…to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
Romans 4:5
…“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
Acts 16:31
We continue to observe the foundational doctrines of the Protestant Reformation that shape the belief, worship, and behavior of Protestant Christians today. This week we consider sola fide, or the doctrine of “Faith Alone.” This doctrine answers the question of “What must I do to be saved?”.
This doctrine asserts that Jesus Christ accomplished and completed every work required to achieve and finish our full redemption in His birth, sinless life, substitutionary crucifixion, and miraculous resurrection. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Without Jesus, we are born in sin, live in sin, and die captives of sin. Without Jesus, we are unable to ever be “good enough” to deserve God’s favor or salvation. We will never deserve to be saved because of what we can do. Those who believe they will go to heaven because “they try to live a good life” will one day be very disappointed, because the Bible doesn’t teach that at all. In fact, the only way any of us will enter Heaven is not by our goodness, but by Jesus’ goodness. We must put our faith in Jesus, and in Jesus alone.
Some believe that whatever a person believes, as long as they sincerely believe it, they will go to heaven. The Bible teaches that unless a person believes in Jesus, they will be consigned to an eternity of punishment beyond their imaginations. Jesus is the only way to salvation, a relationship with God, and to heaven. The Protestants hold that a sinner is saved when they repent (turn from) of their sins and believe (put their full trust and confidence) in Jesus. Will you put your faith in Jesus today?
