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OUR SALVATION IS A DIVINE ACCOMPLISHMENT
– NOT A HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT
By
Marilyn LaStrape
Salvation
is the spiritual deliverance granted to us by God when we respond in
obedient faith to the gospel. It is through Christ alone that this
salvation can be obtained. When we became members of the Lord’s
church, not only were our sins forgiven, but also our relationship to
God was restored.
To borrow a statement
from one of the preachers in the brotherhood, “None of us are going to
accidentally slide into heaven. If we are there, it will be from a
lifetime of intention, and planning, and forethought, and devotion,
and humility before the living God!”
We are not, and never
will be good enough in and of ourselves to deserve heaven. The
following scriptures tell us why that is a total impossibility.
- “For there is not
a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes
7:20)
- “Behold, the
Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor His ear
heavy, that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you
from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that
He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
- “But we are all
like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy
rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind have
taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6)
- “So likewise you,
when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, we
are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”
(Luke 17:10)
- “As it is written,
there is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands,
there is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the
way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does
good, no not one.” (Romans 3:10-12)
So what is the answer
to our sin problem? We have got to have a covering, and that covering
is Jesus Christ. Sin is a debt that we owe and we have one of two
choices in settling that debt. We can accept the death of Jesus on
the cross for payment of our debt through obedient faith, or we can
pay for our own sins in hell forever!
How then are we
justified before God? The following scriptures tell us how this
justification takes places.
- “O my soul, you
have said to the Lord, You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart
from You.” (Psalms 16:2)
- “For by grace you
have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians
2:8-10)
- “For if Abraham
was justified by works, he has something of which to boast, but not
before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God,
and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Not to him who
works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him
who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is accounted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:2-5)
God’s standard is
perfection – not almost up to – and that perfection is a divine
accomplishment, not a human achievement. We must allow God to
accomplish our righteousness for us through living a life of faithful
and thankful obedience.
This
article is copyrighted by the author. All Rights Reserved. No part
of this article may be reprinted without permission of the author.
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