Christ Alone

As long as a man believes he brings even one thread of righteousness to God, he has not yet understood the cross.

There is a danger that has followed the church from its earliest days. It does not always come dressed as open unbelief. It often speaks the language of faith. It uses Scripture. It sounds moral. It appears serious. Yet at its core it quietly shifts the weight of salvation away from Christ and places it back onto man.

The heart of the gospel is not complicated, but it is offensive to human pride. Scripture declares that a sinner is made right with God not by what he does, not by what he becomes, not by how faithfully he performs, but by what Christ has already finished. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” Romans 3:28. That sentence leaves no room for negotiation. Either Christ saves completely or He does not save at all.

From the moment Adam fell, man has tried to repair himself. He hid behind fig leaves before God ever demanded anything of him. That instinct has never left the human heart. We are uncomfortable standing empty before a holy God. We want something to offer. We want proof. We want merit. We want a contribution. But Scripture dismantles every attempt. “By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” Galatians 2:16.

The problem is not that good works are evil. The problem is that good works are powerless. They cannot cleanse guilt. They cannot silence the conscience. They cannot undo rebellion. They cannot resurrect a dead heart. The law can diagnose sin but it cannot cure it. “For if there had been a law given which could have given life truly righteousness would have been by the law” Galatians 3:21.

When the church confuses fruit with foundation, everything collapses. Works were never meant to carry the weight of justification. They were meant to follow it. “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9. Scripture does not merely say works do not save. It says salvation must exclude them or boasting remains possible.

This is where the soul must be stripped. The gospel does not invite us to improve ourselves. It declares us bankrupt. “There is none righteous no not one” Romans 3:10. That verdict does not soften with time. It does not mature away. It stands over every generation. The religious man and the immoral man stand equally condemned until grace intervenes.

As long as a man believes he brings even one thread of righteousness to God, he has not yet understood the cross. The moment effort becomes part of acceptance; Christ is no longer Saviour but assistant. Grace is no longer grace. The gospel is no longer good news. It becomes a transaction dressed in religious language. Scripture leaves no room for such division. “If righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain” Galatians 2:21. That verse does not wound gently. It destroys every system that mixes Christ with human contribution. Either He saves completely or He does not save at all.

Faith itself is not a work that earns salvation. Faith is the empty hand that receives it. It brings nothing. It claims nothing. It pleads nothing but mercy. “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly his faith is accounted for righteousness” Romans 4:5. Notice the language. God justifies the ungodly not the improving not the sincere not the progressing but the ungodly.

This truth humbles the proud and offends the religious. It removes every ladder man has built toward heaven. It leaves only a cross standing between wrath and mercy. That is why the gospel will never be popular. It destroys self-confidence. It exposes moral pride. It strips spiritual ego naked before God.

Yet this same truth is the only hope for broken sinners. If justification depends even partly on obedience, then assurance dies. Peace disappears. Joy fades. The soul becomes trapped in constant measurement. Have I done enough. Have I repented deeply enough. Have I obeyed consistently enough. Scripture offers a better word. “Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1.

This peace is not emotional calm. It is legal peace. The war is over. The verdict is settled. The Judge has declared the sinner righteous because Another stood in his place. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5:21. That exchange is the heart of Christianity. Remove it and nothing remains.

Good works then find their proper place. They are not the root of salvation but the result of it. They do not secure acceptance but flow from it. “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10. Works are evidence of life not the cause of it.

When this order is reversed even subtly the gospel is lost. The church may still speak of Jesus. It may still preach morality. It may still promote discipline. But Christ is no longer enough. And when Christ is no longer enough the sinner has nowhere to rest.

The true gospel leaves no room for boasting and no room for despair. It humbles the strongest and lifts the weakest. It shuts every mouth and opens heaven. It declares that salvation from beginning to end belongs to the Lord. “Salvation is of the Lord” Jonah 2:9.

This is not a small doctrine. It is the dividing line between grace and religion. Between freedom and bondage. Between Christ reigning alone and man sharing His glory. The soul that sees this will never return to bargaining with God. It will fall silent before Him and say only this.

Nothing in my hands I bring.

Only to Christ I cling.

He, who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Article by Jeremiah Knight / Facebook

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