God Saved you by His Grace when you Believed

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9NLT)

I was imagining, while writing this article, suppose one day I sat next to an unbeliever on a train and we begin talking about Christianity, about Jesus Christ and all – about spiritual things. Along the way I had difficulty convincing the unbeliever that character (being good) and human efforts (good works) could not save a man, but justification by grace through faith alone, only through faith in Jesus Christ. I was stuck. He was blurred. Both of our talks went no way. Suddenly in the back of my imagination, the train conductor came along with his puncher and blue cap requesting,

“Ticket please!”

As the man that I was talking with presented his ticket, the conductor looked at it, holds it closer to his sleepy-tired-some eyes, checked the date, punched it hard, and passed on to the next seat. ‘This is my opportunity!’ I said to myself.

5 seconds later, I said,

“Mister, listen to this; all the conductor looked at was your ticket. He didn’t care much about what your wear or any of your achievements. He didn’t inquire about your character or how many donations you had done. He didn’t care who you were – whether you were a good or moral man or a criminal or a KL gangster. So, it is with salvation. You need only God’s ‘ticket to eternal life’ stamped by the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross.”

End of my imagination… I’m sure I read the story somewhere…

THINK BIG We are not saved because of our character (being good) and by human efforts (good works) but only by the Grace of God; Grace which God’s special favor is freely given to undeserving people like you and me.

START SMALL After all, we can’t ever be good all the time and did not sin. We can’t measure how much is enough of our good works to save ourselves.[P.s: Genuine faith will always produce growing character in Christ-likeness and external fruit of good works.]

GO DEEP Thus, only Christ is sinless; only Christ is enough; only by His Blood we can be saved. If you believe that we can only be justified by grace (of God) through faith (in Christ) alone, you'll be saved.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed.”

Do you believe? Do you want to believe this? May you believe this – take it to heart.
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