According to the teaching of Jesus, man's greatest quest is his personal salvation:
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37)
Man's need of a spiritual rescue is due to his own sinful nature which is evidenced in both attitude and action:
"Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin?" (Pro. 20:9)
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory (or approval) of God..." (Rom. 3:23)
Moved by infinite love, God sent His Son to become the sacrifice for our sins on the cross:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:25)
Jesus Christ has made possible our acceptance before God by his death on Calvary. By believing (accepting by faith) that Jesus Christ took upon Himself all of God's wrath and anger for our sin, God will forgive us and accept Christ's death and punishment in place of our own. Thus God is no longer angry at us and has demonstrated this by raising Him from the dead:
"Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
(John 3:18)
"The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:35)
On the cross Jesus Christ paid our sin dept in full. And because He died for us, we should now live for Him. In other words, we don't live good lives in order to get saved. Rather, we live good lives because that is how saved people are called to live.
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-
"the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." ( Titus 2:11-14)
According to the Churches of Christ, there are two necessary parts to the salvation of man. These two parts can be categorized as God's part and Man's part.
God's part is the big part. God's love caused him to send Jesus Christ into the world to save and redeem man.
And it is the life and teaching of Jesus, his death on the cross, and the provision of forgiveness that constitutes God's part in man's salvation.
Though God's part is the big part, Man also has a necessary part to fulfill in order to be saved. Man must also comply with the terms of
forgiveness that God has commanded.
Man's part can be clearly seen in the following steps:
Hear the Gospel.
"How shall they call on him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14).
Believe the Gospel.
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)
(
Note: It should be noted that the concept of salvation is by faith alone in
the Lord Jesus Christ is completely foreign. Here the words "
believe
the gospel " means to accept as true the facts of the Christian faith, which should
compel us to be obedient to the rest of the commands that save, namely the
commands of
repentance, confession and being "water"
baptized
as shown or continued below. )
Repent of past sins.
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." (Acts 17:30).
Confess Jesus as Lord.
"For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:10).
Be
"water" Baptized for the remission of sins.
"And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
Live a Christian life.
"To
him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which
is in the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7b).
Summary
To those in the
Churches of Christ, salvation is a 5 step process
we must do in order to get saved ( i.e. justification by works ).
Evangelical Christianity believes that we get saved
by trusting in the one who can save ( i.e. justification by faith ).
Members of the Churches of Christ correctly understand that a '
simple belief in the facts alone' can not save.
Unfortunately they have drawn the conclusion that the righteousness of God must then come to us through our own cooperation and being obedient to the moral and religious requirements of the New Testament.
The concept of a 'righteousness from God' that comes by faith and personal trust in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
is completely foreign to those in the
Churches of Christ; thus faith ( or belief ) in the Churches of Christ is important only because it should compel us to be obedient to the rest of the New Testament commands that
"save," namely commands of repentance, confession and being "water"
baptized for ( i.e. to attain ) the forgiveness of sins.
For those in the
Churches of Christ who believe that it is by our own positive response and obedience to New Testament commands
that we can be saved, that in heaven -I'll be the first to come up and shake your hand.
By reaching heaven 'through the keeping of the
moral and religious commands of the New Testament' you certainly will have accomplished an incredible and monumental task!
But I want to share with you the righteousness that God supplies which is far more superior to anything we can ever hope to attain.
And Lord willing I hope to continue to do so.
"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know
that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law, no one will be justified." ( Galatians 2:16-17 )
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