I N D E X
- -
18
"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that
NOT OF YOURSELVES:
it is the
of God:
NOT OF WORKS,
GIFT
lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9).
These two passages of Scripture are sufficient to dispose of the idea that salvation can be merited; it is God's
gift, free, and by grace:
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
TO SAVE SINNERS;
of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. 1:15).
Here is Paul's testimony. Christ came into the world to live and to die with this great object, "to save sinners",
and Paul might have added, I believed, I received, I passed from death unto life, I dropped my own filthy rags of
self-righteousness in order to be clothed with the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation. Look at me,
take heart, I am set before you as a sample õ you, too, shall be saved if you but trust in Him. Moreover, we do well
to lay to heart the fact that there is but one alternative in this matter. We are either saved by Christ, and by grace, or
we are lost. There are no other ways of life; there is no other door; there is no other sacrifice for sin. Let us see this
from the Scriptures. We have already quoted Acts 4:12, so we proceed to others of like character:
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO MAN cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME" (John 14:6).
"I am the door: BY ME if any man enter in, he shall be SAVED" (John 10:9).
"He offered ONE sacrifice for sins for EVER ... by ONE offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified
... there remaineth NO MORE sacrifice (offering) for sins" (Heb. 10:12,14,26).
The human heart, when once it has become acquainted with its terrible need, echoes the cry of Peter when he
said:
"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).
Every redeemed child of God joins in the testimony of the apostle John who said:
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14).
From the Scriptures it is abundantly clear that salvation is the gift of God, a gift unmerited and unearned by any
of us. Moreover, we learn that this salvation is ours in and through His greatest gift, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet
further, this salvation is ours because He, the Son of God, died for us, died for the ungodly, died for sinners, died for
their sins, died the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Salvation is ours without money and without
price, but salvation is nevertheless costly beyond dreams. It cost the Son of God the suffering, shame, and death, of
the cross. lt cost the Father the gift of His beloved One. Think well and long before this gracious gift be turned
aside. God has done all He ever will do to accomplish our salvation. Never again will He send His Son to die: "He
dieth no more". Christ has paid the dread penalty once and for all: "There remaineth no more offering for sin".
Are you casting about in your mind how this blessing of free salvation can be assuredly yours? Let God's Word
tell you õ receive its testimony and rejoice:
"The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:8-10).
No. 7
The righteousness of God
The apostle Paul rejoiced in the gospel of Christ, for, said he, "it is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth" (Rom. 1:16). It is our present object to discover why the gospel is such a mighty power unto
salvation. The answer is supplied by the apostle himself in the very next verse:
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed".