The Only Ground of Salvation!

Is faith necessary in salvation? Most certainly! For "he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16), and "without faith it is impossible to please" God (Heb. 11:6). But why is faith necessary? It is not because faith is the ground of salvation, nor is there any merit in faith, and faith is not the instrumental cause of salvation. It is because saving faith (which is the gift of God) believes in and lays hold of the Lord Jesus Christ and submits to His righteousness imputed as the only ground of salvation! --Copied

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Author: John Kent Tune: "How Firm a Foundation"

1. A refuge for sinners the gospel makes known;

'Tis found in the merits of Jesus alone;

The weary, the tempted, and burdened by sin,

Were never exempted from entering therein.

2. This refuge for sinners His love did ordain,

In Jesus the Lamb, from eternity slain;

And if God the Spirit reveal this to you,

Take refuge in Jesus, though hell should pursue.

3. The soul that shall enter in safety shall dwell;

There's no peradventure of sinking to hell;

The oath of Jehovah secures him from fear,

Nor shall the avenger of blood enter there.

4. Here's refuge for sinners, whose guilt shall appear

As black as the confines of endless despair;

Who, stripped of all merit whereon to rely,

Are taught by the Spirit to Jesus to fly.

5. Should conscience accuse us, as oft-times it may,

Here's blood that can take its defilement away.

In Jesus the Savior, the sinner shall view

A city of refuge and righteousness too.

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The following is the deathbed confession of the Gospel preacher and writer Dr. John Gill who lived in England from 1697-1771: "I depend wholly and alone upon the free, sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love of God, the firm and everlasting covenant of grace, and my interest in the persons of the sacred Trinity, for my whole salvation; and not upon any righteousness of my own; nor anything in me, or done by me under the influences of the Holy Spirit; not upon any services of mine, which I have been assisted to perform for the good of the church do I depend, but upon my interest in the persons of the Trinity; the free grace of God, and the blessings of grace streaming to me through the blood and righteousness of Christ, as the ground of my hope. These are no new things to me, but what I have been long acquainted with; what I can live and die by. I apprehend that I shall not be long here, but this you may tell to any of my friends."

Then, just before he died, Gill said, to one of his friends standing by his bed, "I have nothing to make me uneasy," and quoted one verse of a hymn, written by Isaac Watts, in honor of that Redeemer whom he loved, trusted, and served.

"He raised me from the depths of sin, The gates of gaping hell,

And fixed my standing more secure Than `twas before I fell."

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“I am not satisfied with my faith,” says one. NO, of course you aren't, nor will you ever be, at least I hope not! The Bible does not say, Therefore being satisfied with our faith we have peace with God; it says, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.”

“I am not satisfied with my repentance.” That is wonderful! What would you do with your repentance if you were satisfied with it? Would you bring it to God instead of the blood? Oh, what pride and self-righteousness must be in any person who is satisfied with his repentance and faith! That person could never find true peace, for such a refuge of lies must fall.

“I am not satisfied with my love.” What? Did you expect, on this earth, to be satisfied with any grace found in you? Was it your love for Christ or His love for you that gave you peace at first?

Now then, there is but one thing with which Almighty God is satisfied - entirely satisfied - and that is THE PERSON AND WORK OF HIS SON! It is with Christ that we must be satisfied, not with ourselves, nor anything about us! When we cease from ALL our labors, and ALL our righteousness, and ENTER INTO HIS REST, pardon and peace will come without delay. --Horatius Bonar

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