For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Growing up in the religion of my parents, my faith in God was all about negotiation. My prayers would sound something like, “God, please get me out of this mess and I promise never to _______ again.” Or “God, if you give me X, I’ll do Y.” Although my behavior was far from holy, I would acknowledge my ungodly choices after the fact, and beg God for forgiveness. I’d “be good” for a while, but it wasn’t long until I’d fall into the same immoral patterns. I’d give up beer for Lent but carry around a bottle of Vodka to parties—to me, that was a perfectly logical way to abstain. In my head, it was a constant scorecard tally between two columns: good and bad. And, of course, for all my mess-ups (at least the ones I decided to share in the darkened church confessional), a few “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s” would wash away my sins and clear my conscience. (although the scoring continued). Whew. Good thing the priest and my acts of repentance were there to help ensure I didn’t lose my salvation.
Actually, when it came to guaranteeing a heavenly destination, there were quite a few boxes to check (perfect for my box-checking personality): don’t miss Mass—ever; don’t eat an hour before Mass, so you can take communion (because communion counted toward the heaven-bound transit fare); no meat on Fridays—the list goes on.
So, after six years in our church’s school, ongoing church education, plus not missing Mass through high school, college, and beyond (even if it meant wearing my soccer uniform to hit the field right after communion or attending on Saturday night so I could sleep off a hangover on Sunday), I believed I had two saviors: Jesus and me. I knew Jesus died on the cross for me, but if I didn’t do my part, His part in the process was, well, futile.
But, praise God, like the man who Jesus healed in chapter 9 of John’s gospel, I once was blind, but now I see. I have one Savior—Jesus Christ. He lived a life of perfection that I could not, took the penalty of suffering and death that I deserved, and rose again—defeating death—so that I can be born into eternal life with Him. I will one day stand before God in perfect righteousness—not judgement—because of what Jesus did. Not because of anything I did (or didn’t do).
Friends, our salvation (our peace with God now and eternal life in heaven) is not “Jesus and ______.” No matter how you fill in the blank or what you’ve been taught…and regardless of what the enemy has hissed in your ear to the contrary, salvation is of the Lord alone—by His grace alone, through our faith alone. Period. Isn’t that amazing news? (Now, as James talks about in his Biblical letter, once we are saved by faith, justified before God, we demonstrate our faith to the world by works—but I’ll tackle that topic in my next blog.)
What freedom! We don’t have to work for salvation—it’s not “do” but “done.” Have you received this gift by accepting the Way, the Truth, and Life—Jesus (John 14:16)? Why not make today the day?
encouraged by grace 