We Saved By Grace Alone

The difficulty most people have with the doctrine of Grace is assuming that we are saved by Grace alone! The doctrine of "Salvation by Grace Alone" cannot be found in the Scriptures. Not one verse can be found in all the scriptures that teaches that one is saved solely by Grace.

We Saved By Grace Alone

 If we are saved by Grace alone: then what about Faith? What about Repentance? Any time someone declares that we are saved "solely" by one thing, then they exclude all other things. If we are saved by Grace alone, then we do not have to have any faith, neither do we have to repent of any sin. The logic of such a doctrine fails with simple logic.

The scriptures teach that we are saved by a combination of several principles. No one principle exclusively saves. We are saved when we combine all of the essential principles that are outlined in the New Testament. Only then, can we obtain salvation.

We are saved by Grace. Our principal text proves this fact. Salvation comes through the Gift of God, which was the sacrifice of His Son. Through the resurrection of Christ we now have hope. Grace is only one principle of our salvation. Its presence, alone, cannot save.

We are also saved by the PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL. Without the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, how could anyone know what Christ has done for their salvation? Paul taught that the Corinthians were saved by the preaching of the gospel.

 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." (1 Cor. 15:1-2) Paul preached the gospel. 

They received, or obeyed that gospel message. They were currently faithful (standing) to that gospel. Paul clearly says, "by which also ye are saved." Saved by what? The gospel that they had responded to.

We are also saved by our obedience to that gospel message. Paul's letter to the Romans begins and ends with the idea of obedience. From the beginning to the end of that letter obedience is stressed. In the sixth chapter, which shows how one is saved, Paul suggest that we either obey sin, which yields death, or we obey righteousness, which yields eternal life.

Rom. 6:16-18 "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." (The form of doctrine was the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, cf. vs. 3-6).

We are saved by our faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8). We are saved by our repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). We are saved by the combination of several principles, but the ultimate or climatic principle that saves us is the Blood of Christ. 

Without the shedding of His blood, and His resurrection from the dead, we would be void of any salvation. It is through the shed blood of Christ that we have redemption.

Eph. 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

Rev. 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"

When we are saved by Grace, it is a gift from God. Because Grace is a gift, some feel that we do not earn that gift by any action on our part. This is true, yet we need to know what is implied by the idea of a gift. I have a gift for you. I want you to have this gift, and it is yours free of charge. 

Yet, as long as I am in possession of that gift, you cannot receive the benefits of that gift. Before a gift can be of any value to anyone, that person must take possession of the gift. Without possession, a gift does not possess any value to the one for whom it was intended. 

Possession is the key. Christ is the author of our salvation. He has provided for all humanity the gift of Grace. It is free for the taking. But, in reality, no one can receive the benefits of that gift until they take possession of that gift. Possession occurs when we obey Jesus Christ. 

Only then can we take possession of that gift. When we receive the gift of Grace, by our obedience, Jesus becomes the author of our salvation. Until that moment, Jesus is not our savior. 

"And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:9).