There have been multiple times that I have written about the importance of salvation but now, God has led me to write about unconditional salvation. There are many people within the Christian faith that do not believe salvation is unconditional but instead, see it is something that we earn or is given to us based on what we do. Yes, it is true that we must accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and surrender ourselves to Christ but this is it and nothing that we can do can earn our way into Heaven and once we are saved through grace (through Christ), there is nothing that anyone; not even ourselves, to take away our salvation.
The concept of salvation is the most significant aspect to a Christian’s life. There are only two ways of salvation: God’s way or Satan’s way. There is nothing that we have to do to go the way of Satan but with God’s way, there is very little that we have to do. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, all we must do is live for Him. The concept of unconditional salvation is important and must be understood because there are many misunderstandings among Christians as it pertains to salvation and one of the biggest that I have personally witnessed is that of earned salvation.
That is, we must do something to earn eternity with God but if this is true, there is no God’s grace and this misunderstanding is important for Satan because if he gets enough people to believe that we must earn our way into Heaven then the concept of salvation is completely different than what God intended it to be. When we believe that we must earn our way into Heaven, we are putting our faith into our abilities and actions and, in a way, become our own savior which is completely against the teachings of God’s word: “Thou shalt not have no other Gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
When we study scripture, we understand that salvation is not through anything that we do or say but through God. It is His nature and His personality that grants us the salvation: “That if you shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine he art that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). We know from the nature of man that we do not have any desire or ability to obey or please God for salvation and we are told this in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Therefore, because of our shortcomings and fallacies, we know salvation is from God and not because of anything that we can do or anything that we have done.
Multiple times in the Bible, we are shown that man’s personal abilities and desires are not the ways of God. Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat from a specific tree and while they did their best, Satan got the best of them. Satan lured them to eat from the tree by explaining that they could become like God (Genesis 3:5). While Adam and Eve were connected with God, we can see that their natural selves were not to follow God but had their own desires. We know this as there is only one God and nobody can be like Him and while Satan does try; like us, he comes up short each and every time.
When we are saved, eternal life is given to us like a gift. It is given to us and all we have to do is accept it but, again, there is nothing that we can do to earn it. The price was paid on the cross with the life of Christ and although we come up short, it is through God’s grace that we are forgiven of our debts. If man had a role in salvation outside of accepting Christ, the grace of God would no longer be grace and we are told this in John 1:13: “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Now that we know that salvation is from God and God only, all we have to do is simply accept Christ and life for Him. While this is rather simple, man’s nature is complex and often gets in the way and complicates things. Rather than simply accept it and trust God, we come up with questions such as “can our salvation be lost?” While there are many who argue that you can, scripture is clear that a Christian cannot lose their salvation and if we could lose our salvation then receiving Christ and His Holy Spirit would be invalidated: “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29).
We know from scripture that we are redeemed (1 Peter 1:18-19), justified (Romans 5:1), and in Christ, we are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17). More importantly, though, we must understand that, as Christians, are have been bought and paid for at a price. The term Christian is significant because it separates us from the rest of the world. This is not someone who may have uttered a prayer at one time or read the Bible and while these are important aspects of a Christian’s life, a Christian is someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and through Jesus, are we saved (Ephesians 2:8).
No, man has no part in their salvation outside accept Christ and no, a Christian cannot lose their salvation. While it may be hard for people to understand these concepts, scripture is clear on these two aspects. Salvation is the most important part of anyone’s life whether a believer or not and while there are certain circumstances that may come about that confuse us, we must have faith and trust in God. Salvation is from Him and while God is completely good, He is also faithful: “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” (Jude 1:24-25).
That if you shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine he art that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
–Romans 10:9
Comments
Loading…