The Gospel of the Grace of God is at the
very core of Christianity. It is the
offer of eternal salvation, based on the substitutionary atonement of Christ on
the cross for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). The acquisition of this offer
from the Creator is simple:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31, NASB)
Jesus Christ is also the sole means for obtaining eternal life:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NASB)
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NASB)
The gospel is so simple, as it was meant to be, that even
children can understand and believe. But here is the rub: the New Testament
writers proclaim that there is a purpose behind this free gift of eternal life
– a life of fellowship with God as well as a life of serving Him.
There are some Christians of the Free Grace movement who
believe that including God’s purpose for salvation into the Gospel is
tantamount to adding a condition, that you must perform good works in order to
attain salvation – a requirement for one to consider before accepting Christ as
their Savior. That if you do not agree with what God wants of His relationship
with you that a quid pro quo is being
set up: agree to My terms and I will grant you eternal life.
And yet, Scripture makes it clear that the offer of
salvation/eternal life is offered freely, with no strings attached, no human
work required. That is the marvel of the Grace of God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds [works] which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)
This free gift was paid for by the
vicarious sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ in our stead on the cross. It
means we do nothing for this great salvation, because He did it all on our
behalf.
“And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, NASB)
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB)
Nevertheless, the core objective of this offer of salvation
is to restore mankind to fellowship with their Creator. That mankind might be
at peace[1]
with Him and serve[2]
Him all their days. Those who serve God perform works of righteousness (good
deeds/good works), doing so out of a thankful heart – for the mercy shown to
them by His grace provision of eternal life.
“For the
grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to
deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and
godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to
redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His
own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:11–14, NASB)
“For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)
Yet, it becomes merely fire insurance when
the Divine intent of providing salvation is eliminated from the gospel
presentation, and a great spiritual disservice has been perpetrated on the new
believer. For this great and freely offered salvation means eternal life – but not
just after death in the future. This eternal life begins at the moment that one
accepts Christ as their Savior – in the present here and now.
Let me be clear: I am not suggesting that a
person who has accepted Christ as their Savior based solely on a 'fire escape'
gospel is not saved. What I am suggesting is that it is ineffective to simply throw a
life preserver to someone drowning in the middle of the ocean and then leaving
them there to flounder and die as shark bait. We must do the responsible thing and
bring new believers into the entire fellowship of believers, and to train them
to live the righteous life of fellowship with their Creator/Savior as He
intended.