Gavin Cox has this saying that I have written down and memorized because it's become the founding thought for my framework of the Gospel of Jesus. It goes like this:
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone because of Christ alone.
The good news is that I don't save me and you don't save you. Not even a little bit. Jesus saves us. He begins the work and He finishes the work. It's by His grace towards us alone. All we do is receive it. Our job is to open our hearts and embrace the finish work of Christ. That’s about it.
There was a company in the USA
The company changed the recipe and made the process a little harder for the baker: they now had to add 2 eggs to the mix before the milk. They re-launched the product to the market and sales went through the ceiling and broke all expectations.
Its funny how, as human beings, we feel we have to add to something or else it doesn't quite feel right. Surely there has to be work involved before reaping a reward?? This why we find it difficult to receive the 'finished' work of Jesus as a gift.
We don't feel quite right do we? It's almost too easy. Surely there’s something we've got to do. It surely must be Jesus + prayer or Jesus + church attendance or Jesus + good living or Jesus + witnessing??
The good news is that the salvation God is giving to us is a perfect one. It's a completed one. We don't have to add anything to Jesus' finished work. It's finished. All we need to do is respond to His goodness and believe!! That's it. No effort, no work, no performance, nothing can add to His perfect salvation that saves us!!
However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
- Romans 4:5-8
It amazes me how many Christians don’t believe that they are righteous. They still believe that their church attendance, their prayer times, their Bible reading, their kindness shown to others, their feeding of the poor, their witnessing to unbelievers, their abstinence of smoking and drinking, their refusal to indulge in sin,
their refusal to have piercings and studs and their refusal to think bad thoughts can make them acceptable to God and make them righteous in the eyes of the Lord. Is it right to read our Bibles and pray? YES! Is it right to refuse the indulgence of sin? YES! Is it right to feed the poor? YES! But, none of the above can make you righteous. Righteousness is a free gift given by God to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Righteousness is never based on your performance, whether good or bad. Why? Because it’s a gift from God. You can do nothing to deserve it or earn it.
Imagine a child doing chores on Christmas Eve. His mother asks him ‘Son, why you vacuuming the floors and washing the dishes?’ and the son answers her ‘Mom, because I want some presents for Christmas.’ It’s ludicrous! A mother and father give gifts to their children because they love their children, not because they have worked for them and earned them.
If you have a look the world’s main religions, including some parts of Christianity, our human effort and obedience to God’s commands is central to our acceptance and right standing before God. Blessings are then rewards based on obedience to the commands set out in the sacred book of that particular religion.
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
Romans 3:21-22
Paul is very clear that the righteousness that comes from God is apart from the law. In other words, it is not dependant on any laws, commandments or ordinances. This righteousness that comes to Christians comes by faith alone and through Christ alone.
Before I made a decision to follow Christ I remember hearing the Gospel on a few occasions. I remember hearing that we are saved by grace.
I remember hearing the preacher saying that good deeds cannot get people to Heaven for our good deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord. No matter how good I live or how much money I give to the poor, there is no way to make it to Heaven or enter the Kingdom except through faith in Christ. Well, I made a decision for Christ and decided to follow him. I experienced the new birth and knew that something had happened in me. After a few months of church attendance and hearing ‘solid Christian teaching’ I soon realized in order to keep God happy and to experience His acceptance and blessing in my life I needed to live a certain way. And the underlying message, which was quite subtle in most ways, was that if I did enough things wrong I could actually lose my salvation and would fall into the unbelieving/non-Christian class again.
For many years, the church has taught that we get saved by faith in Christ BUT in order to keep our salvation we need to obey the commands of God in order to keep that salvation. It’s really scary that we’re told that good works can’t get you into the Kingdom but we’re told that bad works can get you out. We start in faith, but we revert back to law. It’s a total perversion of the gospel.
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
- Galatians 3:1-3
Paul uses an extremely strong word here: “bewitched”. That means witchcraft. Paul’s strong language suggests that the Galatian Christians have fallen under an occultic spell of witchcraft by believing this. What do they believe? “After beginning with the Spirit; are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”
Being born again is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. At the moment of believing in Jesus, the Bible teaches that there are a number of things that happen in that very moment.
Some of these are following:
· Our sins are forgiven (Romans 4:5-8)
· We made into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
· We are seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6)
· We become God’s legal child (John 1:12)
· We receive the Holy Spirit (John 14:17)
At exactly the same time, we are made the righteousness of God and we receive His gift of righteousness
This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Romans 4:22-24
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
At the moment we believe in Jesus, we are made righteous and we receive His gift of righteousness.
Why then, Paul asks the Galatian church, do you revert back to human effort after beginning with the Spirit? It’s amazing how the church has been bewitched today in believing the same thing!
We have heard it taught on Christian television and preached in Christian churches for years. It has been done with godly intentions but the message is destructive to the truth of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
For years I thought, believed and taught that the key to a successful Christian life was obedience. I believed that obedience was the catalyst to receiving God’s blessing, keeping my salvation, maintaining a right standing with God, maintaining my acceptance before God and walking in miracles, signs and wonders.
Everything hung on my obedience. If I didn’t pray everyday, read my bible everyday and attend enough church meetings and prayer meetings, then I couldn’t expect God to bless me or bless others through me. The sad thing is that the only thing this type of living leads to is the following: Pride or Condemnation.
If I manage to live like this for a few weeks or even months, I have a higher opinion of myself compared to other Christians and I believe that God blesses me because of my effort and my lifestyle. That’s called pride. When I eventually miss my quiet time or skip a prayer meeting, condemnation and despair comes on me because I am not living up to the standard that I think God requires. This lifestyle will never lead to true Kingdom living: Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Spirit. I will be consumed in my self righteousness based on my efforts.
I won’t have peace when I mess up and I will never experience true joy because I am always comparing myself to others – and either I’m beaming with pride or I’m condemned – I will never walk in true Kingdom joy!
God appeared to Abram, who was an Iraqee pagan. He had never been to church. He had never prayed to the Lord. He had no desire to seek God or know him. But God appears to this pagan unbeliever and tells Abram that He wants to bless him. Abram did something quite extraordinary. He said “okay”. He believed God. He trusted God and believed that God wanted to bless him. God never spoke to Abram about holiness or righteousness.
God spoke to Abram about blessing him. When Abram believed, God credited righteousness to him. The word ‘credited’ translated correctly is used here as an accounting word. Abram’s ‘spiritual account’ was credited with God’s righteousness. How did he receive that? He believed that God wanted to bless him.
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
- Romans 4:1-5
Paul is making it plainly clear that Abraham was not declared righteous because he obeyed works. He was credited with righteousness because he trusted God’s words and believed. It was by faith alone.
The point is that the moment a person believes in Jesus, one of the things that take place supernaturally, is that God’s righteousness is credited to their spiritual bank accounts. We become the very righteousness of God in that very moment.
And because we never received it based on our performance, what makes us think that we can lose it based on our performance? Once you put your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, you have every confidence in God’s finished work to declare yourself righteous. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He has freely justified you by faith because of Christ.
