“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8
The gift of eternal salvation from God, our Father, can only be received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by any type of works that we could do. No matter how pure and holy those works may appear to be, they cannot save us. Each of us has sinned and has fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one who is now truly righteous before God. As a result, no one can work their way into heaven, no matter how many good works they may try to do. We could preach and teach from Sunday to Sunday or we could wear ankle-length skirts; our works just won’t do. No matter how holy and pleasing we may try to make ourselves in the sight of the Lord, our works just won’t do.
The gift of eternal salvation is a direct free gift being given to all of us, and God wants us to simply receive it by grace through our personal faith in Jesus. We are not even saved by our faith (though faith itself is not a work), but by grace through faith. God, our Father has really made it as easy as possible for all of us to be able to receive eternal salvation with Him. We are simply saved by His grace, and the definition of the word “grace” in this context is God’s unmerited favour, love and mercy toward all of us.
God loved us so much “that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the full penalty for all our sins. He has already done all of the work for us, and that is why He said it was finished right before He died.
As such, God’s gift of eternal salvation has to be accepted as a free gift and this is simply done by believing in Jesus and what His death on the cross really means for all of us. In light of this, my prayer is that the bride of Christ would move away from preaching and teaching legalism. Those things are out the door when it comes to being able to receive our eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. This legalistic message will do nothing but bind people up and make their walks with the Lord totally miserable and unproductive.
Those who have ears, let them hear that the bottom line is this, “… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9. It is not by works but by grace through faith.
Angelisa is a Jesus enthusiast, Worship leader & Christian youth leader. She considers herself to be the old-fashioned type of girl who loves spicy food and belly bottom laughter. Among her passions are singing, working with children, and encouraging others.