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.
Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 NKJV
I don't handle random gifts of kindness all that well. It never fails, someone will present me with a gift and right away I began to feel as if I need to earn their kindness in some way. My early relationship with God followed along the same path. I had been taught that in order to get God's attention or seek His help, that I needed to offer Him something in return. This was never more evident than this week as I listened to a radio sermon. The pastor was making the claim that as Jesus gave Himself on the cross, that we traded our anxieties for our own salvation. Has anyone ever felt that way? That your salvation was more like a transaction that the free gift of God? I know I have. The apostle Paul assures us in his iconic verse in Ephesians that our salvation is indeed "The gift of God" {Ephesians 2:8-9}. Why is that? Well, Paul lays that out in the tail end of his verse..."Lest anyone should boast." Can you just imagine millions of Christians around the world proclaiming proudly that they and they alone had secured their own salvation? I just have one question, what price salvation? What would you pay to secure your own salvation? Could you even afford it? What kind of loving Father would God be if He insisted that we buy our own way into His kingdom? Better yet, if we indeed could secure our own salvation, what need would we have for the One who gave Himself in our place that we would have salvation? Indeed, what would become of Jesus? Would He simply be just another bible story? Would we even need Him? All of these possibilities would certainly exist...if not for the finished work of Christ on the cross. Thankfully, the love and grace of God supersedes our own desire to secure our future. It is God who created us to live one with Christ {John 17:21}. Our salvation is not a transaction, but a gesture of love.
"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"
Acts 4: 12 NKJV
It is foolish to think that we Christians are the only ones who have ever considered securing our own salvation. We might feel that if we pray enough or tithe just a bit more that we will somehow have an edge when it comes to currying the Fathers favor, but we couldn't be farther from the truth. As far back as the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic church made a habit of selling indulgences to those who could afford the cost of having their sins blotted out. So, as long as you had enough power, money and influence you could pretty much live a sin free life. Again, with characters like this walking around, what need would we have for Jesus? Thankfully a man by the name of Martin Luther believed that no human had the heavenly power to forgive the sins of man. This is the burden which Christ Jesus willingly accepted {2 Corinthians 5:21}. We need not fear that we will never be good enough for Jesus. We need not worry that the price of our own salvation will be too much to bear. Christ Jesus has already paid that debt in full.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me"
John 14: 6 NKJV
~Scott~
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