As we celebrate the Christmas season, we are reminded of the wonderful truths of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15). Christmas is about Christ’s miraculous birth to provide salvation for the world (John 3:16).
The Bible makes it clear there are three important ingredients of the Gospel. I use the word ingredients because just as it takes several ingredients to bake something, so it takes all these ingredients for a person to be a Christian.
Knowledge – In order for a person to have saving faith they must have knowledge of the gospel. They must understand they are a sinner standing in hostility to God because of their sin.
They must understand the punishment for sin is an eternity spent separated from God in the Lake of Fire. They must understand, in love, God sent his Son to this earth to live the sinless life that they could not live and die the sacrificial death that they deserved to die.
He died in the place of sinners. Three days later he rose from the dead before ascending to the right hand of his Father where he intercedes for believers. In order to become a Christian one must know the facts about the gospel. But knowing facts is not enough to save a person.
Assent – One must assent to or agree they are true. It is one thing to know the facts about a historical Jesus, but it is a completely different thing to believe they are true. In order to agree with the gospel one must agree the truths of the gospel apply to them.
If one knows the facts about the gospel and agrees they are true, all that does is qualify them to be a demon: James 2:9 says “The demons believe—and shudder.”
In some sense the faith of demons is better than the dead faith to which the book of James refers. At least the demons have enough sense to fear God for who He is.
At least they exercise some sort of response. But too many people sit comfortably in their mere profession of faith with no fear of the holiness of God.
Unreserved Trust – The third ingredient of saving faith is unreserved trust. Unreserved trust is an act of the will where a person turns from their sin and decides to trust in Christ alone for salvation.
It is no longer a mere head knowledge of the gospel, it is a willful clinging to Christ as ones only hope for salvation.
In a way, saving faith is like a prescription a doctor might recommend. You can know facts about the prescription, and you can even believe the prescription will restore your health, but unless you actually take the medicine, it won’t benefit you.
Likewise, knowledge of and agreement with the gospel will only benefit you if you turn from your sin and put your trust in Christ.
Perhaps you have agreed with the facts of the gospel, but you’ve never come to the place where you have turned from your sin and made a willful choice to cling to Christ for your salvation.
If this is you, please understand you will not be saved from sin until you call on the Lord to save you from your sin. Will you do that today?
The Rev. Joey McNally is senior pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church.