The Scriptures clearly declare that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The good news is both grace and truth are available to all men. These great truths are clearly taught by a number of Bible passages. “That was the true light, which lightest every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9); “that He (Jesus) by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9).
This clear and unambiguous statement does not mean that every member of the human race will partake of this marvelous grace. This grace is available to all, but there is a definite condition placed upon humanity. It is sad, but not all will comply with that condition. There are different reactions on the part of mankind to God’s offer of grace in the person of Jesus Christ. “The world does not know him; even those who are called His own receive Him not”, but there are some who do receive Him. “He (the Word full of grace and truth) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (v 10). Because the world does not know Him, grace cannot reign unto eternal life.
“For this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
Peoples of the world can recognize a Higher Power, a Providence, a first Cause, and a so-called God. Further, they can understand moral issues, and all of the moral standards of the law. They can also strive mightily to live right and may become consumed with good works and can accomplish many noble things. All of the noble and good accomplishments of man never endure and eventually perish with the using. Man has many reasons to place a limited confidence in self but what of it, if he does not know Him Who is full of grace and truth. Man needs something greater than himself and cannot know grace as long as sufficiency and merit is centered in self.
“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth” (Romans 10:3-4).
When the law was given to Israel, they gladly received it and emphatically stated. “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). They were regulated by this law for many years; yet when the living word of truth came, they received Him not because they were deluded into believing they could establish their own righteousness by DOING the things demanded by the law. To trust in Christ is the safe and only place to embrace for eternal life. To trust in the labor of one’s hands is to trust in man, in whom is no ability to produce righteousness.
The righteousness of God is not appropriated by the works of man or by an improved behavior pattern, but it is Christ Himself who was made unto us righteousness.
“But of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31).
These “religious” zealots were trusting in themselves and were unwilling to acknowledge their own inability to measure up to God’s requirements. It was true for them, and it is true for anyone who is so beguiled to trust in the works of their own hand. Those who are trusting in their own good works under the law to please God are unwilling to receive the grace of God as offered in Jesus Christ. Notice. When the law was believed to be a means of righteousness it prevented individuals from receiving life by grace then and continues to do so to this very hour. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). Although He was not received by the world and was rejected by His own, there were many who did receive Him.
To those who did believe on Him, He gave power to become, not mere men with a perfectly righteous standing as demanded by the Law, but something far higher, i.e., sons of God. “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). Being born of God these children belong to a new order of beings. They are new and distinct from all other creatures as was Adam when he was created in the image of God. Moses said, “That the man which doeth those things (commandments in the law) shall live by them” (Romans 10:5).
It must be understood that this life under the law was never a perfect life. To fulfill every command of a law that was given to regulate human life would preserve that temporal life but cannot possibly raise it to a life of perfection. Please note. The angels who obey the will of God and fulfill His law do not, because of their obedience, become partakers of divine life. They remain as angelic beings. There is no provision whatsoever in the law for divine life. Divine life is only for those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior who is the Word, the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life.
When a darkened mind is drawn to this marvelous light and truth there is freedom from the condemnation of the law with liberty and freedom in the living person of Jesus Christ. “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Please take note and pause to contemplate that Jesus Christ must be received! “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). He is God’s unspeakable gift who is to be accepted as the unique son sent by God. Further, He must be received in the capacity in which He came, as the only source of grace and truth. To receive Him is to receive eternal life by means of His marvelous grace and unsurpassed truth.
An understanding of the meaning to receive Jesus Christ as Savior is the one and only condition that is placed upon man to become a child of God “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). This condition excludes all possible acceptance of Him by the world as a teacher, or as a prophet, or as an example, or as anything else that could improperly be added to His marvelous grace. He must be received as the exclusive source of grace, truth, and eternal life. If this is not clear you may ask, “How can anyone actually receive Him?” This is explained in the same verse “… even to them that BELIEVE on His name.” To believe on Him is to depend upon and to place confidence in Him.
“Abraham believed God and staggered not at His promise in unbelief; but was strong in faith being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able to perform” (Romans 4:20,21).
Abraham’s faith was not a nebulous emotional frenzied faith. It was a true faith that was centered in the reliability of the one who gave the promise. The promiser was God Himself, and Abraham truly believed Him! To believe on Jesus Christ is to depend upon Him as the exclusive one through whom came grace and truth. To believe is man’s response to God’s gracious offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“It is of faith that it might be by grace” (Romans 4:16).
Having faith in Him is to depend on Him that it might be by His unmerited and abounding provision in love. If man simply will not believe God and exercise the kind of faith that was demonstrated by Abraham, how can God provide for him by means of the drawing power of His great love? The message of the gospel according to John is grace and truth by Jesus Christ; so, man’s responsibility is invariably to believe. This message of the gospel is repeated over and over again in this amazing book. In addition, there is always emphasis on the fact that Jesus Himself lived a life of complete dependence upon the Father, and all that He said or did was under the power of the Holy Spirit. His life as a man is a true pattern for the life of every believing member of His royal family. Contrarywise, under the law man does not believe in or depend upon God by faith; he depends upon himself to appease God by his obedience. When the law was given by Moses, Israel accepted it and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8). Under the law it is always man’s obligation to do that which the law requires, and this is consistently a performance that is in dependence upon self. Therefore, those things done under the law are accomplished by means of the works and behaviors of man. That which is by works cannot be of grace.
“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise, work is no more work” (Romans (11:6).
Here again law and grace are mutually exclusive and in direct contrast to each other. I have read the writings of many prominent and well accepted national Bible teachers that declare to only “Believe” is not sufficient for an individual to be saved. Furthermore, their message is that man must, under their terminology, REPENT and CONFESS one’s sins. If these two requirements (repent and confess) are in addition to a simple act of faith in Christ, why are they not even mentioned in the gospel of John? Neither are mentioned a single time, and the gospel of John was written for the explicit purpose of enabling man to receive eternal life.
“But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing you might have life through His name” (John 20:31).
Is it possible that John leaves out two vital conditions (some erroneously allege) that are essential for eternal salvation? If this is correct (and it is not) then one who believes the content in the gospel of John and in no other source in God’s word cannot have eternal life.
Are repentance and confession, then, not necessary to salvation? They certainly are essentials, but they are not essentials in addition to faith or belief in Christ. They are inseparable parts of what is included when one simply believes in Christ alone. When one believes in Christ alone, they have changed their minds (repented) and confession of Him naturally follows belief in Him but does not precede it.
Repentance and confession are not requirements for the appropriation of salvation since eternal life is exclusively centered in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He only who purchased our redemption and can give life eternal. Eternal life is in Him, and He comes in to dwell the moment He is received as Savior and never leaves or forsakes the believer.
In the book of Ephesians Paul declared that he had testified both to the Jews and Greeks, “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Repentance means a change of mind toward God. It is a complete change of mind toward Him. Man was created by God and all that man is and has, comes from God. His rightful relationship toward God is one of complete dependence upon Him. In sinning man no longer maintained complete dependence upon God but doubted the goodness and perfection of God’s provision and desired to be independent of Him (Genesis 3:1-6).
In deliberately sinning man declared his independence of God and became an estranged rebel hopelessly lost and in need of eternal salvation. This is the condition of every unsaved person whether it is realized or not. To be saved man must stop, look, listen, and learn to become dependent upon the only Savior, Jesus Christ. He cannot believe by refusing to look to the Savior. Notice an essential and true turning in the New Testament that points to the correct object. “I know how you turned to God from Idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). The merit in salvation is in God the Son and not in man turning from sin. Jesus died for all sin. No sin was excluded. Jesus paid for all sins in full with His redeeming blood. If any were left unpaid, man would hopelessly and forever be lost because he could pay for none.
To insist that repentance, includes a demand for a change of conduct either toward God or man is to add an element of works to saving faith that must be placed in Christ alone. This demand of necessity makes faith void because it is impossible to depend completely upon God so long as one attempts to contribute anything from self to appropriate salvation, no matter how small or insignificant the demand may be. When an individual believes in Christ alone for salvation, he is confessing his complete need and dependence on Him. By believing in Christ, he acknowledges he cannot do sufficient good to secure salvation and must depend upon the total merit that is centered only in Jesus Christ.
David confessed, “Behold I was shapen in iniquity: and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). Sin cursed man cannot give or offer his best behavior to God because his very best is filthy rags and comes from the source of a deceitful heart. It is possible for man to confess every sin ever committed and continue to depend upon human merit for salvation. To confess being a lost and undone sinner is to acknowledge one’s need for salvation, but it does not provide salvation. The imperative for salvation is to believe in the perfect Savior Jesus Christ who gives to the believer His perfect salvation. It is appropriated by means of a simple act of faith in Jesus Christ and not by the best behavior of mankind. Repentance and confession are both a part of God’s salvation offer for anyone who believes in Christ, but nothing more can be added than that which is included in the word “believe”. Repentance and confession are included in the appropriation of salvation when one believes in Christ. It is therefore totally enough to believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. He is absolutely sufficient and indeed is enough because He screamed “Tetelestai!” “It is Finished!” (John 19:30).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Truly you can believe it is finished because it was Jesus Christ who emphatically stated, “It is finished”. You may find it difficult to believe all claims of the best human being you have ever known, but you can securely believe in the words spoken by the impeccable and perfect Son of God. “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). These words are from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself! You can trust in the fidelity of His words and if you do, you will possess eternal life. Jesus said so Himself (John 6:47). Someone was falsely told “you can’t just believe on Jesus and expect to be saved and Jesus can’t be used as a fire escape to heaven.” That statement was misleading and could cause someone to be drawn into an incorrect conclusion regarding salvation in Christ.
Anyone who has previously received Christ as Savior and simply believed on Him could have no assurance of heaven, if these words are taken at face value. At least 150 Scriptures in the New Testament, attest to the truth that believing in Jesus is more than enough to receive eternal life. Jesus stated to Martha after He had raised Lazarus from the dead. “I am the resurrection, and the life: He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever lives, and believes in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?”(John 11:25,26) Notice the response. “Yes, Lord I believe that thou art the Christ the Son of God” (v.27). Jesus said unto her, “Did I not say to you, that, if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” (v. 40).
