The Gospel - Faith Alone In Christ Alone

- God will discipline His children who disobey Him;

- Carnal believers will not enjoy God’s maximum blessings in their life here on earth;

- They will not earn rewards for eternity.

Salvation is a one-time decision to trust Jesus Christ. Being a disciple (student) of Jesus is a series of day-to-day decisions to learn and obey God’s Word, the Bible, to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Don’t let another person steal away your assurance of salvation by making you "carry the cross", "pay the cost", or "make Jesus Lord" to get it. Just remember this simple formula based on Ephesians 2:8-9:

Salvation = Faith in Jesus Christ + NOTHING!

(Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 16:30-31; John 14:6) (Romans 11:6)

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

There are many important points to remember about the gospel. These can be found on the first page of the outline that I handed out:

1. All people are sinners and fall short of God’s perfect standards (Rom. 3:23).

2. The penalty of sin is spiritual death (Rom. 6:23).

3. Jesus Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross paid the penalty for sin (1 Cor. 15:3).

4. God’s free gift of salvation is available to anyone who trusts in the work of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16,18).

5. It is God’s will that all men be saved (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim 2:3-4).

6. But no one can come to Christ unless the Father first draws him (John 6:44).

7. Therefore, God in His grace draws all men to Christ (John 12:32). This particular point is missed by those who believe Calvinism. God doesn’t draw only some people to salvation. He draws all people.

8. Christ’s death paid for all the sins ever committed by the entire world. That’s why you can’t lose your salvation. You can’t commit a sin that Jesus Christ hasn’t already paid for (1 John 2:2; 1 Tim 2:5-6).

9. God makes the gospel known to all men (John 1:9; Rom 1:18-20; Titus 2:11).

10. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Believing in "many ways to God" makes Jesus a liar or crazy, because He claimed to be the "only way."

11. Believing in Christ is based on a faith decision, and God gives the ability to do this to all men (Eph 2:8-9).

12. A person must be born again spiritually to be saved, and this is done by faith in Christ (John 3:3-7).

13. Despite the fact that God desires and has given all people the chance to be saved, most of the human race will not take that road, but rather will choose to love darkness (Matt. 7:13-14; John 3:19-21). This is another point missed by Calvinism. God’s grace is NOT irresistable. If it were, we would all be robots with no free will. Most people will CHOOSE not to believe. They will CHOOSE to place their faith in their own works, or upon the works of someone other than Jesus Christ. Remember that faith is non-meritorious, that faith is believing in the work of someone else. That is, we don’t get the credit for the work, but the object of our faith does - Jesus Christ.

A BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION OF SALVATION: THE TWO THIEVES(Luke 23:32, 39-43; Matt. 27:41-44)