The Path to Salvation Through Jesus Christ
The Bible reveals humanity’s desperate need for salvation due to sin and God’s sovereign grace in providing redemption through Jesus Christ alone. This message, grounded in the New Covenant, explores human depravity, God’s gracious election, and the exclusive path to eternal life through faith in Christ.
The Total Depravity of Humanity
Scripture teaches that the human heart is wholly corrupted by sin. As Jeremiah 17:9 declares, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This sinful nature is present from conception, as Psalm 51:5 states: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
This condition traces back to Adam’s fall, through which sin and death entered the world. Romans 5:12 explains, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” As Adam’s descendants, we are born spiritually dead, incapable of seeking God or achieving righteousness. Romans 3:10-12 confirms, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
God’s holiness demands justice for sin. Exodus 34:7 reveals that while God is merciful, He “will by no means clear the guilty.” Romans 3:23 summarizes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Apart from God’s intervention, we face His righteous wrath (John 3:36).
God’s Sovereign Grace in Christ
Despite our depravity, God, in His sovereign mercy, chose to save His elect through Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:4-5 states, “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” This salvation is entirely God’s work, not dependent on human effort.
Jesus, fully God and fully man, fulfilled the Law and accomplished redemption through His death and resurrection. John 1:1-2 affirms His divinity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 adds, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” On the cross, Christ bore the sins of His elect, as 1 Peter 2:24 states, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” His resurrection (Luke 24:34) secures eternal life for those God has chosen.
Under the New Covenant, Christ’s sacrifice fulfills and replaces the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 8:6-13). Believers are not under the Old Covenant’s regulations but are justified by Christ’s finished work. Romans 4:7-8 proclaims, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Salvation by Grace Through Faith Alone
Salvation is a gift of God’s grace, received through faith alone, not human works. Ephesians 2:8-9 declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Even faith is God’s gift, as He draws His elect to Himself (John 6:44). Titus 3:5-7 reinforces, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
This regeneration, or being “born again,” is God’s sovereign act. John 3:5-7 explains, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” 1 Peter 1:3 adds, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The New Covenant ensures that salvation is entirely by grace, apart from the Law (Romans 3:28).
The Exclusivity of Christ
Scripture teaches that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. John 14:6 records His words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Matthew 7:13-14 describes this as the “narrow gate,” emphasizing that Christ’s atonement is sufficient for His elect (Acts 20:28).
God’s elect are secure in Christ. John 10:27-29 assures, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” Philippians 1:6 confirms, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
The Triune God
Christians worship one God, revealed in three co-equal, co-eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Isaiah 43:10 declares, “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” The Son’s eternal existence is affirmed in John 17:5: “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” The Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and Son (John 15:26), empowers believers (Acts 13:2). This doctrine of the Trinity is foundational, as 2 Corinthians 13:14 prays, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
The Call to Believe
Salvation comes through trusting in Christ’s finished work. Romans 10:9 states, “If you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This faith, granted by God’s grace, trusts that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Repentance is a God-given change of mind, turning from unbelief to trust in Christ (Acts 11:18).
Through faith, the elect are justified, finding peace with God (Romans 5:1). John 3:16 promises, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 5:8 adds, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Conclusion
The gospel proclaims God’s sovereign grace to a sinful world. Though all are dead in sin, God elected a people for salvation, redeeming them through Christ’s atoning work under the New Covenant. By grace through faith, the elect are justified and assured of eternal life. If you trust in Christ’s death and resurrection, you can have confidence in God’s promise of salvation, secure in His unchangeable purpose (John 10:27-29).