Salvation By Naked Faith In Christ

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Our salvation is our greatest treasure. But how many of us live by a different gospel other than the one defined in the Bible?

Maintaining trust in Christ alone humbles our pride, destroys all confidence in self, and constantly redirects our confidence to be in God. The opposite view necessarily inclines people to trust themselves, or their works. Nothing is clearer than that people would be inclined to trust themselves, by being continually taught that their eternal salvation depends upon their works. In its very nature, it is inclined to take people’s confidence away from Christ.

The Christian who is conscious of indwelling sin, and is taught to believe that his salvation depends upon his moral behavior, is necessarily filled with trouble and distress, as to his status before God, when the truth on the subject would relieve him. If he were taught that people are saved simply for Christ’s sake; that Christ’s blood cleanses from all sin; that Christ saves sinners, as sinners, and that God does not expect us to furnish the grounds of justification; if we were taught that justification is not obtained by sanctification, but freely by God’s grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, he would look out of self, and up to God, for what he needs.

Salvation By Faith Alone

As long as people are taught that sanctification is the root of justification, they cannot, they dare not, trust in Jesus Christ crucified; for by this, their justification depends, not on Jesus and His blood, but on their inward state. What a pity that so many professors, instead of trusting Christ, are trusting their faith, believing it to contribute to what Christ has accomplished. Instead, it is the business of faith to look for nothing good in us, but to lay hold on Christ; not to trust self, or plead self, as a condition of salvation, but to discard everything in self and the world, and trust simply in Jesus.

How fearfully ignorant thousands are of the nature of faith, even claiming that faith is the condition upon which our salvation rests. I tell you that faith rejects everything as a condition — even itself is denied as it anchors in Jesus. Ask the man of faith, why he is saved; he answers, “Jesus, and Jesus only.”

Faith does not create truths and then believe them, but it embraces existing truths. It does not create its Savior, and then embrace Him, but embraces the eternal truth — “Jesus is my Savior.” It never claims to be worthy of Heaven but knows and acknowledges itself to be unworthy of Heaven’s notice. Genuine believers:

• are waiting for complete sanctification within,
• believe that Jesus alone saves for His own name’s sake, and
• love God and His children.

Let me say to such, the grounds of your acceptance are not your outward reformation or your inward sanctification, but Jesus, and Jesus only. If you think your justification for salvation depends on something in or about you, you are looking in the wrong place.

If you realize that you are poor in spirit — that you are destitute of every good thing or quality — this argues nothing against you. Don’t feel bad about yourself because you cannot contribute to your salvation.

Oh, how simple is the gospel! It is so free and simple that no one can understand it until they are made willing to drop confidence in everything but Christ. The saved person must look at reformation, sanctification, and all kinds of obedience and works of every kind, as being worthless in the great matter of justification. When the vilest sinner that ever breathed gets this view of Jesus, it gladdens his heart.

The poor thief on the cross, doubtless, had this view of Christ. He could not, he dared not trust in himself, or think of anything done by him, as a condition upon which he was to get to Heaven; but by faith, he looked to Jesus! Oh, what a work it is to look to Jesus. I said a work but it is not a work, it is a ceasing from works of every kind, and giving all up to Jesus.

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Romans 4:5 ESV

The greatest objection to the gospel is that it is simply free. People are so proud that they do not want Heaven unless they perform the conditions necessary to get it. When they are told that they must have it freely, or not at all, they turn away saying, “It is a hard doctrine.”

Salvation By Christ Alone

As long as people expect Heaven upon conditions to be performed by them, they cannot rely wholly and solely on Christ. And as long as people believe in the possibility of apostasy, their confidence cannot be undividedly in Christ.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

It is right to trust in Christ. It is safe and right for every poor, broken-hearted sinner, who feels poor and needy, to trust in Christ — not to make Him your Savior, but because He is your Savior; not to cause Him to save you, but because He will save you. To say trusting Him as your Savior makes Him your Savior is mere foolishness, and even worse. Neither should people trust Him to make Him faithful to keep us to the end, but because He is faithful, and never will leave or forsake you. This is real faith.

One of the greatest obstacles to receiving Christ as Savior, and honoring Him, is the foolish idea that some condition must be performed on our part to entitle us to what is free. Some tell us that one thing, and some another, is the condition, while real, true faith discards everything as conditions.

Christian, think back over your life, when you most sensibly felt that Jesus was your Savior, had you performed any condition to obtain that salvation? No, you will say, and can truly sing, — “Why was I made to hear his voice, and enter while there was room, while thousands make a wretched choice, and rather starve than come? ’twas the same hand that spread the feast, that sweetly forced me in, else I had still refused to taste, and perished in my sin.”

Samuel Medley was a strong advocate of personal election, special redemption, spiritual revelation, and the final perseverance of the saints. On his deathbed, he supposedly uttered: “Farewell; God bless you. I die, a poor sinner, saved by sovereign, rich, and free mercy. I am now a poor, shattered ship, just about to gain the blissful harbor; and, oh, how sweet will be the port after the storm.”

He further said, “Sweet Jesus, thou art my strength, support, and salvation. Tell my dear friends, I am going to Jesus, and He is with me. I am not at all dejected; I am full of comfort and consolation; able yet to recollect God’s precious word. I never saw so much of my unworthiness, nor so much of Christ’s excellency, glory, and suitableness as an all-sufficient Savior. As to my sentiments, I am in no way doubtful. The doctrines I have preached, I am fully persuaded are truth. They are now the support and consolation of my mind.”

Reader, I only hope you may go as happy as he.

This is post 15 in a series; you can read the previous post. This post started as the public domain works of J. H. Oliphant. While sections are the same in many ways, I modernized the language and added my thoughts to provide greater clarity for my readers.
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