Continuing, Pastor Herk proclaims, our Salvation is a gift from God received through faith in Christ alone. It has nothing to do with earning salvation yourself or deserving it; it’s a gift by the grace of God. In essence, this passage of Holy Scripture is what Christianity is all about. Yet, there seems to be a lack of understanding or a total disregard of what the Apostle Paul is writing to us. Jesus said in, John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” There is no other way to salvation or heaven (other way meaning other than through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord). Regardless of our opinion or how we feel, the Bible cannot be more crystal clear. It is impossible for anyone to attain salvation based upon his or her own efforts or good works. There is no doubt about the fact that there is only one way to attain salvation, and the way is by the gift of God in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the [devil] ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”
The Apostle Paul uses three difference phrases to bring home the point that no one can earn their own salvation. (A) This salvation is not from yourself, (B) This salvation is not by works, and (C) This salvation is by the grace of God alone, so no one can boast. This same Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:22-23, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We all deserve the due justice of God for our many sins, yet by His love and mercy, He offers us grace as a free gift. The Apostle describes what we were all like before God entered into our lives. We were dead, dominated by sin, deserving the wrath of God and doomed to a fiery Hell. We were utterly helpless to do anything about our sinful condition in the eyes of a Just and Holy Creator God. It is only the result of God’s actions (completely apart from any merit on our part) that we have been delivered from that hopeless state.
The Apostle Paul goes on to warn us in Ephesians 5:5, “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” God, Himself poured His spiritual blessings into our lives. He redeemed us from bondage and slavery to sin through the blood of Jesus in His atoning death on the Cross in our place. God made it possible to obtain salvation because of the blood Jesus shed for forgiveness of our sins. He gave us the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the future blessing of our inheritance in Christ. It’s all God’s work. Nothing was dependent upon us, other than accepting the free gift.
In spite of the indisputable evidence in God’s Holy Word, it seems that we really struggle with the fact that we cannot earn our own salvation. Not matter how good people try to be, they can not help but continue to sin, so if you do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not accepting and receiving the gracious free gift of God, then you are doomed. The Apostle John points out in Revelation 20:15 that “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” How does that happen? John 3:35-36explains that “The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” As far as our grade when it comes to our relationship with God, it is God who sets the admission standards and God the grading is “pass”, if you repent of sin and accept Jesus or “fail” if you reject the free gift. Righteousness is being found “right” in the eyes of God.
Romans 3:22-24 “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
God has already determined that none of us has lived up to His sinless perfection. We all have been weighted in the scales and found wanting. We all fail on our own efforts. Yet, the Apostle tells us elements of what God has done for us. (1) God has saved you. John 3:16-18 tells us, “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Saved from what? Ultimately, from the Just and Holy wrath of God on sin. The helpless condition of sinful man is certainly a state from which all of us need to be saved from. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation also includes restoration of fellowship and relationship with God with reconciliation to our Heavenly Father, experienced here and now.
Let's conclude Pastor Herk's message on Jesus in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
1 comment:
I asked my great and wise Christian Mentor, "What was the sin that was being committed in "Gambling". He reply, "Gambling is the sin of desiring something for nothing." As will Rogers once said: "The best way to double your money is to take it out of your wallet, fold it in half, and put it back in your wallet. Sound advice because in gaming, the odds are against you in every way. Have a blessed day.
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