Salvation is of the Lord, Part 9 of 9

“But what saith it (faith)? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed,” Romans 10:8-11.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 8 of 9

Christ is a Savior, and He gives eternal life on the sole condition of faith. When we turn from grace (the unmerited favor of God) to working for our salvation we have become a transgressor and impugn the free gift God offers in His Son. Galatians 2:16-21 addresses Christians who believe they are saved by grace but revert thereafter to the works of legalism. This is folly. Either Jesus is our Savior and deserves the title, or the redemption He provided on the cross was insufficient to save us or keep us saved. Choose. All of the “thou shalt not’s of Scripture have been summed in these words: love your neighbor as yourself, Romans 13:9. Walking in love toward one another fulfills the law’s requirements, Romans 13:10.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 7 of 9

Paul concludes his discourse by informing us that we may walk in the Spirit if the Holy Spirit dwells in us; and that if we do not possess the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are not Christ’s. The next question to arise is simple: how do we know we possess the Holy Spirit? What must occur?

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 6 of 9

But someone may now ask: what is the gospel? What is it precisely, and what does it contain? What must I believe? These are fair questions, and the Bible does not leave them unanswered.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen,” 1st Corinthians 15:1-5.

Jesus confirmed this by telling us that our "work" was to "believe in Him whom [God] sent," John 6:29.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 5 of 9

We read “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life,” Revelation 3:10. Isn’t this verse teaching that works are necessary to retain salvation? No, it isn’t. These are various rewards the saints will receive for rendering service to Christ in this life. Rewards come through our obedience, but salvation (which is not a reward but a free gift, Romans 6:23) comes through faith. The crown of life is the martyr’s crown, as the context reveals, which saints who die from persecution receive upon going to be with Christ.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 4 of 9

“For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,” Romans 4:2-5.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 3 of 9

“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith,” Romans 3:25-27.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 2 of 9

Jesus clarifies this indictment when confronted with the rich young ruler who believed his good works would make him acceptable before God. This young man felt that he followed the law from birth without error, and was merely looking to Jesus to confirm and see if he lacked anything apart from his rigid law-keeping. He did not approach Jesus in His native capacity of Savior; the ruler was not looking to be saved: he was looking to ensure that he had done a sufficient job of saving himself. He wanted a famous Rabbi’s opinion about it, and that prompted him to visit Jesus.

Salvation is of the Lord, Part 1 of 9

I have noticed that one of the strongest trends within the professing church today is a rejection of salvation by grace. Many who profess to be devout, Bible-believing, God-fearing Christians refuse to believe that salvation is accomplished according to Scripture by the simple vehicle of faith. That faith rests upon the nature and credentials of one person namely: Jesus Christ.