One of the most misunderstood subjects of the Bible is one of its most fundamental doctrines—saved by grace. There are two extreme positions taken on this subject: (1) Saved by grace alone and (2) Saved by meritorious works.
Both of these positions are scripturally wrong. The first position leads to the conclusion that there is nothing for man to do to be saved. It stops people from properly obeying the gospel. There are God-given instructions for people to follow to take advantage of the grace of God and be saved. This is why Peter, when preaching the first gospel sermon on the day of Pentecost, said, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40). How were they to do that? Peter already told them. “…Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins… (ver. 38).
The second extreme position, that is, that we are saved by meritorious works, leads a person to live in fear, doubting whether or not he is really saved. It robs Christians of the true joy that comes from having the hope of heaven. So then, what is the truth the Bible teaches about being saved by grace? We are saved by grace because God has done for us things that we could not do for ourselves, and that we did not deserve. Here are some of those things.
God provided for us a sacrifice for our sins. We all needed a sacrifice because we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Since the wages of sin is death, someone had to pay that price. Why could we not pay the price ourselves? It is because it would result in our eternal damnation since we would be dying in sin. What we needed was a sacrifice without blemish, that is, someone who knew no sin. No one on earth qualified so God sent His Son to be His sacrificial Lamb (John 1:29). Did we deserve it? No, it was a matter of pure grace.
God provided for us the blood to cleanse us of our sins. Taking on flesh was not enough if Jesus was to save us from our sins. His blood had to be spilled. It is an immutable principle that without blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). There is grace written all over this part of God’s scheme of redemption. God had to be willing to watch His Son being tortured on a cross, and Jesus had to be willing to take on a flesh and blood body, only to be put to death in the most agonizing fashion. Did we deserve it? No, it was a matter of pure grace.
God provided the means for us to maintain our salvation. After Jesus died for us on the cross, He was raised from the dead by the power of God. The gates of Hades had no chance to prevail against Him (Matthew 16:18). Shortly after this, Jesus ascended on high, entering the holy of holies within the veil (Hebrews 6:19), that is, into heaven itself, to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus now serves as our advocate to plea on our behalf whenever we fall short before God (1 John 2:1). When we repent of our sins and ask God for forgiveness (Acts 8:22), the blood and intercession of Christ guarantee our pardon, allowing us to maintain our salvation. Did we deserve any of this? No, it was a matter of pure grace.
Who could ever deny that we are saved by grace? Do we have to obey God to be saved? Of course (Matthew 7:21). It is the height of foolishness to conclude that somehow following God’s plan of salvation eradicates His grace. Don’t fall for that. Obey the gospel (Romans 1:16), remain faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10), and be saved by the marvelous grace of God.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.