Salvation

God hath set forth [Jesus Christ] to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 3:25,26; 4:6

Any scheme of salvation that is to work must take into account the natures of both God and man. God will not change and man cannot change. Any "gospel" that requires a change on the part of God or man simply cannot work. God will not lay aside His holiness and man cannot lay aside his sin. Every false gospel manufactured by the heart of man has required some kind of change on the part of God or man or both. Some require that God lessen His requirement of righteousness, others require that man produce a righteousness, and the great majority require that God and man meet in the middle, so to speak. God becomes less strict and man does his best to produce some kind of token righteousness. But God is unchanging and will accept nothing less than perfection, and man is totally depraved and can produce nothing but sin. How, then, can any remedy be made for man?

Man can effect no remedy for himself. Only God can design and carry out a remedy for the lost condition of His people. He did this by becoming man, and offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of His chosen people.

It is a gospel of God's design. In Romans 1:1 Paul calls it, "the gospel of God." It is not a Baptist gospel, a Reformed gospel, a Catholic gospel or a Methodist gospel, but a Divine gospel, designed by the wisdom of God and carried out by the power of God. The power and wisdom of God is Jesus Christ, as it is written

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But, unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
(1 Corinthians 1.23,24)

God set forth Jesus Christ. He set him forth in His eternal purpose as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." He set Him forth in promise, prophecy and picture in the Old Testament. And He set Him forth in history on the cross of Calvary. There, God actually laid on Him the iniquity of all His straying sheep and punished Christ for that iniquity. As it is written:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief." (Isaiah 53.6,10)

This is what is meant by propitiation: God set forth Christ as a sacrifice that satisfied His justice and thus put away His anger.

With such a gospel, God is not required to change. His demand for righteousness in life was met by Christ. Furthermore, His demand for punishment for sin was met in Christ. So God is satisfied.

Moreover, no change is required on the part of man, for all the work is accomplished by Christ. The gospel of God works a change in man, but does not require that man make a change in himself. It is not man who works the righteousness that justifies him in the sight of God, but Christ. It is not man who renders to God a sacrifice that satisfies Him, but Christ.

By simple faith, Christ, in His righteousness and His blood, are laid hold of to the justifying of the soul.

This is the gospel that we preach and believe at Grace Community Church. It justifies the soul, sets it free from the law and gives it liberty to come into the presence of God and be accepted. No other gospel will suffice!