Christ Alone

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Eternal life depends on Christ alone — nothing, but nothing, else. Predestination will not bring it. Providence cannot produce it. It does not rest on foreknowledge, divine decrees, or even the atonement itself. Eternal life is Christ dwelling in His righteousness in the soul of the justified person. So eternal life is union with Jesus Christ. And the word for that union with Jesus Christ is faith. The sinner comes to Him, rests in Him, trusts in Him, is one with Him, abides in Him and this is life because it never, ever, ends. The united soul abides in the Vine eternally. Weakness, sin, proneness to sin never brings separation, but only the Father’s pruning, which cements the union even and ever tighter. This is the heart of the Bible. This is the heart of the gospel. This is the heart of Christianity. This is the heart of the saint. This is the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. - John H. Gerstner

I take a lot of flack from people sometimes over the idea that I am a Reformed Baptist. If a person takes the time to discuss theology with me, and those people are rare, they find that I do have a knowledge of and an appreciation for the “doctrines of grace.” I do believe in predestination. I do think that salvation is all of God and not of us.

Know this: all of the debate and discussion over predestination is secondary. Christ alone saves. He gives us life because of what He did. Salvation is outside of us. We are beholden to Him for everything: our personal relationship to God, the change in our lives, our freedom from guilt, our ultimate salvation and trip to heaven. Everything!

We no longer have to worry about how we stand before God, our relationship to Him; Christ took care of that. We no longer have to worry about our sinful lives; Christ took care of that. We no longer have to worry about our failures; Christ took care of that. We no longer have to worry about where we will spend eternity; Christ took care of that.

We must have faith, trust that what Christ did he did for us. Not for us in the abstract, but for us personally. We stop trusting in our good works and we start trusting in Christ. We stop turning to our improved lives and turn to Christ’s perfect life.

Oh that the protestant church would free herself from the tyranny of looking to her own works and turn to Christ. Oh that we would be free from the chains that circle our hearts.

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