Dr. Michael D. Halsey
Chapter 6
FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE
Grace is a difficult concept to understand. We might say it’s impossible to understand. From our first conscious moment, we live and breathe in a merit system based on our performance. A merit system says. "Do, and I/we/the Company/the School will reward you. Performance is the basis of business. Deserve it, then you’ll get it. If your performance is beneath stated expectations then I/we/the Company/the School will punish by withholding rewards from you.
If the salesman does above the standards, then there are bonuses, but you earn them. No one gives them. If the company does well over the year, then they give you a Christmas bonus, but if they didn’t do well, then there is no bonus. So, in a sense, you have to earn the bonus. To live is to plug into a merit system of performance.
We give names to this system. It’s race, that is, a rat race. Our office building where we work is a mine, a salt mine. We compare the system to hungry animals because it’s dog-eat-dog. Bosses are slave drivers.
Advertising highlights the merit system. Nike to us, "Just do it." Gold’s Gym said, "No pain no gain." McDonald’s sang, "You deserve a break today." They say, "Be the best." "Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing." "Second best isn’t good enough." We "try out" for the team or for cheerleading to see if we’re "good enough."
Enter the gospel. The gospel deals with forgiveness and eternal life. Sin bars us from heaven and eternal life. Christ’s death resolves it. In Corinthians 15:1-3, Paul gives the gospel in a few words.
Christ has done something about sin and offers His forgiveness to us. It’s important that Christ offers something to us, we don’t offer anything to Him. I can’t offer Him a pledge to do my best because my best is imperfect. I can’t offer Him my future years, because they’ll be imperfect. I can’t offer Him a promise to quit smoking because that wouldn’t do anything about my sins.
Christ finished it all. Nothing left to do. The gospel is believe (be persuaded) that Christ died for your sins and rose the third day. We sum it up in the phrase "Faith alone in Christ alone." By this phrase we mean no subtle blending, no adding to the phrase. A blend makes the gospel into a false gospel. (Gal. 1)
The blend may sound spiritual and seem natural. Examples of blends are commands such as "Believe in Christ and feel sorry for your sins." This blend makes salvation depend on feeling a certain way. This blend is based on a misunderstanding of the word "repent." In English, the word has come to mean, "feel sorry for something," but in Greek it means, "Change your mind" (verb) or "a change of mind" (noun). It has nothing to do with feeling a certain way. Sorrow for sins may accompany belief, but it’s not necessary for salvation.
"Repent" is not mentioned one time in the gospel of John, the one book in the Bible dedicated to bringing the reader to belief. If repentance is necessary for salvation then reading the gospel of John couldn’t save a person. So, what’s going on? If John never uses the word "repent," then "repentance" isn’t necessary for salvation. The reason for that is that when a person believes in Christ, that is, when a person trusts Christ for forgiveness and eternal life, it automatically involves a change of mind.
Whenever a person believes in Christ, repentance, a change of mind is involved. Whatever a person thought about Jesus before conversation (teacher, philosopher or martyr) it involves a change of mind to believe that Jesus is God who died for his sins and rose from the dead.
All blends may sound good, but they change the gospel. Things such as "Believe and make Christ the Lord of your life," "Believe and walk the aisle," and "Believe and turn from your sins."
Is this "easy believism?" No. Trusting someone isn’t easy. We stand in line at a store longer because trusting isn’t easy. Write a check for even two dollars and you’ll have to produce your driver’s license complete with picture, number, color of eyes and etc. They’re trying out finger printing people in Texas when they buy groceries at the Kroger store, and with that
fingerprint, the account is automatically debited. Whatever, it still indicated that trust isn’t easy.
When we call for a person to trust Christ, we’re calling for more than trusting for a $2 check. When you trusted Christ, just think of what you did, you trusted:
Someone you couldn’t see.
Someone you’ve never seen.
Someone who has no living witnesses who has seen Him.
Someone whose biography was written only by friends.
Someone detailed in a book that’s under attack.
Someone who says, "I’ll give you eternal life and forgiveness of sins and you don’t work for them."
CONCLUSION
Grace is very hard for us to understand. Grace is unmerited favor. Grace isn’t cheap; it cost the donor. Grace is truly good news.