The Gospel of Our Salvation

These verses gives us the core basis for a secure salvation by God's grace through faith alone ... in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1Cor 15:3-4 I (Paul) delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

Romans 4:5 (AMP)to one who, Not Working [By The Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, His Faith Is Credited To Him As Righteousness: (To thus stand accepted by God – “in Christ”)

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us

Ephesians 1:13 In whom (Christ) ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also After That Ye Believed, Ye Were Sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Having the foregoing Scriptural understanding, it’s extremely important to give a clear presentation of Paul’s “the gospel of the grace of God” to the lost. Although all three (3) Salvation plans below contain an element of truth for today, and the lost hearers may even be saved by their hearing them, these plans leave a door open to the enemy of their souls to mislead the sinner. Can you identify the flaws within these three plans of salvation?

Plan 1:

  1. Admit you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23).
  2. You must be willing to turn from your sins (repent) (Matt. 3:2).
  3. Believe Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross (1 Cor. 15:3).
  4. Through prayer invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life.

Plan 2:

  1. You must confess your sins (Mark 1:5).
  2. Open the door of your heart so Christ can come in (Rev. 3:20).
  3. Believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31).
  4. Come forward, publicly, to receive Jesus as your personal Savior.

Plan 3:

  1. You must acknowledge you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23).
  2. Believe Christ died for you (1 Cor. 15:3).
  3. You must make Jesus Christ Lord of your life (Rom. 12:1).
  4. Accept Christ as your personal Savior by praying to God.

There are two (2) serious flaws with the above three plans.

1.) These three plans mix and confuse the terms of salvation under Israel's “gospel of the kingdom that the twelve Apostles were given by Jesus of Nazareth to preach to the house of Israel only (cf., Matt 10:5-6)… withthe terms of salvation today under Paul’s pure grace gospel of the grace of God that the risen Lord gave to Paul for all men (cf. Gal 3:28), as we see in Paul’s thirteen epistles.

2.) Based upon the 3 plans above, the sinner could easily place his trust in what the sinner has done (i.e., I repented, I opened the door of your heart, I turned from your sins, I made Christ Lord of my life, I made a public commitment to receive Jesus, all of this instead of… what the Savior has done for us.

You see, when the new believer soon recognizes the fact that he cannot keep the prayed promises he made to God, which were embedded in Plans 1, 2 and 3, he sees that he has failed God… then he fears his salvation is in jeopardy and may consider himself a failure. He’s then ripe for Satan to condemn him, saying ‘you’re really not saved.’ Then sadly, after a time of repeatedly ‘trying and failing,” this new, unlearned, believer may ‘throw in the towel’ and walk away from God, as so many believers have done.

What’s missing in Plans 1, 2 and 3 is the element of pure grace received by faith in Christ alone as being the only basis of our salvation. Then Satan has no basis to condemn a new believer, because the believers knows he is forever secure and sealed in Christ by what the Lord has done… for him!

I suggest the following One Scriptural Term of Salvation:

Believe on (trust in) the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved (Act 16:31)

This alone is an act of repentance, accepting that He alone is the Savior. ‘He died for our sins, was buried and rose again’ (Rom 4:5; 1Cor. 15:3-4).

A simple proof that one is saved is seen here where Paul wrote that “no man can say Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.(1Cor 12:3)