Imagine filling out an application for heaven. After filling in your name and address, you come to a section marked “Qualifications.” What would you put there? “My belief in God? The people I have helped along the way? I’ve tried to live by the Ten Commandments?” Or would you write, “No qualifications other than my reliance upon what Christ, the Son of God, has done for me.” The reason these questions are important is that if we treat salvation as a reward rather than a gift, we may fail to qualify for the gift. Out of concern for those who could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime, I’d like to suggest ten reasons to believe salvation is a gift:
1) The Bible calls it a gift.
According to the most published book in the world, no one qualifies for heaven by trying to be a good person (Rom. 4:4-5; 6:23; 10:13). Nor will we live forever because we have done better than our neighbor. According to the Bible, the only way to live forever is through a willingness to receive “the gift of God” (Eph. 2:7-9).
2) There are risks in receiving it.
Those who receive gifts often feel beholden to the giver. This sense of moral obligation is true of those who receive God’s offer of salvation. According to the apostle Paul in the New Testament, such persons are no longer their own. They’ve been “bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). While a sense of moral responsibility does not always accompany a gift, it often is felt by those who know they’ve been given something they didn’t earn.
3) It is offered by grace.
In one of the most important quotes of all time Paul said, “By grace you have been saved” (Eph. 2:8). “By grace” means the “unmerited kindness” by which God offers to rescue us from our failures. This help comes only to those who have given up hope of qualifying for heaven by their own accomplishments or by comparing themselves with others. The apostles James and Peter both called attention to a foundational principle of the Kingdom of God when they said, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5).
4) It is received through faith.
If the Bible only said, “By grace you have been saved,” we might conclude that everyone will receive eternal life. Without the added condition of faith, it would appear that everyone, whether atheist or apostle, will end up with the gift we don’t deserve. The actual quote, however, adds, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” We need this faith in order to qualify for the gift (Rom. 1:16-17; 4:4-5). Unless we see that salvation is received only by trusting what God has done for us, we are still relying on ourselves.
5) The most undeserving people can receive it.
The Bible gives us the names of people whose only qualification for heaven was that they believed in God’s provision for their rescue. These examples include a prostitute named Rahab, a despised tax collector named Matthew, and a demon-possessed woman named Mary of Magdala. Then there was the criminal who was executed at the side of Christ. Only because salvation is a gift could Jesus say to him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:39-43).
6) It was paid for by another.
From the beginning of time, God used the sacrifice of innocent animals to show that a person’s wrongs could be paid for by a sinless substitute. Even though the blood of animals could not pay for human sin, God used these sacrifices to foreshadow an event that became the center page of human history. At the appointed time, the sinless Son of God gave His life in our behalf. Then He rose from the dead, which proved that God had accepted His death as payment for our sin (1 Cor. 15:1-8).
7) It was wrapped with care.
In fulfillment of God’s plan that was made before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:3-7), the gift of salvation was packaged in the colorful ritual of temple sacrifice. Later it was wrapped in the predictions of prophets who promised that God’s “Anointed One” would die for our sin (Isa. 53; Dan. 9:24-26). At just the right time, the present of heaven was placed in the body of a young woman, and wrapped in the flesh of a tiny Jewish baby.
8) There are strings attached.
Those who accept a gift have a moral obligation to appreciate the value of what has been given them. This sense of duty was evident in the apostle Paul. After receiving salvation in Christ he longed to impart to his readers in Rome “some spiritual gift” (Rom. 1:11). He went on to say that he owed something to everyone who had not yet heard about what God had done for them (vv.14-17). As Paul had received freely from God, he sensed his obligation to freely give.
9) There is a precedent.
From beginning to end, our life depends on a series of gifts. First, God gave us the gift of existence. Then He gave us the provisions and circumstances we need to survive. He gave us the ability to see, to feel, to hear, and to enjoy. In light of these gifts, the apostle Paul asked, “Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7).
10) A gift is what we need.
This is the most personal reason for believing salvation is a gift. If the Bible is telling us the truth about ourselves, we don’t need fairness and justice. Neither do we need compensation or rewards. We need mercy. We need forgiveness. We need to open our hearts to the undeserved rescue God gives to anyone who receives the ultimate gift of relationship with His Son (Jn. 1:11-12).
Father in heaven, thank You for doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. We gratefully acknowledge that because of Your gift, we are not only Yours by creation but by Your purchase as well. —Mart De Haan
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