Good morning. Could you stand before God and plead for His salvation because of how much you have suffered? Could you stand before God and plead for His salvation because of how much you have sacrificed? Could you stand before God and plead for His salvation because of how many tears you have shed? Could you stand before God and plead for His salvation because of the hours you have spent in the study of His Word and the deep meditation you have engaged in to gain greater understanding?
You could, but if you did so you would be missing the point.
God’s salvation is not ours because of any of these practices or efforts.
It may have taken some time for even someone as committed to the Lord as the Apostle Paul to discover this truth. But Paul did discover it, and this truth is shared with us in several of his letters but put quite succinctly in Ephesians 4:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
I know, this is a well-established truth of Christian faith, do I really need to bring it up for our thought today? Perhaps.
If you are like me, you may find yourself thinking, from time to time, of how urgent it is that you do all you can do for God. It is never wrong to want to do more for the Lord, but let’s remember to keep it in perspective. We are saved by grace. Our salvation is made sure by the blood of Jesus. All of those things mentioned in the first paragraph, those things that you have done and are doing, may be expressions of your salvation, but they are not and can never be the cause of salvation.
The cause is the love of God expressed to us in the gracious sacrifice of Jesus Christ who died that we may have life. The effect of that salvation is a life well lived, united with Christ in purpose, service, and love.
Vern