How Are You Saved?

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "Men need to be told that, unless divine grace brings them out of their enmity to God, they will eternally perish." He went on to say, "that if they are to be saved, it must be by grace, and by grace alone."

You are not saved by your works. If salvation is by works, we could boast of what we have done. However, salvation is by God's grace, which means it is the gift of God. Salvation is the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in Christ alone. If you are saved, it's by grace alone to the glory of God alone!

You are not saved by grace plus your works. Some teach that salvation is initiated by God's grace and completed by our works. Not so. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. It's the gift of God and not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you are saved, it's by God's grace believing in Jesus Christ our Lord (Acts 16:31). 

You are saved through Christ as the gift of God (Romans 6:23). Faith receives the gift of God in Christ. The gift of grace is found in Christ alone. He alone died for our sins. He alone is risen from the dead as our living Lord. God's grace saves you through the finished work of Christ. You are saved by grace, and by grace alone.

If You Are In Christ

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Your salvation is in Christ. If you are in Christ, it's the work of the Holy Spirit. You have become a new creation.

In the beginning, God created all things through the Word and the Spirit (John 1:1-3; Genesis 1:2). In salvation God creates you anew in Christ, through the Word and the Spirit. Christ is the Word who became flesh (John 1:14). He became flesh to shed His blood for your salvation. His blood sacrifice takes away all your sins (1 John 1:7). 

If you are in Christ, then you are a new creation. You hear the Gospel of Christ through the written word about the living Word (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Holy Spirit, who inspired the written word, makes the Gospel of Christ the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16-17). God creates you anew in union with Christ.

If you are in Christ, you have three abiding gifts of the Holy Spirit. They are faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Your faith is in the Gospel of Christ. Your hope in Christ is glorification at his return (Romans 8:30). Love in Christ is your bond of union with him forever (Romans 8:38-39). 

When We Repent

When we repent, it is by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. When you truly repent, then you can testify how God brought you to that point. That is to say, it is the goodness of God that leads you to repent (Romans 2:4).

Regeneration and repentance are inseparable. Regeneration is the work of God's Spirit, changing your heart. Repentance is your response to God's work in your heart. At one time you had no desire to repent. There was delight in sin and no desire to change your life. However, you repent when the Holy Spirit cuts your heart with conviction (John 16:8-11; Acts 2:37-39).

When we repent, it is turning by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38;16:31;17:30). The ability to do so is by looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ to do in you what you could not do for yourself. (Hebrews 12:2). Repentance is a change of mind that changes your life (Romans 12:2). You turn from the old life to new life in Christ.

When we repent, we believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is your response to the gospel by the grace of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit of grace moving within you, there would be no desire to repent. God's Spirit convicts you and enables you to repent, turning to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith (2 Timothy 2:25).