Salvation Only Through Christ

We believe that every person is separated from God by sin and is spiritually dead apart from His saving work. No amount of knowledge, morality, religious observance, baptism, church membership, charitable service, or personal effort can remove our sin or give us spiritual life. We must be born again through the work of the Holy Spirit.

God provided salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus lived without sin and willingly died in the place of sinners. He bore our sins and the judgment they deserved, suffering as the righteous substitute for the guilty. He then bodily arose from the dead, demonstrating that His sacrifice was sufficient and that death had been defeated.

Salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace. Nothing we do can add to Christ’s finished work or make us worthy of what He accomplished. Faith does not earn salvation; it receives the salvation Christ has provided.

We receive this gift by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are not works that purchase salvation. Together, they describe turning from sin and self-reliance to place our trust in Christ alone.

When God saves us, He forgives our sins, declares us righteous in Christ, gives us new spiritual life, and adopts us into His family. These blessings rest on what Christ has done, not on what we have achieved.

Jesus Christ is the only Savior and the only mediator between God and humanity. No other person, religion, ceremony, or institution can reconcile us to God.

Supporting Scriptures

Our Need for New Birth

John 3:3-8; Romans 3:10-23; Ephesians 2:1-3; Titus 3:3-5

Christ’s Finished Work

Isaiah 53:4-6; Romans 5:6-9; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; I Peter 2:24; I Peter 3:18

Salvation by Grace Through Faith

John 1:12-13; John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 3:21-28; Romans 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:4-7

Repentance and Faith

Mark 1:14-15; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 3:19; Acts 11:18; Acts 20:21; II Corinthians 7:10

Salvation Only Through Christ

John 14:6; Acts 4:12; I Timothy 2:5-6; I John 5:11-12

Layman's Terms

We cannot save ourselves. Being sincere, moral, religious, baptized, or active in a church cannot erase our sin or give us spiritual life.

Jesus did everything necessary to save us through His sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection. Salvation is God’s gift. We receive it by turning to Jesus Christ and trusting in Him alone.

Good works do not cause salvation. They are the result of the new life God gives.

Further Study

What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

To be born again is to receive spiritual life from God. The expression does not refer to moral improvement, religious observance, or a personal decision to reform. It describes the Holy Spirit giving life to a person who was spiritually dead in sin.

The new birth is God’s work, not something we produce through effort or ceremony. A changed life follows as the result of God’s work within us; it is not a condition we must satisfy before He gives us new life.

Grace, Faith, and Repentance

Grace means that salvation is God’s undeserved gift. We do not earn it, repay it, or make ourselves worthy of receiving it.

Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ—who He is and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection. Repentance is turning from sin and self-reliance toward God. Repentance and faith belong together, but neither adds merit to Christ’s work.

Baptism and Good Works

Baptism and good works are important acts of Christian obedience, but they do not earn salvation. Baptism publicly identifies a believer with Jesus Christ. Good works demonstrate the new life God has given.

We are not saved by good works, but salvation produces a changed life in which good works should increasingly become evident.

Why Is Jesus the Only Way?

Sin has separated every person from God, and no human effort or religious system can remove that guilt. Jesus alone is both fully God and fully human, lived without sin, died as the substitute for sinners, and rose from the dead.

Because He alone accomplished what was necessary to reconcile sinners to God, salvation is found in Him alone.

Memory Verse

Acts 4:12