The Power of Man in Salvation
Daniel Parks

There is no power in man to save, because salvation comes to those who are “without strength” (Romans 5:6) by virtue of being in their native condition “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Neither is there power in the law to save, because it is “weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3), through man’s inability to keep it. Neither is there power in baptism (or any other ordinance or sacrament), being evidenced in that Paul declared, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Rather, this power of God to salvation is found in the gospel, which is the word of God, a revelation of the divine will which “is quick and powerful.”