# Salvation by Grace Alone > [!summary] Our stance We believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Sanctification follows salvation. It is the lifelong process of growing into maturity in Christ. ## Salvation Is a Gift, Not a Wage The Bible is clear that no one can earn a right standing with God. Every person has sinned and falls short of God's glory (Romans 3:23), and the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Our good works cannot pay that debt. > [!quote] Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - **Grace alone:** God saves us because He is merciful, not because we deserve it (Titus 3:5). - **Faith alone:** We receive salvation by trusting in Christ, not by keeping the law (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). - **Christ alone:** Jesus is the only way to the Father. His death paid for our sin and His resurrection secured our life (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5). - **For the glory of God alone:** Because salvation is entirely God's work, all the credit belongs to Him (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14; 1 Corinthians 1:31). ## Three Parts of Salvation It helps to see salvation in three tenses: |Tense|Term|What it means|Key passages| |---|---|---|---| |Past|**Justification**|God declares us righteous because of Christ. It happens once, at the moment of faith.|Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21| |Present|**Sanctification**|God grows us to become more like Jesus. It's a lifelong process.|Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 3:18| |Future|**Glorification**|God completes His work and we are made perfect in His presence.|Romans 8:29-30; 1 John 3:2| ## Sanctification: Growing Up in Christ Justification is God's work **for** us. Sanctification is God's work **in** us. We don't grow in order to be saved. We grow because we are saved. - God promises to finish what He started (Philippians 1:6). - We cooperate with His work: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV). - Growth happens through the Word (John 17:17), the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25), the church (Ephesians 4:11-16), and trials (James 1:2-4). - The goal is maturity, becoming like Christ (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 4:13). ## What About Good Works? Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone. Real faith produces a changed life. > [!quote] Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. James 2:14-26 does not contradict Paul. Paul says works cannot **earn** salvation. James says a faith that never produces works is not genuine faith. Good works are the **fruit** of salvation, not the **root** of it. ## Other Views - **Roman Catholic teaching** holds that justification involves both faith and an inner renewal that grows over time, received and strengthened through the sacraments. - **Eastern Orthodox teaching** describes salvation as _theosis_, a lifelong process of union with God. - The Protestant Reformers argued from passages like Romans 4:4-5 and Galatians 2:16 that justification is a legal declaration received by faith, distinct from the ongoing work of sanctification. That is the view we hold. ## What This Means for Us - **Assurance:** Because salvation rests on Christ's finished work, believers can know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). - **Humility:** No one can boast. Everyone stands on level ground at the cross. - **Growth:** Grace is not permission to stay the same. It is the power to change (Titus 2:11-14).