We believe that a person is saved by two essential, active and genuine factors:  God’s grace and an individual person’s faith (Ephesians 2:8-10).  “Grace” may be defined as:  everything God does to compensate for a person’s inadequacy with regard to that person’s salvation.  This means, in essence, that God does for a person what he cannot do, not what he will not do.  Thus, salvation is made possible by God’s generous provision of grace (which is inseparable from the atoning work of Christ and governance of the Holy Spirit) and at the same time one’s sincere faith in all that God has said that He has done, presently does and will do for that person.  Included in this grace is God’s:  mercy for man’s soul; forgiveness of sins; access to the “throne of grace” for help (Hebrews 4:16); all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3); and whatever else the soul of man needs for nourishment, discipline and salvation.  This saving grace is not the same as God’s general kindness that He extends to all people (Luke 6:35-36, et al.).  Saving grace refers to salvation; God’s general graciousness refers to what He does for all people in order to bring them to salvation (Romans 2:4).

 We believe God’s love is unconditional:  He loves all men, regardless of whether or not they obey Him (John 3:16).  God offers grace because of the “great love with which He loves us” and has demonstrated that love in the offering of His Son for us all (Romans 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:4-7, 1 John 4:9-10).  However, access to God’s saving grace is conditional, as are all aspects of one’s relationship with God.  This means that something is required from a person in order for God to act on his behalf (i.e., for his salvation).  For example, God wants to forgive us, but only if we seek forgiveness through Christ’s atonement (Ephesians 1:7) and forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:14-15).  Otherwise, He will not forgive us.  Likewise, grace is given freely, but not without a proper response on the part of the one who desires it.  One’s living, active faith—that person’s faith, not Jesus’—must be entrusted to God in order for Him to confer His saving grace upon him (Ephesians 2:8, James 2:14-26).  God gives grace freely, but it is not free:  Jesus Christ paid a heavy, awful price for it to be made available to any of us (1 Peter 2:21-25).  The believer does not pay for grace, but he must prepare his heart to receive such grace.  To fail to do so is offensive to the One who offers grace (God) and the One who has made such grace possible (Christ). 

 We believe the access to God’s saving grace demands obedience to whatever God says is necessary in order to gain it.  We believe the following scriptures outline the kind of heart and life God is seeking as a recipient of His grace: 

1.)    One must hear the Word of Christ, the gospel (Romans 10:17).  The Holy Spirit uses this gospel to call men to God (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14).   

2.)    One must be humble, contrite (repentant) and reverent toward this Word (Isaiah 66:2).  God hates arrogance and pride, but demands a surrender of these things before one can come to Him (James 4:6).

3.)    One must respond to this word with obedient action [conversion]:      

a.       He must believe in what is written (John 3:16,36, 20:30-31).

b.      He must repent of his sins (Acts 3:19), which requires both a change of attitude (heart) and action (life).

c.       He must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, not only upon his conversion (Romans 10:9-10), but also as a way of life (Matthew 10:32-33). 

d.      He must “deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me [Jesus]” for the rest of his life, vowing faithfulness until his death (Matthew 16:24, Revelation 2:10). 

e.       He must undergo (symbolically, but necessarily) a death, burial and resurrection like that of the Lord Jesus Christ’s.  Put another way, he must be united with the death of Christ.  Thus, he must be buried in water, die to the selfish life he had led until now and be resurrected to a new allegiance (to Christ).  In so doing, he will “walk in newness of life” as a “new creature” (Romans 6:3-7, 2 Corinthians 5:17).  This is accomplished through water baptism (Acts 2:38), which brings about a “good conscience” (1 Peter 3:21) and joins one to Christ’s body as a faithful believer (Galatians 3:26-29).

4.)    One must (after conversion) continue to follow the Lord according to His guidance, coming ever closer into conformity with Christ [transformation]:

a.       He must deny the things of this world (ungodliness) and accept instead the things of God (Titus 2:11-14). 

b.      He must “hold fast to that which is good” and “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

c.       He must prove to be a good and faithful servant who continually readies himself for his appearance before the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:10), whether this meeting is occasioned through Christ’s (so-called) “second coming” or that person’s own death (Luke 12:35-48, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11, Hebrews 9:27-28). 

d.      He must attend to the needs of others as is appropriate, and especially of his fellow believers (Romans 12:9-21, Galatians 6:9-10, 1 John 3:15-18). 

e.       He must love all men—and especially his own brethren—including his enemies, just as God loves all men unconditionally (Matthew 5:43-48, John 13:34-35, 1 Peter 1:22-23). 

f.        He must put his love for Christ ahead of all other loves (Matthew 10:37-38, Lk 14:26).

 This provides a general overview of what the Bible teaches is expected of a believer.  Thus, this describes an appropriate response to God’s kindness, the call of His gospel and the appeal of salvation through Jesus Christ.  If a person wishes to respond differently than what the gospel has already determined, then he acts without authority for doing such things.  Anyone who alters the gospel in order to change its content, requirements or conclusions stands in awful condemnation by the gospel (Galatians 1:8-9).  This is not stated here to be offensive, but to show the seriousness of God’s instructions to every person with regard to his salvation.  Those who worship God must worship Him—in every assembly, in one’s heart and in one’s life—“in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).  This provides no allowance for self-determined or man-made religion(s) of any kind. 

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