The Gift of Salvation

vv. 1-3:

At some point in our lives, all believers were trapped in a life of sin.

While we may not have been aware of it, we were followers and servants of satan.

Ultimately, we were concerned only with our own selfish desires (lust of the flesh).

Jesus said there are two families on this earth, His and Satan’s.

If you are not a follower of Christ, you are a follower of Satan

In speaking to the Pharisees, this is what He said.

John 8:44

John 8:44 NKJV

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

If you have not been adopted into God’s family, you are by default, in satan’s family.

Scripture speaks of the “sons of disobedience”

Romans 1:28-32

Romans 1:28–32 NKJV

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

These are people without faith, and deserving only of death.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

So, before faith, none of us were any different than the people just described. we were all children of wrath.

vv. 4-5:

“BUT GOD”

But God is not all wrath, He is also merciful. He doest just have mercy, He is rich in mercy. That means He has mercy in great abundance!

And because of His great love, He had a plan for our salvation.

God took us from our dead and sinful state, and made us alive.

Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ didn’t stay dead, He was made alive.

Just as Christ was made alive, He made us alive, that we might live for Him.

Jesus lives for us

He didn’t just die for us, He lives for us.

Hebrews 7:25

Hebrews 7:25 NKJV

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

If He lives for us, why wouldn’t we live for Him?

Living for Jesus is our purpose.

Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

v. 6:

The hope of resurrection is certain

This is another hope (promise) that is so certain, it is written as though it has already happened.

Romans 6:5

Romans 6:5 NKJV

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

“certainly” we will be, there is no doubt

v. 7:

Throughout the ages, through Jesus, His grace will continue to be poured out on believers.

The ultimate purpose of our salvation is far more than being rescued from hell.

So much as we may be glad to be rescued from hell, the ultimate purpose is that the church may glorify God’s grace throughout all eternity.

v.8:

Salvation is all of God, and is eternal

The exceeding riches of His grace are found in our salvation, which will continue for all eternity.

Hebrews 9:12

Hebrews 9:12 NKJV

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

John 10:27-29

John 10:27–29 NKJV

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Lets break this down:

By grace:

Grace is undeserved favor. We have recieved that which we don’t deserve (salvation), and haven’t recieved what we do deserve (damnation).

God’s grace is the basis of our salvation. It is because of God’s grace that Christ was given as a sacrifice for us.

Because humans are dead in their sins (Eph. 2:1), God’s grace is required. If a person is dead, they are incapable of doing anything: therefore, someone else would have to do it.

God’s grace is not earned, it is freely given.

2 Corinthians 9:15

2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

This Grace; however, is not automatically given to all.

Through faith:

This gift of God requires belief...faith

John 3:17-18

John 3:17–18 NKJV

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Not all will believe

John 7:5

John 7:5 NKJV

For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

Acts 19:8-9

Acts 19:8–9 NKJV

And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

Definition of faith

So what is faith? There are many definitions, but the one that should always be used is the Biblical one.

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Note that is is comprised of substance and evidence.

Substance is something that is real or tangible.

It is not a concept, theory or wish, something of substance is real.

In the case of Faith, the substance is “things hoped for”.

Therefore; the hope that we have in Christ is a reality, it is not simply a fantasy or a wish. It is something you can count on.

Evidence is proof.

In the case of Faith, the evidence is “of things not seen”.

Therefore, the things of God (which often can’t be seen) are supported by evidence (proof).

This means that we can count on the things of God as being true.

In short Biblical faith is a certainty. It is as real as the pew you are sitting in. You believe it and trust it.

So when Scripture speaks of belief in Christ, that belief equates directly with faith.

If you you truly believe and trust Christ, you have faith in Him.

This faith, as noted earlier is also a gift from God.

Faith is the mechanism by which God dispenses His grace.

Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Nothing of our salvation is of us or about us.

Faith is a gift

Both our faith and our salvation are gifts from God.

1 Corinthians 12:9

1 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

It is all about Him!

v.9:

Salvation is a gift, not a reward

No amount of good works can save you.

Galatians 2:16

Galatians 2:16 NKJV

knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Since we can’t earn it. Since it is a gift, there is no way we can boast.

Romans 3:27

Romans 3:27 NKJV

Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

You can’t brag about something you had nothing to do with.

No one can say “i’m better than you, because I’m saved”, nope, its a gift, you didn’t earn it and don’t deserve it. No one does.

So if we are to boast, let us Glory in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:31

1 Corinthians 1:31 NKJV

that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

After all, Its all about Him

v. 10:

By now it should be clear that we are not saved by any works of our own.

Instead, we are God’s workmanship, created to do good works.

God has already assigned our task, long before we were ever born, and that work should characterize our lifestyle (we should walk in them).

We are who God created, designed and designated us to be.

By the grace of God, believers are given the gift of faith and salvation.

We are created to do the works that He has pre-ordained.

It is all about God, and all to His glory.