Salvation is impossible apart from the grace (unmerited favor) of God through the provision of His Son Jesus Christ . It cannot be earned by good deeds, purchased through riches, or merited through any religion. It is possible only through true faith and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, demonstrated in a love for others,
perseverance in the faith, and obedience to His Word.
As I had the
privilege of helping distribute Gospels and share my faith with hundreds of Mexicans this past week, I was amazed at their overwhelming reaction and response to this simple yet important gift.
They were excited! Very few of those we met as we went door to door were negative, confrontational, or hostile. There were some who were somewhat disinterested, but the vast majority were filled with joy at the simple gift of a book of the Bible.
The adults and children that I was blessed to speak with had great interest in discussing and reading the Bible with me. They recognized it source (God) and its importance and applicability to their life. Although there was much confusion with what they were exposed to (heavy exposure to Catholic doctrines along with cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons), they clearly understood the difference of how salvation is provided by grace & faith alone and not by works, good deeds, etc.
The Jews of Jesus' day lived in a culture and religion that similarly supported the necessity of doing good things and obeying rules to be saved. Matthew 19, Mark 10. & Luke 18 all recount a discussion Jesus has with the rich young ruler. It is then he uses the oft-remembered phrase, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."(Matthew 19:24) This passage points not to the fact that rich man cannot go to heaven, but rather that salvation does not come from mankind, good deeds, or human riches, but rather from God alone through His grace. Salvation is possible only through God.
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26)
It saddens me to think about the responses I get in my own country when I share my faith, even with a simple invitation to church. The responses are more hostile, negative, confrontational, and plain rude. Our country is so blinded by our wealth, busyness, success, entertainment, and our self-worship that we are far-less receptive to the amazing gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.
It is my hope and prayer that our nation, and all the nations of the world, are broken and brought down to the point that they seek salvation not in themselves (good deeds, riches, religion, self-worship, etc.) but in God alone through His gift in Jesus Christ.
