Friday, February 15, 2008 at 2:02am
It all begins and ends with grace
Column: For His Glory
What do Christians contribute to their salvation? The biggest difference between Christianity and every other religion is that in Christianity Jesus is the only remedy for our sins. We contribute nothing toward our salvation. Other religions have the notion that our good works in some way help the deity in question to save us from whatever predicament we find ourselves. In other words, we must define whether salvation is by faith or by works?
If we study human behavior, we quickly realize that humans have an inclination toward evil. You can't help but look at the wars, murders, abortions, school shootings, divorce, and countless horrific acts to realize that we are capable of committing any of the aforementioned acts. Who of us has not behaved badly in our lives, or blown a fuse every now and then? The truth is that even when we do acts of charity, show some decency, it is never sustained. We have lapses of good intertwined with bad, and no amount of good can outweigh the bad in us, especially when you realize that God is holy God. Although I believe there is only one true God, all other religions hold a similar concept of the holiness of God. Yet numerous religions hold to the fundamental belief that there is something in humanity that can endear them to God and that therefore humanity can contribute something toward their salvation, however minute the percentage. Christians do not believe that, if they understand the gospel correctly.
Christians understand that there is nothing in man worthy of salvation. The Bible makes this clear: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and yet good works are an essential part of the Christian faith. How, then, can good works be essential to the Christian faith and still not contribute anything toward my salvation? The answer is found in this verse: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)
The key word in this verse is "grace," which many define as the unmerited favor of God, and this definition is correct, undisputed, but it's not the entire picture. We must understand that without God's grace in our lives we would have no choice. The only reason we have a notion of a power of choice is by the grace of God. If you doubt this, read the last half of Romans, Chapter 1. The only reason we have an ability to do good works is by the grace of God, and if it weren't for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, our only inclination would be to do evil continually. Humanity would have destroyed itself a long time ago without the grace of God.
Grace sustains us and grace gives us all we have, even the power of choice. Let us remember the precious gift of grace and the realization that without God's amazing grace we would be eternally lost. Grace is the reason why the majority of New Testament books begin with a salutation of grace, because they understood that it all begins and ends with God's amazing grace.
Let us never forget that all we have is by grace. God bless you.
— — —
Gio Marin is the pastor of the College Station and Waller Seventh-day Adventist Church in the state of Texas. He graduated in December 2007 with a master of divinity degree from Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Send him an email at {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Gio Marin.
If we study human behavior, we quickly realize that humans have an inclination toward evil. You can't help but look at the wars, murders, abortions, school shootings, divorce, and countless horrific acts to realize that we are capable of committing any of the aforementioned acts. Who of us has not behaved badly in our lives, or blown a fuse every now and then? The truth is that even when we do acts of charity, show some decency, it is never sustained. We have lapses of good intertwined with bad, and no amount of good can outweigh the bad in us, especially when you realize that God is holy God. Although I believe there is only one true God, all other religions hold a similar concept of the holiness of God. Yet numerous religions hold to the fundamental belief that there is something in humanity that can endear them to God and that therefore humanity can contribute something toward their salvation, however minute the percentage. Christians do not believe that, if they understand the gospel correctly.
Christians understand that there is nothing in man worthy of salvation. The Bible makes this clear: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and yet good works are an essential part of the Christian faith. How, then, can good works be essential to the Christian faith and still not contribute anything toward my salvation? The answer is found in this verse: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)
The key word in this verse is "grace," which many define as the unmerited favor of God, and this definition is correct, undisputed, but it's not the entire picture. We must understand that without God's grace in our lives we would have no choice. The only reason we have a notion of a power of choice is by the grace of God. If you doubt this, read the last half of Romans, Chapter 1. The only reason we have an ability to do good works is by the grace of God, and if it weren't for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, our only inclination would be to do evil continually. Humanity would have destroyed itself a long time ago without the grace of God.
Grace sustains us and grace gives us all we have, even the power of choice. Let us remember the precious gift of grace and the realization that without God's amazing grace we would be eternally lost. Grace is the reason why the majority of New Testament books begin with a salutation of grace, because they understood that it all begins and ends with God's amazing grace.
Let us never forget that all we have is by grace. God bless you.
— — —
Gio Marin is the pastor of the College Station and Waller Seventh-day Adventist Church in the state of Texas. He graduated in December 2007 with a master of divinity degree from Andrews Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, with a dual emphasis on systematic theology and church growth & evangelism. Send him an email at {email GioMarinColumn@aol.com}GioMarinColumn@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Gio Marin.