The Gospel of Grace
The Message of Salvation & A Personal Journey
First Things First — Are You Saved?
The Human Condition
The entire human race is guilty (). Since sin entered the world, every person has been born in sin and is sinful from birth (). In spite of some being elect, all were dead in trespasses and sins and were by nature the children of wrath ().
Salvation in Christ Alone
Salvation is in Christ alone (). It is through the merits of Christ and His death on the cross of Calvary that God’s righteousness has been satisfied (). He bore our sins in His body () and shed His blood so that those who believe would receive forgiveness (, ).
The Gospel of Grace
The gospel of the grace of God () is the gospel which God entrusted to Paul (), which he identifies as “my gospel” (). This is the gospel that is to be preached at the present time ().
Why This is of the Utmost Importance
- 1.There is a judgment coming for all those who have not believed what God has said ().
- 2.It is impossible to truly understand Scripture without the presence of the Holy Spirit ().
What Must You Do?
Believe the gospel—trust that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again ().
Trust in Him alone for your salvation, apart from works or any intrinsic righteousness ().
A Personal Testimony
A Journey from Conviction to Assurance
"I believe that the Spirit of God, using the testimony of the Word of Truth, convinced me of my sinfulness, convinced me that I was separated from God and that I deserved to go to Hell."
I believe Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood on the cross of Calvary and died there because of and for my sins. I believe he was buried and rose again on the third day. I trust that His blood has paid for all my sins, past, present, and future.
I believe that I have been baptized by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ and have been sealed unto the day of redemption. And I know there is therefore no condemnation to me and for all those who are in Christ Jesus.
Justification by Faith
Hearing the gospel of salvation, I believed that Jesus Christ died for my sin, was buried, and rose again on the third day, and that His finished work was entirely sufficient for my salvation. By faith, I relied completely on Christ, not on any act of mine, and at that moment God declared me justified, crediting me with the perfect righteousness of Christ.
Positional Reality
I am sanctified in Christ. I was baptized, not with or in water, but by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ, uniting me positionally with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, and establishing me in God's sight as holy and accepted in His sight. From that positional reality flows my life today.
Experiential Walk
My assurance rests entirely upon Christ’s finished work. Though I still experience sin, it is my heart's desire and intent to yield to the Spirit in my daily walk. I know that I am secure in Christ and sealed unto the day of redemption while the Spirit is presently transforming me from glory to glory into the image of Christ.
"My faith is a resting, convinced trust in Christ alone, applied by the Spirit, through which I have been justified, united to the Body, set apart positionally, and secured for the hope of eternal glorification."
Water baptism is most definitely Scriptural. While being commanded historically for Israel, water baptism is not an ordinance or an instructed ritual for members of the Body of Christ. My assurance rests entirely upon my existence in Christ and His finished work. Acknowledging that I have no righteousness of my own, I know that God has imputed the righteousness of Christ to my account and He accepts me as righteous in Him.
Because of this, I live in the confident hope of glorification, when all these positional realities will be fully experienced. That will be when Christ shall take the Church, which is His Body, off the earth to meet Him in the air. Knowing there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, I rejoice in the assurance and completeness of my salvation in Christ Jesus, all to the praise of God's glorious grace!