WHAT MATTERS MOST?
What then should impact your life more than anything? Salvation – being justified as a sinful human before a holy God and being saved from the wrath of that holy God against the assault on His majesty and sovereignty.
Unfortunately, in today’s world, the definition of salvation has become watered-down. There are two extremes that the pendulum has swung back-and-forth between for centuries. On one end, there is what is commonly referred to as Universalism – that everyone regardless of belief ends up in Heaven in the end because a loving God wouldn’t permanently separate mankind from His love. And on the other end of the spectrum is works-based or works-substituted salvation, which has historically been the stance of the Catholic Church.
When everything is stripped away and bared, the whole of salvation is summed up in this: Faith alone in Christ alone. Anything more or less is blasphemy. And this doesn’t sit well with the American conscience.
this doesn’t sit well with the American conscience. We don’t want charity on our behalf. But, if Ephesians 2:8-9 is true, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,” then we are God’s ultimate charity case. We have earned nothing, can add nothing, can subtract nothing, but everything was accomplished on our behalf and it is a gift offered from God.
This is huge. If salvation – faith alone in Christ alone – did not begin with you, but is a gift offered, then why would you want to or try to add anything to it? Why would you ever try to take the reigns as if your salvation was contingent to how well you hold onto God, rather than how well He holds onto you? That’s foolishness.
It is not your attendance record in Sunday school. It is not your daily quiet time. It is not your tithing percentage. It is not your outward appearance, or anything you or I can manifest. Our devotion and discipline in these things flows out of gratitude for our justification.
Let that be your foundation. Salvation is a gift. Receive it as such.
Brooks is Student Pastor at First Baptist Church of Lexington in Lexington, SC. He was raised in Texas and attended Baylor University. After graduation, he went on to get his Master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary, Brooks met his future wife at a nearby church where they were both serving in student ministry. Nearly 10 years later, they now have three children and love that God has brought them to South Carolina. Brooks enjoys reading, playing guitar, and pretty much any sport.
"For by grace you have ben saved through faith."
Ephesians 2:8