Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness… (Romans 4:4-5)
Some of us need to get one thing through our thick heads: we can’t earn salvation. It doesn’t matter how hard we try or how much we work. Doing good works is fine and well, but that will never be enough to earn what God is offering so freely–salvation. Salvation only comes through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Only believing that God’s own righteousness is imputed to us will actually cleanse us from our failure and shortcomings. God gives what no other religion ever extends to their followers: a free gift. That gift is nothing less than a brand new life and life after death. No other religion will offer a second chance or a brand new beginning so freely. You can search long and hard and traverse the entire world, but salvation is in Christ and flows from Him only. This holiday season we need to remember that we celebrate the birth of that gift in our lives. It’s so easy to forget how little we are actually responsible for in regards to our own salvation. But when we remember that we did nothing and in fact tried our best to sabotage ourselves from receiving salvation from God, it’s amazing how Good draws us to Him and redeems us. When we accept this gift of salvation, not having done anything to deserve it on our own merits, we become positioned for blessedness. That blessedness is also a gift that we must realize is ours which cannot be earned or compared to anybody else. Accept the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus because you won’t be able to earn it anyway else.
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