Salvation by Grace

According to Acts 16, the Philippian Jailer and his whole family listened to the Word of the Lord as spoken by the Apostle Paul, accepted it, and were baptised as a sign that they had been saved (Acts 16:16-40).

Christians are people who believe in the Lord Jesus. They are saved, not by what they have done, but by what he has done. Jesus’ greatest gift is his salvation – which is why Christians can clearer and confidently say that they are ‘saved by grace’.

This is a fundamental starting point.

Let me explain.

Being a ‘person of faith in Jesus’ is not a status which is earned or established by some wonderful deed. Christians are not saved by the good things that they do, or by the sufferings that they endure, or by the things that they go without as if that in some way heavenly credit points are accumulated.

Salvation by Grace is a truth that is one of the most liked but most badly applied truths of the Bible.

Liked, because it speaks of God’s gracious work to save. If you took a person who was at best an enemy, and gave them everything as if they were your best friend – then you would have to say that was gracious, unwarranted maybe, but none the less an extraordinarily gracious gift. That is what God has done in saving a Christian.

Badly applied, because of the way many take this grace for granted. It is a faulty assumption to assert that because ‘God is loving’ he will save everyone. And further, it is a fallacy to think that because God has saved, people no longer need to obey God.

For more in this Series:

What must I do to be saved? (Part 1 of 4)

What must I do to be saved? (Part 2 of 4)

What must I do to be saved? (Part 3 of 4)

What must I do to be saved? (Part 4 of 4)