"For Christians, the Biblical approach to salvation begins in the Scriptures of the New Testament. Many of these texts are found in the Epistle to the Romans, largely because that Epistle contains the most comprehensive theological statement by Saint Paul of Tarsus. Because of this, some Protestant Christian denominations have called these texts the Romans road.

Some key passages in the New Testament concerning salvation include:

• God loves you: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. " (Romans 5:8)

• Our sin separates us from God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23) "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12)

• God gives us eternal life because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

• Turn from your sins, confess and believe: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." — "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9-10) "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

• We are saved by God's grace: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)"

And then James balances faith with works:

• "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:17)

The fighting I witness over this is a damned shame! The problem with the traditional views of salvation is that it leaves out the importance of human participation. We participate and we receive the help of God. That is the Holy Spirit. Without integration of faith and works we will remain lost in confusion and misunderstanding. We will be ignoring the Holy Spirit. Let people work with God for their one and only salvation!

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