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Is humanity naturally good? A brief look at the evening news immediately challenges the belief in humanity’s goodness. We can perform “good acts,” but we are naturally born in sin.
The dilemma of earning salvation troubled Martin Luther the most. He wrestled with not being good enough and realized he sinned daily. He came to the realization that Christianity is not about earning salvation through works.
Paul taught as much: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Philosophers, religious teachers, sociologists and psychologists have studied humans and the problem of evil. In Christianity, the problem of evil quickly connects to the fall of mankind (Genesis 3). Interestingly, also found in Genesis 3 is the promise of the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15). Only through Jesus can sin be overcome.
Lutheran pastor and theology professor Wade Johnston argues, “We are all born out of control. We need someone to take control. That is what God does in Christ. That is the good news of the gospel. Slavery to Christ is freedom precisely because it frees us from slavery to our bound will, to sin, to things that only end in death, that spoil and fade… Salvation is entirely a gift, Christ’s gift to us.”[i]
Works have never saved souls, even in Old Testament times. The central focus of the biblical message is faith.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
Faith was the means of salvation for those who lived before Jesus’ earthly ministry.
It might seem rather complicated, as Jesus also explained the need to follow Him and obey His word (John 14:15).
However, the focal point remains faith, not works, as pointed out in Galatians 2:16: “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
Johnston writes, “If salvation is in any way an act of our will, then it isn’t entirely a work of grace, and the Bible leaves no doubt that is what it is–entirely a work of grace… It’s not God with a little help from us. We are saved by God, entirely, from start to finish.”[ii]
Several examples during Jesus’ ministry emphasized the importance of faith.
“And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19).
“And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34).
Of course, we must explain that genuine repentance is necessary in the Christian life. However, this repentance does not earn salvation; it underscores the regeneration of the new soul in Christ (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Faith and grace are paramount in the Christian journey, though sin and repentance remain constant companions.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
[i] Wade Johnston, Let the Bird Fly: Life in a World Given Back to Us, (Irvine: 1517 Publishing, 2019), 11
[ii] Ibid., 10.