Martin Luther regained the vision of justification by faith, a Biblically sound term. However, the late notable apologist, Francis Schaeffer, interpreted this as salvation being received by “faith plus nothing” or by “empty hands of faith.” The Bible also conveys the truth of imputed righteousness. A well-known evangelical leader mistakenly describes this imputed righteousness as the good works that Jesus did, being deposited to the account of the one who believes. (We will deal with imputed righteousness later.)

However sincere, these modern teachings relieve the believer of the responsibility of personal righteous living. Thus the teaching of salvation as applied across modern Christendom is at odds with the Biblical demand for holiness of life, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” and “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” Modern teaching led to a false sense of what it means to be a Christian. As a result, Christianity is claimed, but all too rarely lived, by those who name the name of Christ. We are left with a mere empty shell of salvation,

“Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?” (Jeremiah 7:9, 10).

We are, in fact, not saved by faith only. Rather we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). This “grace” leading to salvation is a gift totally supplied by God. We have no means at our disposal to generate grace, anymore than we can sprout wings to fly. If we were to list salvation ingredients (as with packaged foods), according to content, the first and greatest ingredient would not be faith, nor repentance (both necessary), but grace.

Now, to illustrate God’s grace— I’ve done a little travel by air, but I cannot own or fly a jet aircraft. But what I can’t do, I don’t need to do. At any time I present a ticket valid for the occasion, I receive a boarding pass. The boarding pass is my right to fly in the plane. I don’t have a clue how to navigate the plane. I don’t own the plane. I don’t even bring my own seat. The boarding pass is my access. The airline takes it from there. I am flying and getting there as though I own the whole thing, even though I own nothing. That is the “grace” of the airline. And as flying is by aircraft, so is salvation by the Lord God.

But what about faith? Is faith the ticket that gets you on the plane? Close, but not quite! Faith is the boarding pass. The boarding pass doesn’t give me wings. It doesn’t make the plane fly. It doesn’t need to. The boarding pass does everything it needs to do, by giving access into the plane. The Bible says, “We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (Romans 5:2).

Let’s not forget though, that faith must be valid. The plane must be airworthy and the captain must know how to fly. To believe in a false religion, or to redefine Christian faith, will not get you to the intended destination. Multitudes have faith in faith. But unless they do the will of God, they will find that Jesus never knew them.

What about the ticket? The ticket has a price tag. Though salvation is free, it is not cheap.

Repentance is, in many respects, like buying the ticket (not with money). He who would gain access by faith into God’s grace must bring forth the fruit of repentance. Repentance comes out of the sense of dread and condemnation for sin. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, came preaching repentance. He baptized those who gave evidence of repentance and confessed their sins. Jesus began His ministry by preaching repentance. Peter the apostle preached repentance as the qualifier for conversion (Acts 3:19). In Revelation 2-3, Jesus Christ called for repentance among the churches in Asia. When one repents, he identifies and renounces sin. He makes restitution to those he has sinned against. Repentance finally aligns the sin-sick heart of men to the grace of the holy God. True conversion is marked by a revulsion and confession of past sin, and a desperate grasp for deliverance.

There are aspects of salvation that tickets and boarding passes cannot convey. We expect a time-lapse from ticket purchase to boarding. When it comes to repentance, faith, and grace, the time-lapse need not apply. When we meet the conditions, God forgives our past sins. The salvation is instantaneous.

Salvation incorporates the doctrine of imputed (attributed) righteousness. God does not count people righteous based on their record of accomplishment. Rather, God declares the sinner justified (or reckoned righteous). This is the direct result of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus. Because sin is forgiven, the court of heaven counts the believer righteous. This is based on the heart response and commitment. At the very moment when Abraham believed God (Romans 4:3), it was counted to him for righteousness. This was not a transfer of the good deeds of Jesus to Abraham’s account. Rather, it was an accurate assessment of the commitment of the life of Abraham to God, and of the life of faith that followed. Even as the farmer sows his seed and calls it his “wheat field” before the seed has sprouted, so God knows the righteous heart that will, by faith, yield the fruit of righteousness.

James 2:14-20 forever refutes the shallow concept of an empty faith. God’s promise of imputed righteousness was clearly validated when Abraham offered his beloved Isaac on the altar in response to the command of God. In response to “faith only,” James replies that even the devils believe and tremble. This implies that the demons may have a better grasp of God’s requirements than many “cheap grace” Christians do.

Now let’s come back for another glimpse of grace. We say that grace is unearned favor with God, and so it is. The grace of forgiveness is ours, only because Jesus paid the price of it. But the same grace package carries a twin aspect. It is the unearned power to live lives that are holy, righteous, and God-pleasing. When Jesus died for our forgiveness, He did it with the larger view of our transformation. He who “has the power on earth to forgive sins,” commands us to “go and sin no more.” The evidence of saving faith is the life that produces the fruit of righteousness. The Christian call is to abide in the Vine, which is Christ. Those branches that do not produce good fruit are cut off and cast into the fire.

Beware of the deception that God plays some kind of word games, and wears thick, rose-colored glasses, so that we may slip past Him into heaven. Grace is not so cheap as to justify sinners in their sins after Christ endured the cross to “save his people from their sins.”

-by Lester Troyer