Salvation is a gift, yet it costs everything. Yesterday I made some statements and raised some questions that may have felt uncomfortable. I talked of surrender and obedience being criteria for salvation. As I wrote it, I heard a chorus of voices asking.."but what about grace?"
Salvation is solely by grace through faith. Eph. 2:8 (CJB) says: 'For you have been delivered by grace through faith, and even this is not your accomplishment but God's gift. True grace, according to Scripture, teaches us "to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:12) Grace is the power of God to fulfill our New Covenant duties, however inconsistently we obey at time. Grace does not grant permission to live in the flesh; it supplies power to live in the Spirit.
Saving faith is more than understanding the facts and mentally accepting them; it is inseparable from repentance, surrender, and a supernatural eagerness to obey. Salvation IS a gift appropriated only through a faith that goes beyond merely understanding and assenting to the truth. True Believers are characterized by faith that is as repulsed by the life of sin as it is attracted to the mercy of the Savior. Drawn to Christ, they are drawn away from everything else.
The only way we can be saved is by God's merciful grace. We must first come to the end of ourselves to receive salvation as a gift. Repentance is recognizing our utter sinfulness and turning from self and sin to God; the inevitable result of God's work on the human heart. It is much more than a mere change of mind – it involves a complete change of heart, attitude, interest, and direction. It is a conversion in every sense of the word. The Bible does not recognize faith that lacks these elements. True faith is never seen as passive – it is always obedient. In John 3:36, Romans 1:5; 16:26; 2 Thessalonians 1:8 Scripture equates faith with obedience. Hebrews 11:8 says "By faith, Abraham [the father of true faith]…obeyed." God brings us to faith, then enables us and empowers us to believe unto obedience. Repentance, faith, sanctification, yielded-ness, obedience, and ultimately glorification are the saving work of God. True Salvation produces the fruit thereof.
If we are truly born of God, we have a faith that cannot fail to overcome the world (1 John 5:4). We may sin (1 John 2:1) – we will sin – but the process of sanctification can never stall completely; God is at work in us (Philippians 2:13) and He will continue to perfect us until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Now that, Friends, is good news!
So, when I say Salvation is a gift from God, yet costs everything, I am saying we surrender all of our sinful and selfish ways, attitudes and thinking to redeem them for the gift of eternal life through salvation.
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