JESUS PLUS NOTHING SAVES YOU -1 (Salvation Theology)
- Bill Fuller
- May 15, 2025
- 11 min read
Updated: Dec 24, 2025
Are You Prepared to Meet the Real Jesus that Saves?
Most people don’t wake up thinking, “I need to be saved.” We wake up thinking, “I need to get through today.” But underneath every busy schedule and every coping strategy is the same human dilemma: something is broken—inside us and around us—and no amount of effort can fully fix it.
So let me ask you plainly: Are you prepared to meet the real Jesus who saves?
In this first part, we’re going to face the big questions without religious fog: Why do we need to be saved? What does it mean to be saved? How are we saved? And what is the heart of it all?
Because salvation is not self-improvement.
It’s not spiritual branding.
It’s being rescued by a Savior who loves.
And if you have honest questions about Jesus, you’re not disqualified—you’re invited. The gospel can handle your questions. What it won’t tolerate is a substitute Jesus who can’t actually save.
Because this isn’t just a doctrine. It’s the best news you’ll ever hear:
Jesus plus nothing… really is enough.
God Directs My Footsteps
There was a season when God woke me up every night at 3:36 AM. At first, I didn’t know why. I’d look at the clock, sigh, and try to go back to sleep. But it kept happening. Night after night.
Eventually, I realized God wasn’t letting it go. So, I opened my Bible to John 3:36:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”
It was like God was saying, “This is your message. This is what I’ve entrusted you with. Make it plain. Make it simple. Make it about Me — not religion.”
Not long after, I built this website. And shortly before she passed, your mother laid her hand on me and said, “Your work will matter. You have David’s heart.” I’ve held onto that. I still do.
We All Have the Same Dilemma
Every human being, regardless of ethnic group, race, or gender, finds themselves in this same dilemma. One, every human being is born a sinner in need of a Savior. Two, the wages of sin are death. The truth you must resolve is whether Jesus is the only savior who can and did remove all sins, past, present, and future. Also, is Jesus the only one qualified to take away or defeat death?
Therefore, you must resolve in your mind, heart, and will three questions that you would be wise to ask yourself and extremely prudent to answer. Your eternal destination depends on it.
One, why do I need to be saved?
Two, what does it mean for me to be saved?
Three, how am I saved?
I believe "Only Jesus Plus Nothing" is not the only way to God the Father in heaven but also answers these three questions.
Why Do We Need to Be Saved?
We don’t like the word saved. It can feel dramatic or old-fashioned. But the truth is simple: We all go our own way. We all try to run life on our own wisdom, strength, and goodness.
And it wears us out.
We don’t need saving because we are bad. We need saving because we are beloved — and we’ve wandered away from the One who loves us.
One: Do I Need to be Saved?
Yes! You need to be saved because you have two significant problems. You are born with the sin nature of Adam—you are a sinner. You are born spiritually dead—you are separated from God. If you die a sinner, spiritually dead, then you will be separated from God for eternity.
Therefore, two things must happen for you to be saved. The cause of death must be eradicated or cured, and the spiritually dead man must be brought back to spiritual life. It only stands to reason that the God who created you can save you from this state of eternal sin and death.
What Does It Mean to Be Saved?
It means coming home.
It means being restored to a relationship with the God who made us.
It means no longer carrying the burdens of my life alone.
It’s not about perfection.
It’s about belonging.
Two: Being Saved?
Salvation from sin takes place in the “forgiveness of sins,” and Salvation from eternal death takes place in the “resurrection of the dead.” It is precisely what Jesus did. At the cross of Christ, the cause of death, which is sin, was forgiven. At the resurrection of Jesus, the spiritually dead were restored to spiritual life—the eternal life of Jesus.
There is nothing you can do to save yourself. Nothing rescues you from God’s wrath except Jesus. You are totally dependent on and in desperate need of a Savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus was the incarnation of God--Emanual: God became man and dwelt among us.
Believe or Reject God’s Way to Salvation
Whether the first man, Adam, would live dependent on God or independent of God was determined by what he believed. After Adam’s sin, all humanity is born in the image and likeness of Adam (Gen 5:1, 3). You are born with a sin nature (Rom 5:12) and are spiritually dead (Eph 2:1). You are also confronted with believing the truth of God or the lie of the devil. Believing is to accept Jesus, and unbelief is to reject Him.
How Are We Saved?
Not by effort. Not by being “good enough. Not by fixing ourselves first.
We are saved by trusting Jesus — who He is, and what He has done.
Not Jesus + good behavior. Not Jesus + religious performance.
Not Jesus + perfect theology.
Just Jesus. Only Jesus. Jesus plus nothing.
Who Is This Jesus?
Some say He was a great teacher. Some say a prophet.
Some say a man with compassion and wisdom. And He was all of those things.
But He also said something no teacher or prophet would ever say: “I AM.” The same words God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When Jesus said, “I AM,” He was saying:
“I am God. The One you’ve been searching for. The One who has always loved you. The One who died for you”
The Jewish people hearing Him knew exactly what He meant.
It wasn’t a metaphor. It wasn’t poetry. It was a declaration.
And that changes everything.
The Heart of It
If salvation depended on me, I would lose it.
If salvation depended on my strength, I would fail.
But salvation depends on Jesus, and He does not fail.
I rest in that. I want you to rest in that, too.
Only Jesus Plus Nothing. And that is enough!
If you want to learn more about Jesus and how He saves you, continue reading this blog post.
Three: How Am I Saved?
If you don’t believe in God’s “Plan of Salvation” in Jesus Christ, you will remain a slave to your sin nature and spend eternity spiritually dead, separated from God. This is why you are under God’s wrath. Your fleshly nature is to sin, just like Satan’s nature is to lie. You will live in his domain and by his rules. He cannot tell the truth because it is his very nature to lie.
"You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44).
You will continue to sin because you are a sinner. So, you believe his lies and slide down the dark path from sin to debauchery, and finally, death. A death that separates you from God forever and leaves you in hell, outer darkness, or the lake of fire! Therefore, only Jesus plus nothing can save you.
Likewise, Jesus cannot lie because the truth is His very nature.
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one can come to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).
When you believe in Jesus, you receive a new divine nature, your sins are forgiven, you have eternal life in Heaven, and God's wrath is removed forever.
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
Biblical Jesus Is Sufficient to Save
When we talk about salvation, we’re not talking about an idea, a system, or a set of spiritual “to-dos.” We’re talking about a Person. Jesus—and Jesus alone—is fully able to satisfy the wrath of a holy God and fully meet the demands of His justice. In Him, nothing is missing, and nothing needs to be added.
Because of Jesus, every believer:
is set free by His truth,
born again by the seed of His Word,
purified from sin by His blood,
forgiven through His substitutionary death,
justified by His righteousness given to us,
saved purely by His grace,
reconciled to God through His mediation,
and held eternally secure by His promises.
Let’s walk through each of these slowly and let the Word speak.
Jesus is the only one sufficient to satisfy God's wrath and meet the requirements of His justice. In Jesus, every believer is set free by His truth, born again by the seed of His word, purified from sin by His blood, forgiven by Jesus' substitutionary atonement, justified by His imputed righteousness, saved based on His grace, reconciled to God by His mediation, and eternally secure by His promises.
Set Free by His Truth
Jesus doesn’t just talk about truth—He is the Truth, and His words break chains we didn’t even realize we were carrying.
"So, Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
Born Again by the Seed of His Word
New birth isn’t self-improvement or a spiritual makeover. It’s a miracle God works in us through His living Word—something that can’t fade, die, or be undone.
"...for you have been born again not of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
Cleansed From Sin by His Blood
We don’t clean ourselves up and then come to God. We come into the light with all that we are, and the blood of Jesus does what we never could—cleanses us from all sin.
"But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
Forgiven By Jesus' Substitutionary Atonement
At the cross, Jesus didn’t just feel sorry for us—He stood in our place. He took what we deserved so we could receive what He deserves. Every wound, every blow, every accusation fell on Him so that true healing could be offered to us.
"But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds, we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him. Because He poured out His life unto death and was counted with wrongdoers; yet He Himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the wrongdoers" (Isaiah 53:5-6, 12b).
Justified by His Imputed Righteousness
On our own, we could never stand righteous before God. But in Christ, something stunning happens: our sin is placed on Him, and His righteousness is placed on us. We don’t just get a “second chance”—we get a new standing.
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Saved Based on His Grace
Grace doesn’t just rescue us; it retrains us. The same grace that saves us teaches us how to live—sensible, upright, godly lives while our eyes stay fixed on the hope of seeing Jesus.
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner 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, eager for good deeds" (Titus 2: 11-14).
Reconciled to God by His Mediation
We were not just distant from God—we were estranged. Through Jesus, God doesn’t simply “tolerate” us again; He brings us near, restores our relationship, and then hands us the privilege of carrying that message of reconciliation to others.
"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:18).
Eternally Secure by His Promises
Our security is not anchored in our grip on Jesus, but in His grip on us. The Father gives us to the Son, and the Son promises He will not lose a single one. Our future is not fragile—it is held.
"Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day" (John 6:37-39).
All of this—freedom, new birth, cleansing, forgiveness, righteousness, grace, reconciliation, security—flows from one Source:
The biblical Jesus is completely sufficient to save.
Nothing needs to be added.
Nothing can be taken away.
Honest Questions About Jesus
Our heartbeat—and what we believe Scripture clearly reveals—is that only Jesus can rescue us from God’s wrath and righteous judgment. No one else qualifies.
That naturally raises some honest questions:
Why is Jesus Christ the only way to be saved from God’s wrath?
Why can’t other religious leaders—like Confucius, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, or anyone else—save us?
Isn’t it narrow, or even arrogant, to say Jesus is the only way?
Don’t all roads lead to God? Aren’t there many paths, many truths, that could bring salvation?
Those are real questions, and they deserve real answers. The answer, according to the Bible, is actually very straightforward: Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father because He is not just a religious teacher. He is God the Son, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
He is not a way among many. He is the Way. Therefore, "Jesus Plus Nothing Saves You."
Conclusion
If Part 1 answered why we need to be saved and how we are saved, then one question rises to the surface immediately:
Saved by who?
Because the world has no shortage of “Jesuses”—a moral teacher Jesus, a life-coach Jesus, a revolutionary Jesus, a mystical Jesus, a “nice guy” Jesus. But none of those versions can carry the full weight of your sin, your death, your judgment, and your need for a Savior.
That’s why Part 2 matters so much. The Jesus who saves is not merely a messenger from God—He is God. The One who can forgive sins must possess divine authority. The One who can rescue us from death must be stronger than death. And the One who can reconcile us to God must be equal with God.
In the end, this isn’t just doctrine on a page—it’s an invitation. If salvation depended on us, we would lose it. But salvation rests on Jesus, and He does not fail. The call is to stop trusting in “Jesus plus me” and to rest in Jesus plus nothing. To believe in Him, receive His life, and step into the freedom, forgiveness, and security He offers.
So… are you prepared to meet the Divine Jesus? Let’s look at the biblical evidence, the divine attributes, and why His deity is not a side issue—it’s the foundation of your salvation.
Grace and truth, all the way through—and all of it found in Him.
Thank You for Reading this Post, May the Lord Jesus Christ Richly Bless You with Wisdom and Faith!
Bill Fuller
JESUS PLUS NOTHING SAVES YOU - 2 of 5 in Theology Series
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