There once was a preacher, who's friend worked in the coal mines. The preacher was constantly telling this man about Christ and the hope of salvation that was offered. "And it's free!", the preacher had told him time and again. "Salvation is free to all men!" One day as the preacher reminded his friend of this fact, the coal miner furrowed his brow with a look of disbelief. "Well, no disrespect..." he started, "but, I'm just not sure if I can believe that. I mean, if I've learned anything in all my years here on this earth, it's that NOTHIN' is free! Everything costs ya somethin'..." At that moment, an idea entered the Reverend's mind. He asked the man, "How did you get down into the mine this morning?" "Well, I took the elevator down of course!", the miner answered. "And it didn't cost you a cent, did it?" "Well, no... it didn't cost me anything... but, it cost the company a whole lot!" As soon as the words left the miner's lips, a look of realization swept over his face. The reverend smiled, knowing his point had finally hit home. "Salvation is free for you and me- just like that elevator. But, it did cost somebody a whole lot... Sacrificing His only Son was a pretty steep price for God to pay, but He did it... so that salvation would be accessible to you and I!"
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Needless to say, the coal miner finally understood that he really could be saved... and he received Jesus into his heart that day.
Our pastor related this story to our congregation. Although I've heard him tell it before; it seems that every time I hear it, a light bulb goes off in my brain... and I can't help but smile. What an unimaginable hope that's been given to us by our Savior! What a liberating feeling to have an overwhelming debt lifted from your shoulders and paid in full. Salvation IS free.
If you had asked me several years ago if salvation were free, my response would probably have been, "Certainly not! There is a price we have to pay! We can't simply drift through life doing nothing... we must become holy like our Lord!" While grace through salvation does not give us a license to sin, nor does it negate our responsibility to follow God's commands, I personally was missing the entire point. I thought following God's commands was, in essence, "earning" my salvation. Of course, I wouldn't have worded it that way, but looking back, I know that is exactly what I believed.
If Romans 6:23 were re-worded to fit my prior view of salvation, it would go something like this:
"For the wages of sin is death... but eternal life is something you can work for, and God will give it to you if you make yourself into a holy person."
I can see people reading this feeling a little antsy now... maybe you're thinking, "Well, that IS true... I mean, doesn't the Bible say we must become like Christ?" Yes it does. But, for some reason, Paul chose not to word Romans 6:23 that way. He chose these words:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
He used the word GIFT. Why?
I used to think to myself, "I hope I live to a ripe old age so I'll have plenty of time to kill this "old carnal nature" and reach perfection (as Matthew 5:48 tells us to.)" Sure, I may have mentioned in passing that we need the power of God's Spirit to help us, but I secretly knew the work was mostly up to me...
Ha... please excuse me while I laugh/roll my eyes at my arrogant logic. I can't believe I really thought I had it within me to somehow "pay back" the debt I owe to God. Allow me to put it quite plainly: if I worked my very best for the next million years, I would not even come close to deserving the love and grace of a holy God. I AM A SINNER! I entered this world already condemned!! (John 3:18) There was no hope for me- until Christ. How could I ever "measure up" on my own to become a child of the most high king?? The answer is: I can't. And you know what? God knows that.
You see... When we allow the blood that flowed down from the cross to surge into our being and wash clean that dark blot of sin from our lives, there is a word for us: justified.
justify = to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.
Romans 3:23-27
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."
Wow. That means, that I being justified, can go before God the Father and He will look on me and see the righteousness of His perfect, spotless Son Jesus? I don't know about y'all, but that AMAZES me!! How is that even possible?! Maybe that's what Steven Curtis Chapman was thinking about when he wrote those words, "believe the unbelievable... receive the inconceivable."
When I began to realize how absurd and impossible it really is for us to earn our own salvation, the phrase "abiding in Christ" took on an entirely new meaning. No longer do I need to "beat myself over the head" whenever I make a mistake. It's not a surprise to God that I am a feeble human being, incapable of doing anything on my own. He's just sitting up there, waiting on me to stop trying so hard to be independent.
Here is something I learned which helped me a great deal:
Justification is an instant act
Sanctification is a process
God wants to sanctify you and make you like Him, but if you are a believer, make no mistake- you are already justified!
You know what happens when you try to serve God in your own strength? It becomes hard. It becomes a struggle... it becomes a DRUDGERY. I don't think it was God's intent for us to be miserable, frowning Christians. After all, Scripture tells us that Christ was anointed with, "...the oil of gladness..." above all His fellows.(Psalm 47:5) If we are following in His footsteps, should we not be overcome with joy? If we are not filled with joy, there may be something wrong.
Well, as you can see, there was something wrong with me. I just didn't know it. By focusing all of my energy on trying to "fix" myself, I was neglecting some key commands in Scripture, such as: helping the poor, visiting the widows and orphans, and making disciples (to name a few.) (James 1:27, Proverbs 21:13, Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19) It seems I didn't have time to think of anyone but myself.
But, in His great mercy, my Savior began to gently prod and nudge me... softly encouraging me to acknowledge my spiritual nearsightedness. Admitting that you have been wasting time is never an easy admission to make... but, God knew my heart all along. He knew that I was trying my best and He lifted me out of my confusion.
When God began opening up these truths in my mind, it suddenly became clear to me that I will never become holy by making that my focus. Only by devoting my energies to serving and fulfilling these commands in which I lack, will Christ be able to complete His work in me. And only by fastening my eyes upon the cross will I be able to remember that in my own strength, I am nothing. That was quite an epiphany for me, I must say. But, time and time again, God shows me that His ways are surprisingly...........simple.
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I agree with you that we all need to be servants. AMEN! And I really need to work on that in my own life!
ReplyDeleteHowever we are all taking a test
(a.k.a. 'life')and we are going to pass or fail. Anything we want to acheive requires work. Building a house, raising kids....those things require work and are not just free gifts to be taken lightly.
"To much is given, much is required"
~hope all is going well with you and baby!
Achieving natural things in this life DOES requires hard work
ReplyDeleteand diligence! There are many verses in Proverbs that warn us against being slothful.
We also know that taking on the nature of Christ requires effort on our part. We must surrender our will to our Savior. (2 Timothy 2:15 describes us as a "workman", and James 1:23 warns us against being hearers of the Word and not "doers".
However, I was speaking of our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,
"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."
Scripture is very clear that salvation is, indeed, a gift. If we could earn forgiveness of our sins, then Christ dying for us would have been in vain. This most precious gift is never to be taken
lightly. In fact, God desires that we in turn, present our bodies as a living sacrifice,holy, acceptable unto God... (Romans 12:1)
Scripture warns us that we will become prideful when we attempt to earn our salvation. Only when we realize that we in ourselves can do nothing, will Christ be able to mold us into something for HIS glory!
The subject of salvation is a very deep one and can be expounded on in countless ways. You will have to forgive me, for I am positive that I did not do it any kind of justice, nor do I claim to fully understand the wonders of God's amazing plan for us! But, I do hope the point I was trying to make is a little clearer now!
I appreciate your comment! I am always happy to have discussions about Scripture. After all, if I can not back up something I believe in with the Word of God- I have no business believing it! ;)
I agree it is through the Cross are sins have been forgiven but we must look at all the scriptures to get the whole picture. You pointed out that we are to be like Christ. The scripture also tell us we must die to the flesh. Seven times in Revelation it gives us promises to "he that overometh". It also says to "work out your own salvation"; of course God's grace helps us as we work for him.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: In an effort to keep my post from becoming too lengthy, I did not go into the subject of dying to the flesh/overcoming. You're right, we MUST look at the WHOLE book to get a clear picture of God's plan!
ReplyDeleteWhile the verses you brought out are very important, they do not negate scriptures like Eph. 2:8-9 which clearly tell us we can not EARN our salvation. Every verse in Scripture works together in harmony.
I think that sometimes we become so fixated on being holy that we fail to realize being holy is a result of loving and serving God. Trying to be perfect in my own strength is futile and takes my eyes off of the cross. That was the primary point of my post.
While my goal of overcoming and dying to my flesh has not changed, my perspective of the road to accomplish that has. Grace is not an after thought. It must be at the core of our faith for God to receive the glory He is due!