One of the primary and clear teachings contained in the New Testament is that God saves us by His grace. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
No man can be saved without God’s grace. In fact, if any man depends upon any other means of salvation, he forfeits his standing with God. Some Jewish Christians, in Paul’s day, did just that in their insistence upon keeping the Old Law. Paul wrote of them, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Galatians 5:4).
Lest anyone think that an attempt to be justified by law can be successful, I remind you of another passage from Paul’s pen, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20).
No, we are wholly dependent upon God’s grace for salvation. But, what is Grace? Well, to define it simply, Grace is a gift. It is an undeserved gift. Salvation, as we read from Ephesians is the “gift of God.”
God’s grace was accomplished through the death of Christ on the cross. John stated in his gospel, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Because sin is so horrible, those who commit sin deserve to be separated from God, and punished with eternal death. But, because God loves man, He sent His son to die in our place. Because Jesus shed his blood for the remission of our sins, and was raised from the dead after three days, we can through this gift escape death and instead live with God in heaven forever. Paul says it this way, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
While the Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by God’s gift, it is also true that not everyone is saved. The Bible teaches that some will not make it to heaven. Instead they will go to hell. In the judgment day, Jesus will say to some, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
This leaves us to one of two possibilities. The first possibility is that God only gives that gift to some. He arbitrarily (and might I add, rather capriciously) decides to extend salvation to some, and denies it to others. Who can believe such a thing? The Bible teaches that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and that he is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).
So, the only other possibility is that there are conditions that men must meet in order to receive God’s gift. Let me illustrate. A while back I received a letter in the mail telling me that I could receive the gift of a full set of golf clubs if I would make an appointment to talk with a representative about a time share opportunity. The clubs were free, but I could not receive them unless I listened to the sales pitch. Because I had no interest, I didn’t go, and I didn’t get the clubs.
If you will excuse the illustration (and I say that because I know that most loathe the “time share” pitch), I believe the story illustrates God’s expectations of man.
God has offered up His son, but has given certain requirements in order to receive that gift. This has nothing to do with earning our salvation, we are only accepting God’s terms for the delivery of the gift of salvation. What are the terms? Well, we will save a full discussion of those conditions for later videos. But, if you want a concise answer, listen to our Lord, as recorded in Mark 16:16: “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, He that believes not shall be condemned.”
Will you accept God’s gift of salvation?
