by Jonathan Gillies
19th July 2020
Many people tragically think that they can earn salvation for themselves. They think God will be happy enough to accept them as long as their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. This is not true. God requires perfect righteousness from us, which none of us can hope to attain to. (See Deuteronomy 6:5, Job 15:14-16, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Isaiah 53:6, Jeremiah 17:5-9, Daniel 5:22-23, Matthew 5:20, Luke 10:27, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 3:23, James 2:10, 1 John 1:8-10.)
The Bible tells us that God is ‘of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:’ (Habakkuk 1:13). This means that because of his perfect holiness and justice, he cannot overlook or brush aside even the slightest breach of his law, so, by nature, because we have all broken his law, we are all heading for eternal punishment.
This is a serious problem for us, but, praise God, there is no need for despair. Because of his great love and mercy toward poor sinners, he has not left us to perish in our sins, but has designed an amazing way of salvation by which undeserving sinners can escape eternal damnation, and instead spend eternity in blissful communion with their creator. (See Ezekiel 18:31-32, John 1:12, Acts 10:43, Acts 13:39, Acts 16:31, 1 Timothy 1:15, Hebrews 8:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 10:9-10, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 4:9.)
He made this way of salvation possible by sending his own son into the world to live a perfectly sinless life, to die a horrible death, and to rise again from the dead. This means that for all those who put their trust in Christ, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed to them, and their sinfulness has been fully dealt with by Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. His resurrection showed that God’s justice was fully satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of his people. (See John 1:29, Acts 17:31, Hebrews 9:24-28, 1 Peter 1:3.)
John 3:16 says, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
We cannot add anything to Christ’s perfect righteousness. This is shown by the following texts (among others):
- Isaiah 64:6 – But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
- Romans 3:28 – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
- Galatians 2:16 – Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
- Galatians 3:11 – But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
- Galatians 5:4 – Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
- 2 Timothy 1:9 – Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
- Titus 3:5-7 – Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
- Hebrews 10:38 – Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
It’s critically important to acknowledge that we are completely helpless to do anything to save ourselves except trust solely on Christ’s finished work. If we don’t understand this, we won’t see our need for a saviour and we won’t be saved. We will have a false hope. Ephesians 2:1 declares that, by nature, we are ‘dead in trespasses and sin’. Christ said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). We must cry to God for this new birth, or regeneration, which he has promised to all those who sincerely want it and ask for it. (See Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9, John 6:37.)
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