of salvation.
What were people in the early churches called? Along with disciples and Christians, we frequently find the word “believer” applied to these people. This is what seems to define the church.
When I say that the blood of Christ is sufficient, I mean that there is nothing I can do of myself to earn salvation. I can do no work, or no good thing that helps me earn salvation. Paul is very clear in Ephesians that it is NOT of works that we are saved: Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.
Yet, how often do we try to change people before they can be saved? How often do we tie works to the process of salvation? Sometimes, we hook it onto the end result – we say “if you don’t do good works after you believe, then you didn’t really believe in the first place.” To me, this says that my salvation is dependent in some fashion on what I do. In other words, that Christ’s work on the cross was not enough. When he said “It is finished”, he really only meant his part was finished, and we still had to do enough good works after we believe to guarantee our salvation. I do not believe this! When Christ said “It is finished”, I am convinced that he meant that he had done everything necessary in order for me to be saved. The only thing remaining is for me to simply believe. The blood of Christ is sufficient for our salvation.
This is what I believe Scripture means when it talks about the Gospel of Grace. This is the “house post” on which I base my understanding of Scripture. It is the supporting doctrine of my understanding of scripture. To me, this is the foundational aspect of what it means to be a Christian. That means that every other passage of scripture must mesh with this notion. If it doesn’t, it means that I do not understand the passage in question clearly. Since scripture does not contradict itself, when we find those passages that appear to contradict, we must examine our understanding of the passages in question.
What about the "problem" passages? Some who read this will undoubtedly say “What about Matthew, where Jesus tells people to repent?” Or, “What about James and his strong words on the importance of works?” To those who ask these questions, I say that they are excellent questions, and must be reconciled with my position. If they cannot be reconciled, then I must go back and reexamine my “house post”. However – those are questions that must wait for another article. Don’t worry – I will be addressing them.
As always, I invite your comments!
Posted On Sep 22, 2005 at 6:00 AM
On Sep 22, 2005 Brian's wife wrote: That is a very nice summary. You should write a book!
Brian Replied: What an interesting idea! Are you going to edit it for me???
On Sep 23, 2005 Trent wrote: Brian,
It is nice to meet you and to read your excellent summary on salvation. Probably you couldn't hear it but I was shouting amen while I read it (inside, which is another great reason why you would not have heard it).
Your point concerning "believers" was excellent. There are times when I come across folks who desire to include repentance. This is a point that I will be able to use. With your permission of course.
North American "Christianity" has all but abandoned teaching on the blood of Christ. What a pleasure to hear a brother in Christ who understands that it is a "foundational" belief.
I look forward to reading more of your insights.
Regards,
Trent
ps
I think your wife has made an excellent suggestion :o)
Brian Replied: Hi Trent
Thanks for the encouraging words! It's kind of fun to meet people "electronically", but someday we'll have to meet face-to-face.
Feel free to use any and all material that I post here - my intent is that it be useful to people, so pass it on! After all, I borrowed this from other people myself!
Brian.
On Oct 2, 2005 Doug wrote: Quote:
| Yet, how often do we try to change people before they can be saved? How often do we tie works to the process of salvation? Sometimes, we hook it onto the end result – we say “if you don’t do good works after you believe, then you didn’t really believe in the first place.” |
Did you ever see the movie "Jumanji", with Robin Williams? There's a scene in there where the kid is yelling at his dad, saying "Maybe I don't want to be a Parrish!" (Parrish was the kid's last name)
And the father replies, "You won't be...not until you start acting like one!"
I was thinking about that, thinking how wonderful it is that this is not God's attitude toward us. When we are born into His family, it is not because of any works we have done or will do, and there are no strings attached to our sonship.
Brian Replied: Unfortunately, too often people say "I don't want to be a Christian", because they all too clearly see how Christians live hypocritical lives. We spend so much time condemning the world for their sins (whether it be homosexuality, divorce, abortion, greed, etc.), and so little time condemning the same thing within the church. Why would anyone really want to be like that?
Instead of trying to change the behavior of the world (which conveys the message that people have to change before they are saved), we should spend more time trying to change ourselves. Not because our eternal salvation depends on it, but because we will be held accountable for our actions.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5 - (paraphrased) - who are we to judge those OUTSIDE the church - aren't we supposed to judge those INSIDE the church?
On Nov 1, 2005 Roel Velema wrote: Brian:
My dear friend Arlen Chitwood once said to me: “If we criticize the world, the world has the right to criticize us.” How true this is! But why should we criticize what Christ has already condemned on the cross? The cross rules out that we “try to change” the world, because the Lord doesn’t patch up the world. It all ends at the cross. The Christian life is very radical that God’s future is completely bound up with Christ. Only that which emanates from Christ – from the life side of the cross – will be recognized by God as unshakable. So on the death side “trying” has no place, and on the life side “trying” has no place either. “The Christian life” and “trying” are opposite expressions. Spiritual change emanates from union with Christ. Such a change may – and usually will – be connected with great difficulties, battles and sufferings, but the Source Itself (our Lord) expresses Himself spontaneously through us. Accountability has everything to do with this. Paul’s labours were only recognized as fruitful insofar as they emanated from Christ as the grace of God (cp. 1 Cor. 15:10). So we can say without hesitation that our future inherited salvation – the out-resurrection – depends on our present salvation – a walk in the power of His resurrection (cp. Phil. 3:10,11). The latter, as well as the former, can never be associated with “trying”. The cross and the crown always go together.
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Brian's BlogMost articles on this blog describe what is known as "Kingdom Theology" - they deal with the doctrine of the Millennial Kingdom.If you are just finding this Blog, I would suggest that you start with the first article, rather than picking up in the middle. Enjoy your reading! ABOUT ME Current PostsA scriptural scavenger huntWhat do we want to be remembered for? How do we measure our churches? The Parable of the Sower What is Worship 
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