God's Free Gift
By Pastor Ken Lawson
Years ago, the story was told of a service man who, being stationed in a foreign land, fell in love with a beautiful girl. After a brief romance, he was transferred to another country but promised to return the next year. Throughout his absence he took out a substantial portion of his paycheck each month to purchase a gift which would be a worthy token of his love.
When the day finally came when they were united again, he removed a box from his coat and presented her with the most beautiful jewel she had ever seen. A troubled expression came over her face and she began digging through her purse. "What are you doing, dear?" he asked. "Oh honey, that is a very expensive gift and I think I should help pay for it." Shocked and hurt, he stood there speechless, not knowing what to say. She had missed the whole point. He didn't want her money, he wanted her!
Like the foolish young girl in our illustration, many people today have a distorted view of God's free gift of eternal life. Rather than receiving it by faith alone, they insist on helping pay for it. As a result they insult the grace of God and dishonor the blood of the cross. Any attempt to add human works to God's plan of salvation only mars it, so that it loses the character of a free gift and is rendered void. While some may even acknowledge the fact that Christ died for our sins and rose again, they maintain that it is still necessary to do their part to complete God's plan of redemption. All the while being ignorant of the fact that our Lord Jesus cried from the cross, "It is finished!" There on that cruel tree God the Father was making our Savior's soul an offering for sin-yours and mine!
God's holiness was so thoroughly satisfied with our Lord's substitutionary death, for us, that He proved it by raising Him from the dead, in power and great glory. This is our "canceled check" verifying that the sin debt has been fully paid. Our responsibility is to honor God by receiving the free gift. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31) The writer of Hebrews understood something about this finished transaction when he wrote, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14)
The ways people say we are to help pay for our salvation are many and varied: obey the commandments, follow the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount, give money to the church, be baptized and partake in church sacraments, etc. But God says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5) "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9) "Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28)
Grace means that God delights to grant us special favor apart from personal merit or worthiness. That is why salvation and eternal life are so often spoken of as a gift in God's Word. No loving parent would expect their child to earn or pay for their birthday presents.
But why can't I get to heaven by living a good life? Why does my acceptance with God hinge on my faith in Christ's shed blood only? First of all, you are making an assumption that it is possible to live a good life. Our minds need to be reeducated concerning the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. The problem is our perspective. When we talk about living a good life, we are thinking in comparison to others---other sinners! Such a comparison is unwise, for Christ is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. That is why Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden for only one sin. When compared to Christ's holiness, even the best children of Adam have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. To enjoy eternal fellowship with God in heaven, we must share in Christ's righteousness, acceptance, and life. That is where the free gift comes in.
The second reason is closely related to the first. Because of sin, our so-called good life (outside of Christ) is simply the fruit of a fallen nature. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I Corinthians 15:22) While the unregenerate life may be highly esteemed by men, it is an abomination in the sight of God. We stand before God in Adam condemned and worthy of death! Such a life in the flesh does not have the glory of God as the driving motivation or the Spirit of God as the empowering force.
What we need is a new birth-the imparting of divine life from above. This regeneration by the Holy Spirit makes us new creatures in Christ and able to produce good works toward God. Paul, the apostle exclaimed, "I have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith (faithfulness) of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) "By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not 1, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Corinthians 15:10)
Thirdly, trying to live a good life in the flesh to merit heaven is a manifestation of pride and unbelief-not faith. There were those in Paul's day (as well as ours) who, while religious and zealous for God, were - ignorant of-God's righteousness. They went about to establish their own righteousness and did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." How sad that all of this self-righteousness is leading countless souls to destruction when God plainly told us "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight." (Romans 10:3,4; 3:20)
Finally, if righteousness comes by obeying the law (living a good life) then Christ died for nothing. (Galatians 2:21) The whole reason for Christ shedding His precious blood on the cross is because our lives are sinful and we are spiritually bankrupt-unable to pay the sin debt. This truth is no more graphically shown to us than in Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane. There while facing the horror of the cross, He prayed saying, "0 Father, if it be possible, let this cup (of suffering) pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39) And what was the Father's reply? Did He say, "This substitutionary suffering plan is too costly to Me and My believed Son. I am instituting my alternate plan for man's redemption?" It is evident that God did not alter His plan, for Christ did drink of that cup. "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all." (Isaiah 53:5, 6)
But wait! Won't the teaching of salvation by grace through faith alone produce a lax attitude toward good works and the Christian life? God forbid! The commands which speak of glorifying God in the Christian's life are all given to those who have already become children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Having become the recipients of eternal life by faith alone, a realization of the love of Christ for the believers should now motivate them to live not for themselves, but for Him which died for them and rose again. This is far from inducing a negligent attitude toward Christian behavior. The grace of God that brings salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. We do this as we look for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, who is our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is our purifying and confident expectation. (II Corinthians 5:14,15; Titus 2:11-14)
How different is the grace-faith way from the law-works way! We who are in Christ serve God and man out of love and gratitude for the gift bestowed upon us freely by God. How tragic to see religious but lost people hoping against hope that their good works will outweigh the bad and that they will finally be received into heaven.
Let us not be like the foolish girl who
thoughtlessly insulted her man by trying to help pay for his gift of love. But
let us reach out with the hand of faith and receive by grace the free gift of
eternal life. Then we can truly say we have experience something of the romance
of redemption.
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
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Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
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