We believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to receive salvation.

That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and thus, become children of God.

The ultimate mission of Jesus’ first coming was to die for the sins of the world. He allowed Himself to be killed at the hands of men in order that He might pay sin’s ultimate penalty—separation from God in an unpleasant place (understatement). In doing so, Jesus made it possible for man to be reconciled to God (See Romans 5:10), become children in God’s family (See John 1:12) receive continued cleansing and forgiveness for sins (See 1 John 1:9-2:2), and obtain an inheritance in His coming kingdom. All who apply the blood of Jesus Christ to themselves become the immediate recipients of these blessings. So the question becomes, how does one appropriate the blood of Jesus Christ? Or to ask it another way, “What must I do to be saved?” Although the many voices teaching on this subject in modern times have made the answer rather ambiguous, a proper understanding of the Scriptures leaves one with a simple answer: believe in the name of Jesus Christ.

This is the unanimous teaching of the Bible. The apostle Paul declared in His letter to the church at Ephesus, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast ” (Ephesians 2:8-9). There are several things to notice about these words. First, Paul mentions faith as the only requirement for “being saved.” Second, lest there be any confusion, he clarifies that works (obedience to God’s laws) have nothing to do with this salvation. Third, he calls salvation a “gift.” If anything else were required to be saved, then Paul would have left the door wide open for confusion.
Fortunately, the rest of the Scriptures confirm that Paul did not misspeak. In the only place in the entire Bible where someone asks the question, “What must I do to be saved?” the answer is in harmony with Paul’s statement to the Ephesians, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). Once again, there is only one requirement. The apostle John likewise confirms that faith is the only requirement for salvation when he declares the reason he recorded the miracles of Christ. He states, “…these have been written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Notice that he asks them to believe a simple proposition—that Jesus is the Christ—and that this simple proposition is the only requirement for “life in His name.”

Therefore, the only thing one must do to accept God’s gracious “gift” of eternal salvation is believe that Jesus is the Christ. That being said, there are two issues which must be settled: the meaning of the title “Christ” and the meaning of the verb “believe.” The title Christ refers to the Messiah, the “anointed one,” of Jewish prophecy. According to the Old Testament Scriptures (the books of the Bible written by the Jews before the first coming of Christ), prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed with oil before they filled their positions.

As the Christ, Jesus is the “Anointed One” who fulfills that to which all three positions pointed. He first came as a prophet and proclaimed the message of salvation. The apostle Stephen proclaimed that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Moses concerning a future prophet (See Acts 7:37). Having fulfilled His mission as a prophet, Jesus died on the cross as a payment for sins. On the basis of that sacrifice, Jesus is presently interceding as high priest on behalf of believers to provide on-going forgiveness and cleansing from sin. This ministry as high priest is preparing people for the day when He will come as judge and king. The only way to avoid condemnation for sin when standing before the judge is to receive forgiveness of sins.
Forgiveness is granted the moment one believes in Jesus Christ, trusting Him as the sole guarantor of eternal salvation. When the apostle Peter stood trial for healing a sick man and publicly preaching the resurrection of Jesus, He boldly declared, “let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health…. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:10,12). In addition to the many miracles Jesus performed, God furnished proof that Jesus was the Christ by raising Him from the dead.

Belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the only one who can provide forgiveness of sins, is the only requirement for receiving salvation. And belief is nothing more than taking God at His word. It is a firm conviction that God will do what He has promised. No where is this definition more clearly demonstrated than with Abraham. God promised that Abraham and His wife, Sarah, would have a son together. In spite of the fact that Abraham was nearly 100 years old when God fulfilled this promise, He never doubted that God would fulfill His promise.
“Without becoming weak in faith, [Abraham] contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (Romans 4:19-21).

Belief really is that simple, and salvation really is that free. Jesus Himself confirmed the simplicity of the faith required to receive eternal salvation when He referred to the snake being lifted up in the wilderness. Because the Israelites grumbled and complained against God while wandering in the wilderness, God sent serpents throughout their camp to punish them. When the people repented of this sin, God instructed Moses to raise a serpent into the air so that all who looked upon it would live. With this story in mind, Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Therefore, in order to receive eternal life, one must simply “look and live.” Or to say it another way, to accept God’s gift of salvation, one must look unto Jesus who was lifted high on the cross, “for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

A common objection to this description of how to receive eternal salvation is that “it’s too easy.” My response to this objection is manifold. First, it is important to go back and re-read Ephesians 2:8-9 quoted above and contemplate the phrases “by grace through faith,” “gift of God,” and “not by works.” Second, it is equally as important to remember that this is only the beginning of the Christian life. God calls those who receive this gift to go on to spiritual maturity, promising them rewards for obedience and warning them of consequences for disobedience (See 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, Colossians 3:23-25). These promises and warnings will be developed more in future summaries.

Third, salvation can never be described as easy because it cost Jesus His life! It has nothing to do with works which we have done in the past, whether good or bad, or with works which we plan to do in the future. Salvation is wholly based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, and therefore it is a free gift to all who believe. Fourth, how can anyone describe as “easy” belief in something that happened two thousand years ago to a “God-man” whom people today have never physically seen. And fifth, the ever-popular trend in the world today of welcoming a “one world religion” causes many people to stumble over the idea that “there is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved.” They believe that all religions are different ways of worshipping the same God. This popular idea has made believing in Jesus (as the only one who can save) anything but easy.

Another objection to receiving salvation by simple belief in Jesus is that it amounts to nothing more than “head faith” or just believing “facts.” In the minds of those who make this objection, people must accept Jesus into their hearts. By this they mean that one must make a commitment to love and follow Jesus Christ. Again, I would re-direct someone who makes this objection to the words of the Bible in John 20:30-31 quoted above. John’s purpose was that his readers might believe a fact—that Jesus was the Christ. It was a very important fact, but a fact no less. I would also affirm that while love and commitment are vitally important to a relationship with Jesus Christ, they have nothing to do with entering the family of God. Jesus likened becoming a child in God’s family to being born (See John 3:3). Just as physical birth into a family requires no love or effort on the part of the one being born, so too, spiritual birth requires no effort, commitment, or emotional element on the part of the one receiving eternal salvation.

Although loving God is not required for entering the Christian life, love is a vital aspect of living the Christian life. Love for Jesus Christ is not the result of “love at first sight.” That may be an apt description for the attraction a man feels the moment he sees a beautiful woman, but it is not an appropriate description of Biblical love. Jesus said to His closest disciples, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). In contrast to God’s gift of salvation, love has to do with obedience. For this reason, the Bible promises rewards to those who love him. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12).

Therefore, the only thing required for receiving God’s gift of salvation is belief in the name of Jesus. Defining the requirements of salvation in this way is the only way to keep works out of the salvation equation. Bible teachers frequently “front-load” the message of salvation by requiring people to “count the cost” or make a U-turn in their life-style. However, counting the cost and making a U-turn have no place in receiving salvation. They only have a place in living the Christian life.

It should also be noted that many teachers “back-load” the message of salvation by suggesting that even though works and commitment are not a part of receiving the free gift, “genuine” faith inevitably results in a life of works and commitment to Christ. In other words, if someone ever gets permanently entangled in sin, remains in a state of “carnality,” or repudiates the faith they once held, these actions demonstrate that they were never saved in the first place. A popular cliché that expresses this doctrine says, “faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.” This doctrine essentially states that true believers will inevitably persevere in faith and godliness and is known as the perseverance of the saints.

In one respect this doctrine is true, but in another respect it is false. It is true that faith does result in works. This seems to be the point of Hebrews chapter 11 in which it is said that various Old Testament saints acted by faith. By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain. By faith Noah prepared an ark because the Lord told Him about the coming flood. Likewise, by faith Abraham left his homeland and journeyed to a foreign land, not knowing where he was going but looking forward to the city whose architect and builder is God. In each of the examples in Hebrews 11, faith resulted in works. In fact Paul goes so far as to say that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that anyone who is living by faith will inevitably produce good works.

Nevertheless, this doctrine is false because it does not take into account the content of faith. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints maintains that a person who believes in the simple message of the gospel will inevitably live a faithful life. The faith of the Old Testament saints in Hebrews chapter 11, however, was not directed toward entering the Christian life but toward living the Christian life. In the beginning of Hebrews chapter 11 it states that those who would please God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. These Old Testament saints were not acting out of faith in God’s promise for eternal salvation but out of faith in God’s promise to reward those who live in obedience to His commands. Their actions flowed from faith in a conditional promise that demanded obedience. In fact, the entire book of Hebrews has to do with a tremendous reward in the coming day of rest when Christ will establish His kingdom. The author of Hebrews reminded his readers that “there remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God,” and urged them to “be diligent to enter that rest.” Faith in this promise will obviously result in works.

In contrast, the promise of eternal salvation is an unconditional promise with no strings attached or requirements for obedience. To those who hold to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints I would ask, “What demands for obedience reside within the promise that ‘whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life?’” (John 3:16). Let me answer the question. There are none. And therefore it does not follow that perseverance in godliness will inevitably result from belief in this simple promise.

This doctrine is also false because it fails to take into account the duration of faith. Faith is not a static entity. Rather, it is a dynamic entity that is frequently in flux due to doubts, distractions, temptations, sufferings and false teachings. The Bible repeatedly refutes the idea that faith will inevitably endure for the rest of one’s life. It calls upon believers to “live by faith,” “endure,” “press on,” and “fight the good fight of the faith.” Moreover, there are many Biblical examples of those who turned away from the faith or whose faith “suffered shipwreck” (See 1 Timothy 1:19, 4:1, 6:10, 21, 2 Timothy 2:18, James 5:19, 2 Peter 2:20). Therefore, enduring in the faith can not be said to be an inevitable result of faith. One can be absolutely sure that they possess God’s gift of eternal salvation the moment they believe in Jesus Christ. They do not have to wait and see how their life will turn out. Even so, as possessors of this great gift, they are called to go on to maturity in the faith.

To receive God’s gift of salvation, one must simply believe in Jesus Christ as the only one who can guarantee them eternal life, and belief is nothing more than taking God at His word. This is the plain testimony of the Scriptures. And even though there are wide ranging opinions on what one must do to receive salvation or to have assurance of salvation, a proper understanding of the Scriptures will lead to no other opinion. Some of the reasons for the resounding confusion, such as the failure to recognize that salvation is spoken of in a past tense (you have been saved), present tense (you are being saved), and a future tense (you shall be saved), will be discussed in future summaries.