The Free Gift of Salvation
God's plan of salvation operates by the grace of God through
the non-meritorious faith of man. God through His grace provided the gift of
salvation by which man can access through faith. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
object of faith who earned all the merits for our salvation. "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
(Eph. 2:8-9).
Grace means that God took the initiative in providing
salvation apart from any human participation or contribution, but only through
the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Grace means that God
provided Jesus Christ to take our place of condemnation. "He Himself bore
our sins in His body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24a).
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins and
spiritual death, who became substitute for us. His spiritual death on the cross
made salvation available for everyone. " For He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2
Cor.
.Salvation is the finished work of God. To receive salvation
is man's decision, since it is a private matter between an individual and God.
In His grace, God has done His part of salvation, but now, (if you have not
receive the free gift of eternal life), it is your part that matters. So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household'' (Acts
In the privacy of your soul, unknown and invisible to
others, you can tell God that you believe in Christ, (this decision of your
soul will result to eternal life), or you can reject Christ (resulting to
eternal condemnation). However, God is not willing for any man to perish but
for all to come to repentance that is, to change their thinking toward Christ.
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not
believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
(John 3:36).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast”
Grace Plan of Salvation
Salvation refers to the imputed eternal life
to anyone who believes and accepts Christ as Savior. Eternal life is the life
of God (Jeremiah 10:10, John 1:4). God lives. He does not possess life as we do
which begins at some point and has a termination. There was never a time when
God did not live. He has always existed. His life is called eternal life. The
eternal life of God imparted to all who believe in Christ (John 3:16, 18, 36) is
called everlasting life which has no end but begins at the moment of faith in
Christ. This imputed eternal life is the door to the plan of God for every
person in this world.
Jesus Christ is the Life (John 14:6). He is life, never was
there a time when He, in His deity, did not exist. Eternal life has always
resided in Him. God has given eternal life to all who believed and received
Christ as Savior without condition like what many religious sect prescribed (1
John 5:11-13, 20). "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have
done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life". (Titus 3:5-7).
Salvation and eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 3:23).
The free gift of salvation (and eternal life) are the result
of the finished work of Christ on the cross (Romans 5: 15, 17) apart from any
assistance or contribution from the imperfect human race. Man has nothing to
add or subtract from the spiritual death of Christ. Every regenerated believer
is saved by grace through faith and not from his human good work (Ephesians 2:8).
In the same way, the forgiveness of sin comes as a result of
the decision of a person to believe in Christ (acts 10:43). As it is written,
"Of Him all the prophet*s bear witness that through His name everyone who
believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins" .As the Creator, Jesus
Christ is the Source of all life (Hebrews 1:2). God the Father is the Source of
life as the One who breathes the spark of life when the fetus emerges from the
womb. God the Holy Spirit is the Source of Life as the Agent of spiritual birth
as the One who places each person into union with Christ at the moment of faith
in the Gospel of Christ.
At the moment of faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit places the
believer in union with Christ. This union is created by baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The believer's union with Christ qualifies the believer to live with God
forever, making him a new spiritual species (2 Cor. 5:17) and guarantees the
eternal security (Rom.8:38-39). The non-meritorious phrase "believed in God" is
considered by God as act of acceptable righteousness like in the case of
Abraham (Rom. 4:3).
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness (Rom. 4:5) For
with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation (Rom. 10; 10)
Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in
Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works
of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified
(Galatians 2:16)
There is nothing we can do to earn the love of God or the
right to live with God forever. We are qualified only by non-meritorious faith
in Christ, which is express to man in the simplest form called grace.
