Some saints are afflicted with doubts regarding the possession of salvation and this new series is designed to highlight the truth of assurance. These papers are taken from an old (undated) book called “Salvation and How to Possess it,” published by J. Ritchie

"BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH" EPHESIANS 2. 8

By John H McKnight

Is there any thoughtful person in whose mind the question has not at some time arisen. Can one be really sure of salvation in this life? There is nothing about which we should so long for positive certainty; and to show from the Word of God that this certainty may be enjoyed and how, is the object of the present writer. He has himself possessed it for the past twenty-seven years, and his earnest prayer is that the Spirit of God may lead some who read these lines to rest upon the same sure foundation as he did, and so be enabled to "read their title clear to mansions in the skies."

In the Scripture which heads this paper are found the two great factors that combine in our salvation, grace and faith — grace on God's part which provides it, and faith on our part which lays hold upon it and makes it an enjoyed possession.

That God's salvation has been brought to all men is abundantly clear in the Word of Truth. "The grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men", Titus.2.11 (R.V.). "There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself a ransom for all," 1Tim.2.5,6. "We see Jesus … crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man." Heb.2.9. God "willeth that all men should be saved." 1Tim.2.4 (R.V.); and is "not willing that any should perish" 2Pet.3.9. Many more quotations might be given, but these should suffice to prove to anyone who is open to conviction, that the grace of God has placed salvation within the reach of all, and that He desires all without exception to become possessors of it.

This fact clearly established, the question next arising is, How can a person become possessed of that salvation which, he is assured from Scripture, the grace of God has provided for him? Here it is that the second great factor comes into operation, the faith on the sinner's part which appropriates what grace has brought to him, and apart from which the provision made will profit him nothing. The absolute necessity of faith in order to have salvation, is evident from both the Old and the New Testament. It forms the connecting link between the sinner and the Saviour in both past and present dispensations. "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" Rom.4.3. In like manner all the other worthies of Hebrews chapter 11 were possessed of this living faith in God, and the worthy deeds ascribed to them were the fruits of it; for it is stated in v.6 that "without faith it is impossible to please Him." Coming then to New Testament times, the gospel commission as given to the apostles is, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" Mk.16.15,16. And we read that, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. … He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" Jn.3.14-18. And heading that awful list of sinners in Rev.21.8, who shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, are the "fearful and unbelieving." But again it is needless to multiply quotations. Those given make it abundantly clear that, as the salvation of the sinner flows from sovereign grace on God's part, so it becomes effectual to each individual through the exercise of faith on his part.

Having thus seen that faith is absolutely essential to salvation, let us further observe that it is the only thing on the sinner's part which is essential. Character, works of righteousness, or merits of any description are not required, as the following Scriptures clearly show. "If it is by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace" Rom.11.6 (R.V.). "To him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt; but to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" Rom.4.4,5. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law" Rom.3.28. "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent" Jn.6.29.

But it must not, of course, be overlooked that the faith which lays hold on Christ and brings salvation to the soul is, in every instance, a "faith which worketh by love" Gal.5.6. The epistle of James definitely teaches that faith which does not produce works is not a saving faith but dead. Hence we look for good works as the outcome of salvation possessed, though never as a means to obtain it. And while we make it clear that salvation is by grace through faith only; on the other hand, let no one persuade himself that he has saving faith, if good works, which are ever its accompaniment, are absent in his life.

Having thus ascertained two important facts, that the great source of our salvation is the grace of God, and that the means by which it is made our own is simple faith; let us now consider what it is we must believe in order to be saved. Some there are who tell us that it matters little what one believes, so long as he is sincere; but the error of this must surely be obvious to all who will but take time to think. It matters greatly what one believes; for if a man's belief is wrong, his sincerity, instead of making up for it, will only drive him farther astray. Saul of Tarsus verily thought that he "ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth" Acts 26.9, and so zealous was he that he persecuted the church of God and wasted it, Gal.1.13. He was thoroughly sincere in his belief, yet he was thoroughly wrong; and his sincerity merely drove him headlong on his wrong course. Thus it is not enough to be sincere; our belief must be rightly grounded, and so the question is of the utmost importance:— In what are we to place our faith so as to be absolutely certain that we have obtained salvation, the pardon of our sins, peace with God, and eternal life?

The answer to it in our Lord's own words is, "believe the gospel," Mk.1.15. But what is this gospel? It is the glad news sent down from heaven, which tells guilty men that a ransom has been found and a Saviour provided; through Whom they may have life and salvation, freedom for ever from the dread penalty of sin, the lake of fire, and a place instead in the eternal glory. It is not merely a promise as to what God will do for men, but the announcement of what He has done for them, the declaration that He has so loved the world as to give His Son to the cross to bear His wrath due to sin; in order that He might righteously spare us. This is the gospel, and this is what we are asked to believe that we might be saved. We are to believe in our heart that God, the eternal God, against Whom we had so grievously sinned, and before Whom we all stood guilty, has so loved us, in spite of our sin and guilt, that to save us from our doom, He gave His Son to the cross to be wounded and bruised in our stead; that He who knew no sin was there made a sin offering for us. As it is written, "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him," 2Cor.5.21. "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree," 1Pet.2.24. "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God," 1Pet.3.18. These are the plain Gospel statements of the Scriptures, and all who put their trust in Him whose work on the cross they set before us, immediately become possessors of eternal salvation.

"Soon as my all I ventured on the atoning blood,
The Holy Spirit entered, and I was born of God."

So wrote Charles Wesley, and such has been the experience of all who in simple faith have rested for salvation upon Christ.

But there are not a few who, whilst giving assent to the doctrine of the gospel, as set forth in the above and kindred verses, yet hesitate to take God at His Word, and shrink back from taking the ground which that Word gives to all true believers. Such people look upon it as "going a little too far" — as presumption in fact — for anyone to say definitely that he is saved, and sure of it. They think that while it is right and proper to look to Christ for salvation, and to entertain a hope that all may be right in the end, it is overstepping the bounds to speak decidedly and positively of being already in possession of eternal life, and certain of heaven.

This reluctance or hesitancy to take the ground given to us in God's Word as believers might at first sight be mistaken for excessive modesty, arising from a sense of unworthiness; but we believe it, in many cases, to be rather the fruit of inbred pride, the pride of the human heart, deceitful in this, as in all other things pertaining to God. The real reason why these, although professing to believe the gospel, yet consider it presumptuous for anyone to go the length of saying that he is saved, is that, lurking in their heart, is the thought that, over and above the work of Christ, their own lives will determine to at least some extent how they shall fare at the end. In other words they imagine that though Christ has finished His work, there yet remains something to be done by us.

Now, obviously, if this idea were correct, if our salvation depended in the smallest degree upon our own lives, no one could say on this side of eternity that he was saved and sure of heaven. Such knowledge could not in that case be attained, until the entire life had been lived, the course finished, and God's approval pronounced upon it. But as we have shown, such an idea has no foundation in Scripture, and can only exist in the minds of those who are ignorant of their utter ruin, and of their complete inability to do anything to please God, or merit salvation. They have not learned that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" Isa.64.6, nor that "in me … dwelleth no good thing" Rom.7.18. But let all who desire to be saved and know it, be very clear about this, that in the work of salvation, man is entirely shut out from having any share other than to receive it as a gift from God. It is not the work of Christ with our good deeds added to it that saves, but the work of Christ alone. It is not the work of Christ and baptism; it is not the work of Christ and the Lord's supper, but the work of Christ alone. It is not even the work of Christ and our faith, though, as we have shown, it is through faith we claim the salvation which His work has secured. Let the work of the Saviour stand out alone, in all its grand and solitary dignity, as the only ground contained in the Scriptures whereon a guilty sinner may set his foot, and stand with assured acceptance before God.

To sum up: If God, the designer and author of salvation, has set man aside as utterly incapable of doing ought to please Him, Rom.8.8, and has placed the work of salvation in the hands of One Who was perfectly competent to accomplish it to His satisfaction; if that One to Whom the work was entrusted has finished it, Jn.19.30; if the Word of God assures us that all who believe the gospel and rest on Christ as their Saviour have everlasting life, Jn.3.36; are not the presumptious ones those who refuse to take Him at His word, and to accept the salvation provided? Let the Scriptures themselves answer. "He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son" 1Jn.5.10,11.

Thus our assurance as believers rests not on anything within us, or done by us, but is based entirely upon the Word of God. The saved sinner, looking to the cross, by faith beholds One dying there as his substitute, and like Paul, can call Him, "The Son of God Who loved me, and gave Himself for me." With Isaiah, he can claim it all for himself, and say, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." And so, sheltered by the blood of Christ, and knowing from the Word of God that he has eternal life, the happy believer looks onward to that blissful day, when, saved not only from sin's penalty and power, but from its very presence, he shall magnify and adore the One by Whose grace he has been saved through faith.

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