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Gary's Bible Notes 

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Salvation by faith 

• By faith you are saved
  
  Ephesians 2:8
  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
  
  Before we go on to look at salvation and faith, we need to understand that there has only ever been one way for us to make peace with God, and that is if first he makes peace with us.
  
  All the blessings which God has given man are only of his grace, bounty, or favour; his free, undeserved favour. For there is nothing we are, or have, or do, which can deserve the least thing from God's hand.
  
  If we need to saved, if we are going to be saved then it can only be by God's grace, his undeserved favour.
• Fallen short
  
  Romans 3:23
  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
  
  If a man has done wrong things in his life, if he has hurt himself, others and God. If he has done bad things (let us call them sins), how shall such a man pay for his mistakes? How can he make peace with God? What price will he pay?
  
  Will he be able to pay with his own works. His own efforts. No! You see his works are themselves unholy. The same mistakes, errors, failures, sins in his life will also be present in his works. Only corrupt fruit grows on a corrupt tree.
  
  The problem with man is that his heart is corrupt and has "come short of the glory of God."
  
  Therefore man, has nothing, neither his own righteousness or his own works, to plead with. His mouth is utterly stopped before God.
• Christ died
  
  Romans 5:8
  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
  
  If then sinful man is to find favour with God, it is only by his grace. God has decided top pour fresh blessings upon us, the greatest of all blessings, salvation.
  
  You see "God demonstrates his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to save us. God in his love, in his grace has made a way to make peace with us. Even though we were sinners, Jesus came and died in our place on the cross.
  
  "By grace" then "you are saved through faith." Grace is the source, faith the condition, of salvation.
• What type of faith saves us?
  
  Hebrews 11:6
  But without faith it is impossible to please him : for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
  
  What type of faith saves us. It has to more than the faith of the agnostic or of religion in general. God requires of a all men to believe, "that God is; that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him;" and that he is to be sought by glorifying him as God, by giving him thanks for all things. A European, an American, an Indian, a Jew is without excuse if he did not believe this much.
• It is not the faith of a devil
  
  James 2:19
  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
  
  What faith saves us? It is not the faith of a devil, though the devil believes more than an agnostic or those from other religions. For the devil believes, not only that there is a wise and powerful God, gracious to reward, and just to punish; but also, that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
  
  So we find him declaring, in express terms, "I know who you are, the Holy One of God." (Luke 4:34).
  
  We can not doubt that this unhappy spirit believes all those words which came out of the mouth of the Holy One.
  
  The great enemy of God and man believes at least this much, and trembles in believing, that God was made manifest in the flesh and that he will "tread all enemies under his feet" and that "all Scripture was given by inspiration of God." The devil as at least has that much faith.
• More than the faith of the Apostles
  
  Mark 10:28
  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
  
  The faith through which we are saved (in that sense of the word which will explained soon), is not barely that which the Apostles themselves had while Christ was on the earth.
  
  They believed on him so well as to "leave all and follow him;" although they had then power to work miracles, to "heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease." They even had then "power and authority over all devils."
• Faith in Jesus Christ
  
  Romans 10:9
  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
  
  What faith is it then through which we are saved?
  
  First (in general), it is a faith in Jesus Christ. A faith in a person and how he brings you into a right relationship with God.
  
  This distinguishs it from the faith of other religions, ancient or modern. And from the faith of a devil it is fully distinguished by this: it is not barely a speculative, rational thing, a cold, lifeless assent, a train of ideas in the head; but also a disposition of the heart.
  
  It says in Romans 10:10, "With the heart man believes unto righteousness"
• How does that differ from the faith of Apostles while Jesus was on the earth?
  
  Romans 4:25
  Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
  
  How does this faith differ from that faith which the Apostles had while Jesus was on earth? It differs in that it acknowledges the necessity and merit of his death, and the power of his resurrection. It acknowledges his death as the only sufficient means of redeeming man from death eternal, and his resurrection as the restoration of us all to life and immortality.
  
  Christian faith is then, not only an assent to the whole gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ; a trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrection.
• What is this salvation which is by faith?
  
  Matthew 1:21
  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
  
  First, whatsoever else it might imply, it is a present salvation, a living salvation, attainable today.
  
  It is something attainable even actually attained, on earth, by those who have this faith. This salvation is not , "...you shall be..." (though that also is true), but, "...you are saved..."
  
  "...you are saved..." from sin. This is the salvation which is through faith. This is that great salvation foretold by the angel.
  
  This salvation is without limitation or restriction. All his people (all that believe in him), he will save from all their sins. From original and actual, past and present sin.
  
  Through faith that is in him, they are saved both from the guilt and from the power of it.
• Saved from the guilt of sin
  
  Romans 8:1
  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
  
  We are saved from the guilt of all past sin. Before (like all men) were guilty before God in that we have all sinned, all of us falled short of the mark.
  
  God gave a law to a certain group of men and women of the earth, do not steal, do no convet etc, but by this law is only the knowledge of sin, the knowledge of what is right, what is wrong, but there is no deliverance from the power of sin.
  
  This moral law stands as our accuser, showing us our failures. But now Christ taken away "the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." He has "blotted out the handwriting that was against us, taking it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
  
  There is therefore no condemnation.
• To take our sins away
  
  1John 3:5-6
  5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
  
  So, through this faith we are saved from the power of sin, as well as from the guilt of it.
  
  Whoever remains in him does not sin. What a great promise.