Part 2 – God’s Remedy for Our Sins?

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called Sometimes Believing in Jesus Doesn't Save.

Have you ever thought of how salvation came to offered to us so freely?

With the fall of Adam, and with all mankind being of his loins, all men are born with the same deadly viral infection of “Sin”

“Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) Sin (a noun) entered into the world, and death by (due to) Sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12 (KJV)

Since Adam’s fall to Sin, all mankind is conceived and born being in union with the hostile Sin nature of the Devil in both their flesh and minds set against the One True God.

“Wherein in time past ye (Gentiles) walked according to the course of this world, according to ‘the prince of the power of the air,’ the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:2-3

“Because the carnal (naturally fleshly human) mind is Enmity (hostile) Against God…” Romans 8:7a (KJV)

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10 (KJV)

Our Sins are the acts of “enmity” (hostility) toward God. The “forgiveness” of our sins and our “reconciliation” with God was already accomplished by Jesus’ substitutionary death of Cross, once for all time (cf. Heb. 9:12). By Jesus’ accomplishing the reconciliation and redemption of mankind, all enmity” from God’s side is ended and All sins, past, present, and future, are forever forgiven.

Now, as believers, we are Not on probation, but rather perfectly “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6). Thus, we will never ever see the angry face of God toward us.

Today, any person of any racial background (Jew or Gentile) may now ‘simply trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior’ in order to be saved. They are simultaneously brought into union with God, now as Father, through Christ, who may now be enjoyed as “the Life-giving Spirit” available to indwells believers.

Please note the following three critical points of doctrine.

  1. But if you don’t know and believe that Jesus Is In Fact “The Son of The Living God (Mat. 16:16) then He can’t save you. To the Jews Jesus said: “if ye believe not that ‘I AM’ (he), ye shall die in your sins.” (Jn. 8:24). The ‘he’ here was erroneously added by the translators; without it, Jesus is saying “I AM”! This means Jesus declared Himself to be God’ manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16; Col. 2:9, Isa. 9:6). If Christ  is not God, then He cannot be your Savior (Titus 2:13). God is the only “Saviour.  “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11)

If Jesus is not “the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:10), then He is either an imposter or a liar. But, as we will see, there is proof of His deity.

2. Can you answer why Jesus Needed to Die? If you don’t know the answer, then let me be frank: you are Not Saved… but you can be. If Jesus was not the sinless Lord in the flesh, and did not die, shedding His blood, being cursed on a cross for our sins, then our sins can’t be forgiven (Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:22). Apart from Christ and the Cross, God has no means to ‘save’ anyone. More on this later when we discuss “justification” whereby God declares believers innocent of all charges!

3. Do you believe that God Raised Jesus From the Dead?  God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up US by his own power.” (1 Cor. 6:14). It’s clear that if Jesus was not risen then we have no hope of being saved and raised to eternal life. In the days following His death of the Cross and His resurrection Jesus was “seen of 500 people” (1Cor. 15:6) and no dead body was ever found. He was raised again for our justification(Rom. 4:25).

As seen in this verse, it is by  Jesus’ Resurrection that we have ‘proof’ that Jesus of Nazareth was in fact was the sinless “Son of God.”

Concerning his (God’s) Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh (in His humanity); 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, By The Resurrection From The Dead:” (Romans 1:3-4)

Apart from the resurrection of Jesus we have no expectation of the forgiveness of sins, salvation, eternal life, or comfort in death (cf. Rom 4:25; Matt 12:40; 1Thes. 4:14).

“And if Christ be Not Raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Cor. 15:17).

Now, in the time before Jesus completed His work of the Cross the means of salvation was very different than it is today under the grace economy. It required an Israelite’s faithful sacrifice of an innocent animal’s ‘blood.’ We now know this physical sacrifice was an Old Testament “shadow” or metaphor for the reality that Jesus’ death of the cross was the real “Lamb of God” who took away the sins of the whole world.

Then, after the cross, James an Apostle to “the twelve tribes of Israel (Jas. 1:1) wrote that “faith without works is dead.” (2:10). James says at that time mere belief in Jesus does NOT justify one for salvation, writing that “… the devils also believe…” (2:19). Luke wrote; devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God…” (Lk 4:41). These evil spirits believed Jesus was the Christ, but we know they are were not saved. Actually, in his epistle, James was teaching justification to the “twelve tribes” of Israel as it was Under The “Law Covenant.” ‘Faith Plus Works’ was the Israelite’s means for ‘covering’ his sins. Of course, James, as a Jew, wrote without the knowledge of Paul’s “mystery of Christ,” which is the Gentile gospel of pure grace of God.

By contrast with James, during this age “the gospel (good news) of the grace of God,” we know Christ did ALL the work necessary for our salvation; leading believers to a total victory program … under the very same grace.” Today, this grace is offered “freely” to men of ALL races – Gentiles and Jews (Rom. 3:24).

“But to him that Worketh NOT, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his Faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)
Not by Works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” (Titus 3:5)

Before the cross, to be Saved by Faith Alone was NOT Available! At that time, salvation ‘by faith alone would bring into question the justice of God,’ thus impugning “the righteousness of God.” A “righteous God” would have to be a ‘just God.’ Jesus of Nazareth had to; 1) be incarnated in order to make Himself known to Israel for them to believe ‘Who He Was, and 2) He had to die and resurrect for all men to ultimately know ‘What He Did for them.

Then later, the “mystery (God’s secret plan of the cross)” … of “the gospel of the grace of God” had to be Revealed through Paul so that ‘BeliefCould Stand Alone, Without Works in Saving all who will receive Jesus as Savior. Today, under Paul’s “Gospel of the Grace of God” (Act 20:24), Faith Alone now stands Supreme!  “And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (Acts 16:31 (KJV)

Faith in “the gospel of the grace of God” is what saves us upon hearing” it (cf. Rom. 10:17). But some ask: “I can understand why Romans 10:17 says, “faith cometh by hearing the Word of God” but, why does it say “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God?” Jesus gives us information as to how a sinner who is “dead in sins” is “quickened (enlivened)” (Eph. 2:5) by hearing “the word of God.”

It is the spirit that quickeneth (makes one alive); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are (the enlivening) spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

Here above the Lord states that His words “are spirit and they are able to make one ‘alive’ spiritually. That is, the Lord’s words have the spiritual power to raise sinners from… spiritual death to eternal spiritual life.

First, a dead sinner must be given ‘spiritual power in order to be able to even Hear (perceive) the gospel. The Lord’s “words” are able to give a sinner all the power needed;

  1. to ‘hearand to some degree perceive what is being said in hearing the gospel
  2. and then one must respond to hearing the gospel… by Faith’ in its truth of Christ as Savior.

These 2 points above explain why Romans 10:17 is worded in this manner; faith cometh by hearing, and hearing the Word of God.’ To be sure, our first ‘hearing intuitively’ comes by the Power of “the Word of God.”

So, “… faith cometh by hearing, and (this kind of) hearing (comes) by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17)

“For I am not ashamed of The Gospel of Christ: for it is the ‘Power’ of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

There is a doctrine called ‘prevenient grace’ that is at work here above. It answers the question as to how a faithless sin-laden lost person can ‘have enough faith to perceive the gospel and be believe… to be saved. Prevenient means a grace given in anticipation of one first believing. We have evidence of the in Scripture. First, we have Jesus’ words and then we have the account of Lydia’s faith in hearing and believing Paul’s words, in Act 14.

“Why do ye not understand my (Jesus’) speech? even because ye cannot hear (perceive) my word.” (John 8:43)

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, (so) that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” (Acts 16:14)

So here above we see that God knows who will and will not believe, and He thus empowers them to hear (perceive) the gospel that they might freely choose to believe and receive the Savior’s salvation.