I heard a Christian preacher say this 16 word statement on the radio, “We are saved to do good works but we are not saved by those good works” as part of his sermon. Why, I asked myself, because as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. A gift in our day, according to the Webster’s dictionary, is something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation. Did God, in the person of Jesus Christ who really is the Great I AM, God manifested in the flesh, voluntarily give us the gift of His grace upon us through faith on his name? He certainly did. The Apostle Paul said to the Romans that the righteousness of God is imputed to us “if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” The word imputed means to credit something that was not earned. Jesus Christ has given us the great gift of grace to all who is willing to receive it. To receive a gift from someone means that a certain action is required by the receiver of the gift because a gift cannot be forced upon someone who does not want it, otherwise it is not a gift. The Apostle Paul teaches us how to receive this great gift of grace offered to us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:6-10. Once we receive this great gift of grace and salvation we are saved from God’s wrath and God will also give us “power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12. In other words we, who are God’s creations, can become his children. The Apostle Paul explains how this can be known unto us. He wrote: “ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:14-17. What is this word abba and how is it used? I was told that it meant daddy as in a child calling for his father. According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words abba “is an Aramaic word, found in Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15 and Gal. 4:6. In the Gemara (a Rabbinical commentary on the Mishna, the traditional teaching of the Jews) it is stated that slaves were forbidden to address the head of the family by this title. It approximates to a personal name, in contrast to Father, with which it is always joined in the NT. This is probably due to the fact that, abba having practically become a proper name, Greek-speaking Jews added the Greek word pater, father, from the language they used. Abba is the word framed by the lips of infants, and betokens unreasoning trust; father expresses an intelligent apprehension of the relationship. The two together express the love and intelligent confidence of the child.”
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 03:07:19 +0000
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