We are saved by grace. Ephesians 2:5 says so explicitly. There should be no question on this fact. We are saved when and if God chooses to save us. Certainly we have duties and responsibilities, both before and after our sins are forgiven. But any Christian who thinks he has somehow earned a place in God’s favor by being baptized, preaching the gospel, feeding the hungry, or any other good “work”, he has no concept of the Bible’s teaching regarding salvation.
But still, we do have duties and responsibilities. And we fall short from time to time — not because we’re “human”, as is often said; that pushes the blame off on God, since He’s the One who made us “human”, warts and all. No, we fall short because we are weak. And if we have the idea when we come to the Lord that our weakness will wash off in the waters of baptism, we are quickly informed otherwise. And consciousness of sin leads to feelings of guilt; we know we have let God down, and that we have only ourselves to blame. Thankfully we have a Savior who will continue to forgive us when we continue to repent (1 John 1:7).
No comments:
Post a Comment