Part Three: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation

 

Introduction:

This week our church is hosting a Vacation Bible School that has as its theme: "One Way" here New Hope Baptist Church: Watertown, NY > Vacation Bible School 2025. Every year, we try to offer a series of adult classes that coincide with whatever the VBS is studying. I've devoted the last two posts and today's to covering what I'll cover with the adults, thus our series: "One God, One Way, One Faith."

The last two posts have featured what I'm calling "a defense for why Jesus is the only way of salvation". In this short series I have proposed three stages or three steps that lead to this conclusion.

First, we proposed that since there is One God, it follows that there is One Way. We compared other views of what counts as ultimate reality. Included in our evaluation was giving an account for such things as objective truth, laws of logic, and objective morality. Any other worldview besides monotheism leads to the undoing of objective truth, laws of logic, and objective morality. Atheism, pantheism, panentheism, polytheism, dualism, agnosticism, and henotheism all suffer from viewing ultimate reality as one reality, with either no Divine agents or multiple Divine beings presiding over everything. One cannot hold to object truth in those systems, since truth by its very nature demands an objective standard. 

Monotheism, with its belief in two realities (God as ultimate reality, and then the created reality that had a beginning) grounds objective truth, morality, and laws of logic. We saw that only Christian monotheism, with its affirmation of the Trinity, grounds morality, truth, and logic, since only a Triune monotheism makes sense of God being truly self-sufficient and not in need of creation. 

Such a God chooses to interact with our world, designing our world as not only a physical, but moral order. As the God of love, He included such things as redemption and created free-will creatures such as ourselves. Interested readers who want to review this first point of "One God" in detail may read the first post here: Growing Christian Resources: Part One: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation  

The second part of our series dealt with "One Way". As we built this second part off of the truth of "One God leading to One way", we saw that the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, is central to our argument. Jesus Christ repeatedly expressed Himself as the decisive revelation of God in history and humanity. He being truly God, and thus a member of the Trinity in which the entire Divine nature has "subsisted" or stood for all eternity, means He by nature of His deity is the proper ground of salvation, as seen in the Biblical phrase "salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). 

   The doctrine of the incarnation teaches that this eternal, second Person of the Trinity, the Son, came to earth to have added unto His person a true and entire human nature (John 1:14). The Son of God incarnated to be the man, Jesus of Nazareth. He is the unique and total revelation of the Father (John 14:8, Hebrews 1:3) and thus the clear revelation of what God is like. 

As man, He represents all who would ever believe upon Him in the same way the original Adam was the representative of all mankind in the Garden of Eden (see Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:45-47). Therefore, Jesus Christ as truly God and truly man is uniquely the only way of salvation (John 14:6). No other founder of any religion ever claimed nor proved to be God. No other founder of any religion demonstrated His identity by raising from the dead. Interested readers may read more about this second part of the argument here Growing Christian Resources: Part Two: One God, One Way, One Faith - A Defense For Why Jesus Is The Only Way of Salvation.

In this short series, we have aimed to understand the Bible’s rationale for affirming that there is One God, One Way, and One Faith. It is that final piece, "One Faith" that will occupy our time in this final post for the series. In today's post, we will discover that saving faith as presented in the Bible is just as unique as Jesus the only way and as the Triune God, who is the One God of salvation.  

The Uniqueness of the Christian faith, and the manner of receiving salvation by faith alone.

    Years ago I heard R.C. Sproul give a lecture on the doctrine of saving faith found in the Scriptures. What he taught was this: saving faith has three essential elements to itself. I think of a three-legged stool upon which Biblical faith rests. 

1. There is “notitia” or the contents            of faith.

2. There is “assensus” or                            intellectual ascent to the faith.

3. Then there is “fiducia” or trust in the      Christ of faith.

In his teaching, Sproul noted the following, as reflected in an article he wrote here: Saving Faith: Foundations - An Overview of Systematic Theology with R.C. Sproul

    Sproul first noted: "What are the constituent elements of saving faith? The Protestant Reformers recognized that biblical faith has three essential aspects: notitia, assensus, and fiducia. Notitia refers to the content of faith, the things we believe." (Compare 1 Corinthians 15:2-4).

    Then Sproul moves on with the second element of saving faith: 

"Assensus is the conviction that the content of our faith is true. One can know about the Christian faith and yet believe that it is not true."  (Compare 2 Timothy 1:12)

    Then Sproul mentions one more leg or constituent element of saving faith, not only "notitia" (the doctrines "that we believe"), and "assensus" (agreement with the doctrines "because I believe"), but thirdly "fiduci", or "I trust in what I believe". Dr. Sproul stated again:

    "Fiducia refers to personal trust and reliance. Knowing and believing the content of the Christian faith is not enough, for even demons can do that (James 2:19). Faith is effectual only if one personally trusts in Christ alone for salvation." (See Rom. 10:8-10).

    It is this element, along with the first two, which makes sufficient conditions for true saving faith. Do I trust in the God and what He has said in His Word about Jesus Christ and salvation? This is why the Apostle John in 2 John 1:9 uses the language of "abide" in reference to saving trust in God the Father and God the Son: "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son."

I had noted Ephesians 4:4-6 in the first lesson of this short series, but it bears repeating again. Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

      The Bible teaches that the way we know that salvation is one way is by not only the affirmation of the One Triune God and the One unique Savior, Jesus Christ, but also the one way through which salvation is received – by faith alone. Romans 3:24-26 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”  

Only two religions in the world. 

     The late D. James Kennedy once noted that there are only two religions in the world: salvation by grace through faith apart from works, and salvation by works. As I’ve studied various religions over the past three decades of Gospel ministry, I’ve found his observation to be true. 

    For instance, Mormonism teaches four different ways to receive salvation, always adding something to faith, what we could call a “faith+” approach. Islam has you observe the five pillars, which include prayers toward Mecca, a once-in-a-life pilgrimage, and other ethical prescriptions. Buddhism has you follow what it calls “eight noble truths”. All of these are works-based approaches to salvation. 

Why saving faith is unique. 

   The way to God is unique – Christ alone. God Himself is unique – God alone. Now realize that the way to receive salvation in Biblical Christianity is unique – by faith alone. Let me note three things about saving faith with Scripture references.

1. Faith is bestowed by God. 

    We know that no confession of Jesus Christ occurs apart from the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:3 “No one says ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit’”). Justifying faith is Divinely grounded by how its bestowed by God, that is it is a Divine gifting of God (Ephesians 2:8) that becomes a decision of the will to trust in Him (Acts 16:31). Charles Hodge, a nineteenth century theologian, says this about saving faith:“The first conscious exercise of the renewed soul is faith, as the first conscious act of a man born blind whose eyes have been opened, is seeing.” 

    Just as a baby is born with muscles, organs, and a brain to begin its life outside the womb, no doubt developed from conception, a born-again sinner has faith granted as a gift, an awakening, whereby the sinner is freed to exercise his or her decision to trust in Christ and repent of their sins. There is human faith, contrived and naturally stirred toward emotional or natural things. Only saving faith leads the sinner to trust in the Savior (see John 1:12-13; Romans 9:14-15; 1 Peter 1:3,5; James 1:18,21).

2. Faith is a divine work of God. 

    That is, faith is God’s doing. James 1:18a “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth…”. Or again, 1 Corinthians 1:30a “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus…”. See also John 6:28-29 and Ephesians 2:8-9. Faith is a gift that is bestowed by God and a Divine work in the soul. Jesus notes this in John 6:39 "Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" 

3. Faith is prompted by the call              of God. 

      I think of Lydia in Acts 16:14 who was listening to Paul’s preaching: “and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.”  We do not see Lydia forced against her will to trust in Christ. If anything, her heart is "opened", nearly imperceptibly as a flower opens its petals to the light of the sun. The inward call of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel is what shines the light of God's glory in Christ to illuminate the sinner to the awfulness of their sin and the awesomeness of the Savior. The human will, bound by sin, is freed by that call of grace. Faith, implanted in the soil of the heart, springs up in the sinner as a free-made decision. 

    Only in Christianity to you have a supernaturally given, worked forth, and Divinely called faith. This unique quality of saving faith, in the Unique way of salvation, Jesus Christ, being Himself a member of the Triune God, explains why the Bible teaches only one way of salvation. 

Closing thoughts:

     As we close out this short study, I had you introduced to the Apostles’ Creed in the last two posts. Notice its first words: “we believe”. Can you say that? Do you believe? Do you have confidence in the doctrine or truth of Christ? Do you agree that He alone can save your soul? Do you trust in Him right now for your soul’s salvation. There is only one way – Jesus Christ.