The primary story of the Bible, almost from start to finish, is about the salvation of man.  Adam and Eve fell to sin in Genesis 3, and all of their descendants after them have followed suit, the lone exception, of course, being Jesus, who came to solve the problem of sin.    Thank God for Jesus!  It is unfathomable that a member of the Godhead would be willing to do what Jesus did.  He gave up the riches of heaven (2 Corinthians 8:9) to take on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7) so that He could become the propitiation for mankind (1 John 2:2), dying on the cross to condemn sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3).  This was God’s plan of salvation.

This week, I want us to give some thought to salvation before we wind down for the night.  I will help us do this by looking at some words associated with salvation.  Let us start with the word “grace.”

We all know that grace is God’s unmerited favor, that is, God doing for us that which we do not deserve.  Without grace, salvation would be impossible.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

There are several things that we learn from these two very familiar verses.  One thing we learn is that salvation is not our own doing.  What does this mean?  Well, let us first be clear what it does not mean.  It does not mean that we have no part in our salvation.  Paul said in another place, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Yes, there is something we must do.  We must obey the gospel of Christ.

Romans 1:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Obeying the gospel begins with one believing the message about Jesus being the Son of God.  It is clear from Romans 1:16 that believing is something that man must do, not something that God does for him.  This is in harmony with Ephesians 2:8, where Paul wrote that “by grace we have been saved through faith.”  Grace is God’s part, and the faith necessary for salvation is man’s part.

So, what did Paul mean when he said that salvation is not our own doing?  He was simply saying that we cannot save ourselves all by ourselves.  Man needs what only God could provide to be saved.  The sacrifice that we needed to be saved was something that only God could provide.  The blood that washes away sin was something else that only God could provide, and so was the resurrection of Jesus who was raised for our justification (2 Corinthians 4:21).  And since we all sin after we obey the gospel, we also need for the blood of Christ to continue to work on our behalf, which, by the grace of God, we have (1 John 1:7).  This is why the Bible so firmly teaches that we are saved by God’s grace (His unmerited favor).  Without God doing what He did, we, no matter how good we are or what works we perform, would all be helplessly and hopelessly lost.

Thank God for his grace, but understand, at the same time, that His grace does not eradicate the necessity of obeying God.

Hebrews 5:8–9 (ESV)
⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.