Salvation Is By Grace Of God Through Faith Plus Nothing

Grace is simply defined as unmerited favor from God. We don’t deserve it because we are sinners. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). In fact, we deserve to be punished with death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). Furthermore, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 KJV). The Lord Jesus Christ redeemed all repentant sinners by pouring out his precious blood in the cross of Calvary. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold… but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19 KJV). Jesus Christ is God’s and our sacrificial lamb.

Jesus Christ is GOD’s gift of love to mankind. The Bible tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV). The Apostle John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, continued: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17 NIV). “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” (John 3:18 NIV).

Being a gift from God the Father, we have to believe, receive and accept Jesus Christ by faith, and repent from all our sins, so we can attain eternal life. Similarly, if we do not accept or receive a gift given to us by someone, we will not own the gift. If we don’t believe and receive Jesus Christ by faith in our heart and repent from all our sins, then our soul cannot be saved.

We can’t pay enough to buy our way into heaven, to buy eternal life, to buy the happiness that Jesus brings. Accepting salvation through Jesus Christ by faith after our repentance is a work of God’s grace. “For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9 KJV). We cannot earn a gift or else it would not be a gift.

We cannot earn by good works our salvation, but when we are saved, necessarily, we are moved to do good works in the kingdom of God. Thus, the Word of God says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10 NIV).

Salvation is not a reward, it’s not pay, it’s not wages; it is a gift we can’t earn by any kind of works of our own. Our good works can’t save us. We are saved after we repent purely by faith in Jesus Christ, the gift of God to mankind, by His grace. Thus, heaven is full of repentant sinners, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

What is this saving faith? The canonized Bible defines what is a saving faith as follows: “It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT).

Hence, as of now, we cannot yet see, but are yet hoping that we have eternal life, and we believe it simply because the Word of God says so. This kind of faith is otherwise defined as “taking God at His Word” or “blind trust and obedience to what God says in His word” (the canonized Bible). This is saving faith. Expressed in a different manner, we are saved purely by the grace of God by repenting, believing, receiving by faith in our heart Jesus Christ as our only Savior and Lord. The canonized Bible tells us, “I (Jesus Christ) am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).