Articles
There is No "Only"
Within the religious groups the world sees as 'the church' [including all denominations claiming to follow Jesus], there are varied views as to how one is saved. Some denominational creed books say we are saved by faith only, others say we are saved by grace only, and still others teach we are saved by faith only and grace only. If I were looking for the way to forgiveness and salvation through these creed books, I would be confused only.
The truth of the matter is that, within Scripture, there is nothing said to be the single factor by which a man is forgiven of his past sins and saved. To narrow down the factors in a man's salvation to one act or item is disingenuous, at the least, and misleading and dangerous for the one who accepts the statement or claim without further investigation into God's word. The truth of the matter is, there are several factors in our salvation. Let us briefly consider those things, starting at the top with God and His part in our salvation.
God's Grace. (Eph. 2:4-9) The apostle Paul reminded the brethren of Ephesus, “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Grace, by definition, is an act of charity, shown to one who is undeserving; in this case, God offers to man salvation, though we are not worthy.
But does the Bible teach we are saved by grace only? No. Nowhere in Scriptures is that stated, nor is it even implied. If salvation was by God's grace alone, there would be nothing else in Scripture that is said to be what saves us, and there would be nothing else needed. But, as we will see in this study, there are several more factors. When one says we are saved by grace alone, we are effectively eliminating anything and everything else. As you read on, will you say these other factors are unnecessary? Be careful what you say!
The Blood of Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:7) To those same brethren in Ephesus, Paul also wrote, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” The “Him” in the context is none other than Jesus Christ. John would later describe Jesus as “Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:7). It should be noted that, without question, the forgiveness of sins is absolutely necessary to one's salvation, thus Christ's blood is a necessary factor in salvation.
Let us note that Paul's words to the Ephesians clearly says that this was done “according to the riches of His grace”; in other words, it was determined by God that the blood of Christ would be what brought forgiveness — not because God owed it to us, but because of His grace. If we say one is saved by grace only, we would have to eliminate this as a necessary factor in our salvation; are you willing to state that?
The Revelation of God's Plan: The Gospel. (Rom. 1:16) The apostle Paul wrote to the brethren of Rome, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” When Peter recounted his visit to Cornelius, he told others that Cornelius had been told by an angel to “call for Simon whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved” (Acts 11:13, 14). Those “words by which” they would be saved was the message of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and only Savior — the gospel.
If God, by His grace and mercy, had established this plan, and then sent Jesus to execute this plan by His death on the cross, but had then never told us of this plan, we would not have the knowledge of how we might be saved! The revelation of God's plan is absolutely necessary to one's salvation; God's word says so!
Hearing the Gospel. (Rom. 10:13, 14) We might be tempted to skip this and jump right to the matter of belief, but consider what Paul wrote to those in Rome: “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?” Indeed, how could one believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and only Savior if they never heard it? One could not be saved if the plan for salvation was unknown.
Believing the Gospel. (Mark 16:15, 16) When Jesus sent the apostle to preach the gospel in all the world, the very next thing He said was, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Jesus said it another way, too: “if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Without faith in Jesus as the Christ and Son of God, I will die in my sins; I will not be saved.
I must stop to make a point that should be obvious by now: No man is saved by faith only. Nowhere in Scriptures does it state that, though many try to insert the word only in the Scriptures that speak of being saved by faith. There is only one verse that mentions “faith only” (Jas. 2:24), and it doesn't say what you might think.
Repentance. (Acts 17:30; 2:38) When Paul spoke to those of the idolatrous city of Athens, he said plainly, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” Is this command one to be obeyed? Can we ignore this and be saved? Apparently not, for the first time the gospel message was preached and the audience asked what they had to do, Peter replied, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” If Peter said it was needed for forgiveness of sins, we can be assured it is a necessary factor of one's salvation! It is the same message Paul said he taught to all men (Acts 26:20), and we do no one any favors when we tell them they do not need to turn away from sin when coming to Christ!
Confessing Christ. (Rom. 10:9, 10) God's word says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” IF I confess Christ, I will be saved, so if I do not, I will not be saved. This agrees with what Jesus said about confessing Him (Matt. 10:32, 33). If I am too ashamed to call Him my Lord, why would I think He would bring me into heaven?
Baptism Into Christ. (Mark 16:16) Though it is sated plainly by Jesus that one who “believes and is baptized will be saved,” many persist in saying baptism is not necessary! Though it was the answer of Peter when the people asked what to do (Acts 2:38), though it is said to be the point where are our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16), and though Peter plainly writes it is baptism that saves us, by Christ (1 Pet. 3:21), some want to exclude this from this list of things necessary to our salvation.
Let us be clear here: Baptism is no more important, or any less important, than anything else in the things we have noted here today. If we leave out any of the things we have noted — the things God says are necessary — we will not be saved.
Hopefully, we have shown that to say we are saved by anything "only," we are eliminating much of what God says is necessary. There is no ‘only.’
—— Steven Harper
