The great provision God made for mankind to be delivered from the bondage of sin and the eternal consequence of God’s wrath is the substitutional work of Jesus Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. But how can we be included in this salvation?
The answer is that you are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).
Like dining with a friend and arguing over who will pay the bill, the difficulty for many is the insistence on paying one’s own way or at least contributing to the cost. The cold, hard fact is mankind is spiritually bankrupt and incapable of contributing anything toward his salvation. One pastor wrote, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Salvation is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works (Ephesians 2:9; John 1:13). This does not mean that good works do not factor into a person’s salvation, but good works flow from salvation and are not its cause.
Saving faith is a faith whose object is the saving work of Jesus Christ. It looks to Jesus for who He is as revealed in the Scriptures. It learns of the things He accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection for man’s redemption. And it acknowledges and acquiesces that He alone is the hope of salvation.
When Jesus asked His disciples who they believed Him to be, Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:16-17).
Don’t miss Jesus’ last statement. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. The Lord grants faith leading to salvation, and He does so through the proclamation of the gospel (Romans 1:16). Faith is not a casual acceptance of the truth, nor is it that which can be conjured up by self-will.
Faith is the outcome of God’s illuminating work as you look upon Jesus and His wonderful work of redemption (2 Corinthians 4:5-6). So set your eyes upon Jesus, learn of Him in the Scriptures, and pray to the Lord to open your eyes to see and to be saved. The Lord said, You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13