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Apr 95 min read

The Gospel & Salvation



What Does Jesus Say?


As we continue our look into soteriology this week, what better place to look for answers to salvation than the gospels themselves? After addressing what soteriology is and why salvation is necessary for us, I think the best place we can really start to get into the meat and potatoes of soteriology would be the gospels. In fact, the basis of our study today will come from Jesus’ mouth Himself in the book of John. In John 14:6, our Lord says, “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” If the very gospels themselves are the good news of salvation, and this good news is all about the life and death of Christ, then these words that Jesus speaks must be some of the most important words ever uttered! As William L. Kynes so simply states, “The Bible has a unified message, and the unifying center of that message is Jesus Christ.” As we will see throughout all the gospels, Jesus’ message about how to achieve this salvation is the same. And it’s time we take notice of what He has to say. 


One Way


To start, with this very first comment that Jesus says in John 14, Jesus is showing us that if we claim to be Christ followers, there is only one way we can believe that anyone can achieve salvation. This statement alone from our Lord eliminates every other religion that claims we can achieve eternal salvation apart from Christ. This is why this is no small statement. Anyone who claims to believe in the same God as we do and yet denies that Christ is the only way that we can get to heaven does not serve the same God that we do. However, This cannot surprise us when we see what our Lord tells us in the gospel of Matthew. Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” The road that leads to eternal life is narrow and few find it. In other words, there are many people who say they believe in God and think they are good enough to go to heaven, but there are few people who will place their faith in Christ as the only way to get there. Just think about it for a second, if every religion led to God in some way, shape, or form, the road to life wouldn’t be so narrow would it? It’s solely because salvation is found in Christ and Him alone that this road to salvation is so narrow for the world to find. 


Repent & Believe


Furthermore, let’s look into probably the most overlooked aspect of salvation that Jesus doesn’t shy away from in the slightest. Repentance. If you were to look all throughout scripture and find the requirements necessary to achieve salvation, I think it would be impossible for anyone to walk away without finding repentance and believing the gospel. This is seen not just in the gospels but is prophesied of in the Old Testament and repeated multiple times in the epistles as well. Just look at what Mark records about Jesus’ preaching in Galilee, Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel.” It is impossible to read through all of God’s word and not come to the conclusion that salvation requires repentance. And yet, so much of what we are taught today is less and less about repentance. Repentance not only shows that your life is turning around as you deny your old self and put on the new, but it quite literally proves that you have the Holy Spirit that led you to salvation in the first place. As we have seen through other studies, it is impossible to deny our flesh and overcome our sin on our own, that’s why we need the Holy Spirit. And if we have this Holy Spirit, it’s because God has given it to us in order to lead us to Christ. 

So we have repented from our old, sinful ways, it is evidence that the Holy Spirit is in us and that we truly have found our new identity in Christ. Anyone who attempts to teach the gospel and lead someone to truth without repentance is not teaching the gospel at all and must be corrected. On top of all this as well, is belief. It seems simple enough and easy enough to understand, but if we don’t believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died and rose again to pay for our sin, then we can’t claim to be saved. Again, it seems simple to understand, but this is what is sad about other religions and lifestyles. Many people think that just because they believe in a religion and change their lifestyle because of this religion, they are now saved despite whatever they think about Jesus. Judaism, Islam, and even Mormonism would all uphold this view to one degree or another. However, as we have seen in the gospels, Jesus has something else to say about this. Look at what Jesus says in Luke 12:8-9 “Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God.” Our Lord makes this clear as day. If we truly have been saved by Christ, then no matter what, we will claim to believe in Him, no matter who asks us. Belief in Christ is the only reason anyone would repent of their past sins in the first place. If you don’t believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection were the only way that we could inherit salvation, then I’m afraid you believe a different gospel or you simply don’t believe at all. Jesus Himself has made it clear from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. There is only one way to salvation, and that one way is made possible by repenting and believing the gospel. 

 






Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/



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