What We Believe #7 – Salvation
3-Minute Video: https://fb.watch/g5Np_PD_rT/
A hundred years ago, Dr. Claude Barlow served as a medical missionary in Shaoxing, China. A strange disease began killing people, and he couldn’t find a remedy. In search of a cure, he filled his notebook with observations he had witnessed in hundreds of cases.
Finally, with a small vial of the germs, he sailed for the United States. Just before he arrived, he injected himself with the deadly disease and hurried to Johns Hopkins University Hospital.
He became very sick and depended upon them to find a cure. They saved his life. He went back to China with a cure and many lives were saved.
In our epidemic of sin, Jesus went to the cross and injected himself with our deadly disease. He then committed himself to the Father’s care and returned on Easter morning with the cure. Praise God, death is no longer our destiny. We have salvation through faith in Christ.
Our Statement of Faith says: “Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all people (1 John 2:2). Those who repent and believe in Him are justified by grace through faith (Romans 3:21-24), born again of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-7), delivered from the dominion of darkness, transferred into the Kingdom of God’s Son (Colossians 1:13), granted the gift of eternal life, and adopted as the children of God (Romans 8:14-16, John 1:12).”
We could say that there are five salvation “alones”. Salvation is by grace alone. Through faith alone. In Christ alone. As told in the Scriptures alone. For the glory of God alone.
God saves us by his grace alone. We receive his grace, his acceptance, his forgiveness, when we put our faith alone in Christ. Salvation is available for all and received by all who believe.
Christ is the One who died for our sins and rose from the dead on our behalf. He’s the only one who can save us. This is explained alone in the Scriptures, the Bible, God’s Holy Word.
We cannot do good things to earn our salvation, as though our good will outweigh our bad. Rather, we receive salvation as a gift from God. God alone gets the credit, the glory, as we receive the gift of eternal life in Christ.
Lewis Chafer, in his eight-volume Systematic Theology, compiled a list of 33 things that happen at the moment of salvation. Using the short list in our Statement of Faith, take a moment to celebrate what happened in your salvation.
~ Pastor Dave
