The Holy Bible verses referenced below are from the King James Version.
Words of Christ in Red.
Did Jesus claim that salvation comes from observing the law?
One may ask, didn't Jesus plainly teach in his instructions to the young ruler that a person is saved by observing the Law? (Cf. Mark 10:19-20; Matthew 19:18-20; Luke 18:20-21) Yet Paul contradicts Jesus by saying that a person is saved through faith in Christ (cf. Romans 3:21-28; Galatians 2:16). Why, then, do Christians follow what Paul wrote instead of what Jesus taught?
If time is taken to carefully read the context we can see that Jesus didn’t teach that following the Law saves a person:
"And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:16-24
Notice something quite interesting here. After the man tells Jesus that he has carried out the commands Christ still says that this isn’t enough since these commands didn’t make him complete in God’s sight. Christ expressly says that if he wanted to be perfect he needed to abandon everything and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Jesus is basically demanding a devotion that is to be given solely to God.
In other words, Jesus is saying that perfection doesn’t come by observing the Law but by following him, which presupposes that Jesus is absolutely perfect and does not need to carry out the Law for his own salvation! After all, sinners cannot be made perfect by following another sinner, but only by following someone or something that is perfect in and of itself.
Notice, also, that Jesus listed six of the Ten Commandments, but not the first four. These particular commands were given to govern a person’s relationship with others, whereas the first four govern a person’s devotion to God. The man’s trouble was that he loved money more than God, and hence his money had become an idol. The Lord was plainly telling him that he had to be willing to die to his money and give it up in order to devote himself completely to the pure worship of God, and the way to do this was to fully devote himself to Christ. What Jesus was basically implying was that following him is to fulfill the first four commands since Jesus is God.
To put it another way, Christ was saying that to follow him was to follow God, to love him was to love God, to die for him was to die for God etc. And, just as Jesus told Peter, anyone who was willing to do that for Christ would be rewarded with eternal life:
"Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." Mark 10:28-31
This in itself shows that Jesus wasn’t claiming that following the Law saved a person.
But there is more. Jesus’ statement regarding it being difficult for a rich man to enter heaven shocked the disciples, making them wonder whether anyone could be saved. Here is how Jesus responded to their shock and dismay:
"When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:25-26
Man cannot save himself, since this is humanly impossible. Only God can do the impossible and save man, and does so through the Person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is precisely why Jesus told the young ruler to follow him so that he could be perfect before God. Sadly, he loved his riches more than Jesus.
Moreover, the Lord Jesus clearly says that humans are evil by nature and need to be made good in order to bear the fruit that pleases God:
"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." Matthew 12:33-35
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 11:13
"The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." John 7:7
He even said to his contemporaries that none of them carried out the Law:
"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" John 7:19
Since human beings are evil by nature they are not able to carry out the Law. They need to be first transformed in order to do what the Law requires. Again, this is a work which God alone can do since God is the only One who has the ability to change a person and make him good.
Yet by failing to do the Law they come under God’s wrath. This is why Jesus himself taught that a person is saved by trusting in him as Savior, as the One who has come to redeem sinners by his life, death and resurrection:
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45
"And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." Luke 5:17-20
"And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Luke 7:48-50
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." John 11:25-27
More references include Luke 24:44-47, John 3:14-18, John 6:27-29, John 6:35-40. John 6:47, John 7:37-39.
Moreover, the other apostles besides Paul taught this same truth, that a person is saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Peter: Acts 3:16-19, Acts 10:43-48, Acts 11:12-18, Acts 15:7-11
The Apostle John: John 1:12-13, John 20:30-31, 1 John 5:4-5, John 5:9-13
Even John the Baptist preached this same message:
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29 cf. John 3:27-36
What the foregoing shows us is that both the Lord Jesus and his followers taught that individuals are saved by believing in Christ, and once they are saved they are then empowered and transformed by God to live holy and obedient lives to the Law as defined and interpreted by Christ and the New Testament.
Before we conclude we need to once again reiterate and emphasize this point: Individuals who are transformed by God do not live in obedience to the Law for their salvation, since they have been saved by Christ, but for their personal holiness, since God saves sinners out of their wickedness in order to live holy lives pleasing to him. In the words of the blessed Apostle Paul:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:11-14
So as Christians we believe in all that Jesus and his Apostles such as Paul said and wrote, and what they taught is perfectly consistent with one another.
Can a Christian have assurance of salvation?
The assurance of salvation is knowing for sure that you are saved. Many Christians throughout history have written about their struggles in being assured of their salvation. The problem is that many followers of Jesus Christ look for the assurance of salvation in the wrong places.
We tend to seek assurance of salvation in the things God is doing in our lives, in our spiritual growth, in the good works and obedience to God’s Word that is evident in our Christian walk. While these things can be evidence of salvation, they are not what we should base the assurance of our salvation on. Rather, we should find the assurance of our salvation in the objective truth of God’s Word. We should have confident trust that we are saved based on the promises God has declared, not because of our subjective experiences.
How can you have assurance of salvation? Consider and refer to scripture:
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:11-13
Who is it that has the Son? It is those who have believed in Him (John 1:12). If you have Jesus, you have life. Not temporary life, but eternal. According to 1 John 5:13, you can know that you have this eternal life.
God wants us to have assurance of our salvation. We should not live our Christian lives wondering and worrying each day whether we are truly saved. That is why the Bible makes the plan of salvation so clear. Believe in Jesus Christ, that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins and rose again from the dead:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
Do you trust Jesus alone for salvation? If your answer to this questions is "yes," you are saved! Assurance means freedom from doubt. By continually taking God’s Word to heart, you can have no doubt about the reality of your eternal salvation.
Jesus assures those who believe in Him:
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." John 10:28–29
Eternal life is just that, eternal. There is no one, not even yourself, who can take Christ’s God-given gift of salvation away from you. Take joy in what God is saying to you: instead of doubting, we can live with confidence. We can have the assurance from Christ’s own words that our salvation will never be in question. Our assurance of salvation is based on the perfect and complete salvation God has provided for us through Jesus Christ. Always have complete trust and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and rest assured, you are saved.