Veritas Online Seminary

Today's podcast continues the series, Know What You Believe... In this series, we're looking at the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. I hope you enjoy. 

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We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

Jesus came to save. That was his main thing. Nobody understands Christianity without not only understanding salvation, but receiving it too. 

Any group or denomination or church or preacher that does not communicate and prioritize salvation is missing the main reason Jesus came. 

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Salvation is non-negotiable. It is definitional of being a Christian. There is no such thing as a Christian who has not yet been saved! Salvation is a clear dividing line. 

It is not optional. 

Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). 
Peter said, “We must be saved” (Acts 4:12). 
Paul said, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9).

Christianity is not like a coat you pull on top of your clothes. It is a radical transformation of your status and being. You literally become “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In your relationship with God, there is nothing more important than salvation (Galatians 6:15). 

Of all the big deals in your life, salvation is by far the biggest deal of all. 
What Is Salvation?
Salvation is the free gift of God, based on the sacrifice of Christ, by which God welcomes an undeserving  sinner, now called a saint, into his family forever through faith alone in Christ alone. 

Salvation is the free gift of God, based on the sacrifice of Christ, by which God welcomes an undeserving  sinner, now called a saint, into his family forever through faith alone in Christ alone.
1. Salvation is Step One. 
The Grace Pathway begins with “God Saves You.” That’s the first step. God cannot bless you, grow you, or use you until you are saved. 

If life with God is a palace, then salvation is the threshold. It is an absolute dividing line. You have either stepped across the threshold or not. In or out. 

Every person is either saved or not saved. There are no gray areas here. 

This is not a matter of getting involved in a church or being a good person. It is completely about what you have done with Jesus Christ. 

Who is Jesus to you? 

Where is your hope for eternity? 

Is Jesus part of your trust or is he all? 

Are you saved? 
2. Salvation is pure grace. 
There is no part of salvation that we earn. No part that we deserve. No part that we merit. No part that we pay for. All the burden rests on God’s shoulders. All the cost is paid by him. Salvation is one hundred percent grace. The biggest mistake anyone can ever make is to add costs, conditions, and fine print to the wonderful gift of salvation. 

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. (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

A free gift is a free gift. 

Our job is to guard the gospel from all sorts of legalistic (duty-based) additions. 

It is a gigantic mistake to load people with duties and obligations they simply cannot bear. What a tragedy when church people turn the good news of an utterly free gift into the bad news of sweating for a paycheck!

Jesus is no partial Savior.