In His goodness, God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. While Jesus died for the sins of all men, only those who believe He paid the penalty for their sins and repent of their sins will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. What is the penalty of sin? It is eternal death and eternal separation from God. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, He becomes our Lord and Savior. He is the Lord over our lives, Heaven is our eternal destination, and we are saved from the wrath of God that we all deserve because we have rebelled against Him.
Where did this great work—Him giving us the desire to come to the foot of the cross of Christ—begin? How are our sins washed away?
It’s all God!
Our faith in Christ does not come from our family heritage or our standing in the church; it is 100% because of His mercy and choice. It was God who chose to graft us into sonship and make us His children. He alone chose to show us mercy. Through faith in Him, we have been adopted into His family.
Galatians 4:4-5
But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.
We did not choose Him; He chose us. Salvation is not our natural inheritance; it’s a gift from God.
John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
We were not naturally born of royal blood, but through faith, we are adopted into the royal family of our Heavenly Father. Despite our fallen nature and past, God, in His goodness, chose to show us mercy. At birth, we were objects of His wrath and marked for destruction. But in God’s goodness, and to show His power, He chose to show us mercy and grace.
Romans 9:22-23
What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath—prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory.
Our adoption is not due to our goodness or our works; it is only due to His goodness, power, and mercy. The God of all creation needs nothing. We can only accept the gift of our faith with thanks and reverence for His loving kindness toward us. Unfortunately, some men come to Christ—at least outwardly—but later lose their awe and reverence for His goodness. Instead, they feel like they are saved by their own works, and they carry an entitlement mentality. They make the very work they do for God an idol, a god of their creation! Meanwhile, they forget that He controls it all and shows mercy on whom He chooses to show mercy.
Romans 9:15-16
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
God doesn’t need our counsel, nor does He need our works. Our God in Heaven both hardens hearts and softens them to bring men to repentance.
Romans 9:21
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
He is like a potter who shapes different pots, some to be displayed on shelves for admiration and some for destruction. We who have been shown mercy need to be in awe of His glory. As Romans 9:23 states, He did this to show the riches of His glory to those whom He gave mercy. We need not question His goodness, but we should be in awe of His mercy toward us. We are vessels of His goodness. Our salvation is not due to any goodness in us; no, it’s only due to His goodness. As the prophet Isaiah says in Scripture, even our good works are like filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
If we think that our calling in Christ is due to our church membership, our family heritage, or some natural goodness within us, we risk replacing all He has done for us with pride in our earthly position. We as men must never forget that we can’t give God anything but ourselves. We should not do like so many others have done, making the commandments of God an idol apart from God! Even as His children, we don’t do good works on our own accord; they are only a result of God working in us and through us. Our very salvation opens the door for a relationship with Him. That relationship then grows deeper as we abide in Him daily by spending time in prayer and reading His Word, the Bible. As we draw closer to Him, we become less focused on pleasing ourselves, and we start to live for the honor and glory of our risen Savior.
It is no longer about what we can do for Him, but it is all about what He can do through us as we allow Him to have ultimate authority over our lives. When we allow Him to work through us, we not only confirm our surrender to a good Father, but we also grow in Christ and deepen our faith in Him. Our surrender moves us aside and gives Him the room to work through us, demonstrating that we are His followers.
Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.
For this to happen, we must not doubt our salvation but believe in our faith, which is a gift from God. We are human beings, not human doers! Simply, our abiding in Him allows Him to work through us! When we move out of the way, submit to His will, and believe we are saved by His blood and redemptive work on the cross, this ignites the flames that fuel our faith.
Stephen L. Thomas
RTM