The Gift of Life

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THE GIFT IS ACCEPTED THROUGH FAITH

The Bible tells us more abut the gift of eternal life in Ephesians 2:8,9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, Not of works, lest any man should boast." Notice that this scripture does not say that we are saved by grave alone but that we are saved by grace through faith. We must have enough faith in Jesus Christ to obey Him or God will not save us by His grace (unmerited favour).

SALVATION BY GRACE DOES NOT EXCLUDE OBEDIENCE

To help us understand that being saved by God’s grace does not exclude the necessity of obedience the Bible declares in Hebrews 5:9 that "He (Christ) became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." God saved me by His grace when I had sufficient faith in Christ to obey Him.

WHAT IS SAVING FAITH?

Faith is your first step. "For without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)

Many people feel they have faith, without really knowing what faith is. It is not a mere intellectual believing, for the devils do that. James 2:19 declares "the devils also believe and tremble."

Nor is it simply trusting in Christ for earthly needs such as health, finances, etc. !If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Corinthians 15:19). Saving faith is when we stop trusting in ourselves, our good works or our moral goodness and start trusting in Christ alone for our eternal salvation. It is when I am willing to stop ruling my life and allow Christ to become the Lord of my life. This means to depend upon what Christ has done rather than our good works to get us to heaven.

REPENTANCE IS OUR DECISION OF FAITH

Next, there is one’s decision of faith. This is when we decide to turn from the practice of sin and accept Jesus as our Saviour from sin. The Bible refers to this as "repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20; 21). Jesus declared, "Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of conduct. It was a great day in my life when I decided that I would be willing to turn away from sin that I might look to Christ as my Saviour.

CONFESSION IS OUR DECLARATION OF FAITH

Next, there is one’s declaration of faith. Jesus said, "Whosoever there fore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven" (Matt 10:32,33). God’s Word further says in Romans 10:10, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unit salvation." You will be glad when you openly declare your faith in Jesus as God’s Son and allow Him to become Lord of your life. You will do exactly the same thing the Ethiopian nobleman did when he declared, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37).

BAPTISM IS THE DEMONSTRATION OF OUR FAITH

Finally there is the demonstration of one’s faith. Keep in mind that the Bible declares in Hebrews 5:9 that Christ is the "author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him."

Jesus said, "he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but the that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). Repent and be baptised everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38) !Arise, and be baptised and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). For "even baptism doth also now save us" (1 Peter 3:21).

It is not until we submit to baptism that we demonstrate that we are depending on Christ as our sole support. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:26,27).

It is I baptism that we demonstrate our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3,4). So, when we are baptised into Christ, we are demonstrating our trust in His death, burial and resurrection for our salvation. It is certainly grand to know through the Bible that we are in a saved relationship with God.

ACT NOW!

God has done His part to make possible your salvation. Have you done your part? If not, you need to obey the Gospel now. God’s grace provides salvation, our faith accepts salvation. Grace is God’s hand reaching down to save us, faith is our hand reaching up to accept His salvation. If you will express your faith in God’s grace by obeying the Gospel, you will be saved. If we may assist you in your obedience, please let us know.