Saved By Grace

3-25-03

Saved By Grace

Text: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” ( Eph 2:8 (KJV)

Of all the things that I have spoken to you about, the subject of today’s message sums up what I believe about the salvation of men and women. I’m happy to say that their have been great preachers of God’s word, who have held the same beliefs that I have.

Today, at the beginning of my message, I want to talk about those things, which relate to salvation. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...” (Rom.1:16). It’s the gospel and the word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to work the miracle of salvation in the heart of a sinner. It is God’s word, spoken by God’s people that cause men and women to repent of their sins and to take Jesus as their Savior. The word of God is what is important, not what we say about it. Some preachers are better than others, but none of them can preach a better gospel.

The origin of salvation is found in today’s text: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” ( Eph. 2:8 (KJV).

We can be saved only because God is willing to save us. And He was willing to give His only begotten Son to save us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 (KJV). It’s God’s love for us, not our love for Him, which saves us. We have seen that God’s grace is the source of our salvation, but I want to add that the means of salvation is “through faith.” But Paul also added, “and not of yourselves.” Salvation cannot come from anything we do, because of the weakness and inability of human nature.

God spoke about the depravity of man early in human history, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5 (KJV). And don’t think that we are better today, than those who lived six to eight thousand years ago. In fact, when God said this, mankind had not been out of the Garden of Eden very long. When God spoke these words, everyone knew about Him and believed in Him, but they didn’t obey Him or love Him.

We have laid the foundation for today’s message, and there are five points that I want to share with you that relate to salvation.

1. There is salvation available today.

2. At the present time, salvation must be through grace.

3. At the present, salvation by grace must come through faith.

4. Salvation by grace, through faith, is not of ourselves.

5. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

I hope that when we are done looking at God’s plan of for salvation, that we will see how wonderful and how wise God is.

Our first point is, “THERE IS SALVATION AVAILABLE TODAY.

The apostle says, “Ye are saved.” He doesn’t say, “Ye shall be,” or “Ye may be;” but “Ye are saved.” He doesn’t say, “Ye are partly saved,” or “in the process of being saved,” or “that you can hope to be saved.” Let’s be as clear on this point as he was, and let’s never rest until we know that all of us are saved.

At this moment, each of us is either saved or unsaved. That is a fact. Which category do we belong to? I hope that, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, all of us can say, “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has also become my salvation.”

Our second point is this, “AT THE PRESENT TIME SALVATION MUST BE THROUGH GRACE.”

If we can say about any person, “you are saved,” we would have to add the words, “by grace.” There is no salvation today, which doesn’t begin and end with grace. As far as I know, there isn’t anyone in the whole wide world who preaches or possesses Christian salvation, except those who believe that salvation is all by grace. I have heard that there are those who claim that salvation can be obtained by works, but I have not made their acquaintance.

Some may say that the Catholic Church teaches salvation by works, but no one in the Catholic Church claims to be presently saved; completely and eternally saved. Such a claim would make them a heretic. A few Catholics may hope to enter heaven when they die, but most of them have the miserable prospect of purgatory before their eyes. There are constant prayers for departed souls, and that would not be necessary if they were saved. Masses for the restfulness of these souls, indicates the incompleteness of the salvation that The Catholic Church has to offer. The salvation they preach is by works, but even if it was possible to be saved by doing good works, no one could ever be sure they had done enough to secure their salvation.