Regarding Salvation by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Jesus alone:
I absolutely and unequivocally believe that God loves us and forgives us and saves us...not because of who we are or because of anything we do...but because of what Jesus did on the cross. Period. Our best efforts would never be good enough to ‘earn’ salvation. To me, we are not saved by obeying a list of do’s and don’t’s, or a list of rules and regulations (old covenant), like not eating certain foods, or not crossbreeding livestock…but by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus alone...and not at all by our own efforts or works or anything else.
We have to make the decision to accept Christ's offer. After that, we must cooperate by doing His will. He will give us the strength to do those things through grace.
That’s where you and I differ on this matter. I trust that Jesus’ sacrifice was fully sufficient for one’s salvation. Period. I have confidence in it. We can’t ‘add to’ what Jesus already did by observing a sacrament or by doing good works.
