The Confusion that Surrounds “Trusting in Christ” for Salvation
By David Servant

The phrases “trust in Christ” or “trust in Jesus” are often used in Christian circles as formulas for salvation. They are, of course, derived from the fact that Scripture says that salvation is “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9), and Scripture also contains frequent references to believing in Christ. A few times, the KJV uses the word “trust” where most modern translations use “believe.” In any case, “trust in Christ” and “believe in Christ” are both biblical phrases.

If you question, however, some who often use the phrase “trust in Christ” regarding what they mean, they will often explain that people are EITHER trusting in their “works” to get them into heaven, OR they are “trusting Christ.” Thus, “trusting in Christ” is actually equivalent to nothing more than trusting Christ to get you to heaven rather than trusting in your works.

Based on that understanding, it is then claimed that there can be no behavioral requirement for getting to heaven. Anyone who says otherwise, they claim, is NOT trusting in Christ, but rather is trusting in his works. Similarly, any professing believer who DOUBTS HIS SALVATION due to his practice of sin is also at fault for “not trusting in Christ but rather trusting in his works.” Such folks are often admonished to “trust in the finished work of Christ” as the remedy for their doubts. “Jesus did it all” they are told, “and if you think that you have to do anything, then you are trusting in your works.”

An illustration of this understanding is often employed in the sharing of the gospel with the unsaved. A man is portrayed as standing on the edge of chasm, and on the other side of that chasm is heaven. The man is about to attempt to leap across the chasm to get to the other side, and the distance he will achieve is based on his “works.” Because he is a sinner, his sin weighs him down. If he attempts to make the leap, he will fall into the chasm, which represents hell.

As he considers his predicament, however, Jesus comes to him and says, “If you will trust Me, I will get you to the other side. Just hop on My back, and I’ll make the leap as you cling to Me. All you have to do is trust Me.” So, salvation is just a matter of trusting that Jesus will get you to heaven and NOT trusting that you can do it on your own.

If that is an accurate picture of how salvation works, then you can understand why anyone who preaches that any degree of obedience is necessary for salvation becomes a “bad guy.” He’ll be accused of “perverting the gospel” and “preaching salvation by works.” He may even be labeled a “proud, legalistic Pharisee who thinks he can save himself by his works, who doesn’t think he needs Jesus to save him, and who doesn’t understand the grace of God.” He may even be labeled (as I have been) “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

The trouble is, that view makes Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude all proud, legalistic Pharisees, because they all believed and taught that there is a standard of obedience that is required for salvation. The New Testament is full of proof of that, and the references are numerous. Here’s a sample: Matt. 5:3-10, 20, 22, 27-30; 6:14-15; 7:21; 11:20; 12:41; 18:8, 23-35; 19:16-22; 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37; 13:1-5; John 15:1-11; Acts 3:19; 10:34-35; 17:30;26:19-20; Rom. 2:5-16; 8:12-14; 1 Cor. 5:9-11; 6:9-10; 10:1-13; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-5; Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 3:5-7; 1 Thes. 4:1-8; 2 Thes. 2:6-10; 1 Tim. 6:17-19; Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 3:12-19; 12:14; Jas. 2:14-26; 5:1-6; 2 Pet. 2:5-11, 20-22; 1 John 2:3-6; 2:28-29; 3:3-10, 13-15; 5:16-18: Jude 4-16; Rev. 2-3; 21:8.

So how can the fact that salvation is by grace through faith be reconciled with the fact that salvation requires a degree of obedience?

It comes down to understanding biblical grace and biblical faith.

God’s grace is not a license to sin, but rather a temporary opportunity to be forgiven of all of one’s former sins, be set free from the bondage of sin, and be empowered to obey the Lord Jesus Christ.

And faith in Jesus is not trusting that He will get you to heaven regardless of whether or not you obey Him. It would be impossible to have such faith, because there is no corresponding promise. Jesus NEVER promised that if you trust Him He will get you to heaven regardless of your obedience. On the contrary, He solemnly warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matt. 7:21). And He repeatedly stated that same idea throughout His earthly ministry to many different audiences.

So what is BIBLICAL faith in Jesus? It is to BELIEVE IN HIM, just as Jesus said in the Bible's most well-known verse, John 3:16.

And who is He? He is the Son of God.

If you believe He is the Son of God, you will act like He is the Son of God. Your faith will begin with repentance and continue with obedience, because faith without works is dead, useless, and cannot save anyone (see Jas. 2:14-26).

Those who don’t repent prove they don’t believe. Those who do repent but then return to their old ways prove that that believed for just a short time but then returned to their unbelief. And that is why believers are admonished in the New Testament to “continue in faith” and are warned that their salvation hinges on it (see Acts 14:22; Col. 3:23; Heb. 3:12).

Take note that Jesus never said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever trusts that He will get him to heaven regardless of how he lives his life will not perish, but will have eternal life.” No, Jesus’ promise of eternal life was given to those who “believe IN HIM.”

A better evangelistic illustration of a man standing before a chasm would be to depict him as having iron chains clamped on his legs, which would represent all the sins of his life. He could also be depicted as being trapped in an iron cage that would represent his imprisonment to sin, (which is actually part of the punishment for his sin). Such a fellow would have absolutely no chance of leaping to the other side of the chasm to reach heaven. His sin keeps him chained to the ground and incarcerated in a cage.

But then Jesus comes along and says to Him, “If you will believe in Me, I will forgive you of all your sins and cut the iron chains from your legs. I will release you from your bondage to sin and open the door of the cage in which you are imprisoned. And I will put My Spirit in You who will make it much easier for you to obey Me, and I will give you wings to fly.”

And as the man falls to his knees before the Lord in repentance and faith, Jesus keeps all His promises. Now the man can successfully get across the chasm, because he is no longer weighed down by his sin, he is no longer trapped in an iron cage, and he now has wings by which he can fly to the other side.

Jesus does not, however, eliminate the man's free will. So, he must not re-chain himself or re-imprison himself, and he must use his God-granted wings. The man who does not re-chain and re-imprison himself, and who uses his God-granted wings is not saved by his works. He is saved by grace.

When God’s grace is presented as a license to sin rather than as a liberation from sin, that is not a biblical representation of grace. And when “trusting Christ” is presented as trusting that Christ will get you to heaven regardless of whether or not you obey Him, that is not a biblical representation of saving faith. And when "Bible teachers" pit grace against obedience to Christ, it is time to run for the doors.

Here is what was taught by Paul, who certainly understood what it meant to be saved by grace through faith in Christ: “For the GRACE OF GOD has appeared, BRINGING SALVATION to all men, INSTRUCTION US to DENY UNGODLINESS and WORLDLY DESIRES and to live sensibly, RIGHTEOUSLY and GODLY in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to PURIFY for Himself a people for His own possession, ZEALOUS FOR GOOD DEEDS” (Tit. 2:11-14).

Any doctrine about grace that stands in opposition to that is heretical.

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Mike