What does it take for one to be saved? What is the formula for salvation? How can one be absolutely assured of his salvation, and know that his name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Jesus offers the answer:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14:6, NKJV

What an astoundingly absurd assertion! How could Jesus say this about Himself? It takes me back in my mind to an argument raised by C.S. Lewis in his book “Mere Christianity”. To summarize Lewis’s argument, he said that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. We are faced with what Scottish preacher John Duncan (1796-1870) called a ‘trilemma’. To summarize Duncan’s argument, he said that Jesus either (1) deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or (2) He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or (3) He was divine. Liar, lunatic, or Lord. Deceiver, deceived, Divine. A true trilemma!

When Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany, he was standing against the Catholic teaching that salvation comes through the church. Luther was arguing that salvation comes through Christ, and Christ alone. It is salvation by grace, through faith, period. Nothing can be added to the completed work of Christ.

It is quite clear that the New Testament writers understood this to be true. As Peter spoke to the rulers of his day, he said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And in his first epistle, Peter argued:

Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, and He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:18-21, NKJV

No wonder John records for us in his Gospel that, “Jesus came unto His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Jesus was despised and rejected then, just as He is today by multitudes. The vast majority of the world has bought into the lies of the devil, which, to a large degree present a substitute for the real thing. And, sadly, much of the deceit of the devil centers around the means of salvation. If he can convince someone that salvation comes through a physical entity – like the church – then that individual will never see the need to come to Jesus by faith, and be saved by grace, which is the one and only means of being truly saved.

To add further clarification, let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of those pivotal and crucial words from Ephesians:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV, emphasis added

Focus for a moment on the words I have added emphasis to. We are not saved by works, but we are saved to work. Our works for the Lord come about as a result of our salvation from the Lord. Once we have received the gift of salvation – a gift given to us by the will of the Father – then we realize that we are a new creation in Christ for good works. So many seem to be deceived – either by self-deception or by embracing another of the lies of the devil – that how we live after being saved is of little consequence. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are His workmanship, created for good works! That is our post-salvation purpose in life. (This will be the focus of my next post, which will zero in on the fifth sola, Soli Deo Gloria – To the Glory of God Alone. We exist for His glory!)

So, let’s recap what we have learned. On the sole source of authority, the Scriptures alone (Sola Scriptura), we learn that we are saved by faith alone (Sola Fide), which is a gift given to us by grace alone (Sola Gratia), through the Lord alone (Solus Christus). If you have been saved by this wonderful work of God completed through His Son, Jesus Christ, then bow before Him in gratitude, and submit to Him in servitude, that our lives might show forth the amazing work of His grace.

Until next time:

Blessings!