God’s Free Gift and Our Free Will
God has given everyone the opportunity to receive His free gift of salvation in His Son, Jesus. However, He has also given us a free will. We can each choose to accept this gift or to deny it. Denial of this gift and living for self and trying to obtain Heaven through dead “works” will only assure us of Hell.
What are “Works” ?
Salvation is not received through the proud, selfish works we try to do in the name of Jesus. As a young girl, I remember hoping that my “good works” would outweigh my “bad works” so that I could get to Heaven. Before I got saved I actually believed that my baptism, church attendance and communion were “necessary parts” in order for me to go to Heaven one day. Rae showed me from God’s Word that although baptism, church attendance and taking the Lord’s Supper are good things to do, they do NOT assure anyone of salvation. Relying on these things would be relying on my own works to get me to Heaven…this is pride.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
You see, even though I was a sinner and my sin deserved Hell, God’s grace which He freely gave to me (NO stipulations!), would save me from the Devil’s Hell and take me to Heaven. I had to realize where I would end up if I continued to reject Jesus’ salvation and live for “self,” and I had to turn to Jesus for His salvation!
When God looks at our works, they are as filthy as the leper’s rags in His eyes. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Condemnation of Works
If we relied on baptism, church attendance, and communion while we are on this earth to assure us of salvation, then why did Jesus have to come to earth and die such a horrible, cruel death on the cross for our sins? If our works could cover our sins, then the death of Jesus on the cross was in vain.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9)
I saw very clearly as Rae showed me from God’s Word there was nothing I could do that would be great enough to take me to Heaven when I died. The only way to get to Heaven was to trust in Jesus Who had performed the only work that could help me, which was shedding His precious blood on the cross for a sinner such as I! Although in the Old Testament the Israelites sacrificed and shed the blood of an unblemished animal to cover their sins; we (in the New Testament age) must apply the blood of the only perfect sacrifice, JESUS, to our sinful hearts.
The Wage Must Be Paid
The Bible tells us there is a wage for our sin. For the wages of sin is death…(Romans 6:23a) Someone must pay for our sin. Either I would personally pay for my sin in Hell, or I could accept that free gift God has offered to all the world. However, it had to become a personal gift. I had to make a decisions to personally accept Him just as I had personally accepted my husband at the altar the day I said, “I do” to him in marriage. If I continued to deny God’s gift (Jesus), I would be living for the Devil.
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I wrtiten unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:11-13)
… In my next chapter, I will share with you the eternal decision that I made over 22 years ago…