SALVATION BY GRACE
What is salvation by grace? Grace is God's kindness given to people like the thief on the cross when there is nothing more that the thief can do to get out of a critical situation: death on the cross.
Grace comes in when there is nothing more that we can do, like the thief on the cross, to get out of a life threatening situation. The thief was dying on the cross, and Jesus was aware of it. There is nothing more that the thief can do. And here’s when God’s grace comes in. But we we are not the thief on the cross. We are not dying on the cross. Nothing is threatening our lives. So why do we need grace from God? So we can disobey Him? So we can eat dog meat? Is that why? If the church that we want to join forbids us from eating dog meat, find another church that allows us to eat dog meat. No grace is needed. Grace is needed when there is nothing more that we can do to save our lives like the thief on the cross. Then, and only then can we ask for God’s grace. Do not make fun of God by asking God to give us grace because we want to disobey Him.
“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." There is nothing more that the thief can do. And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:39–43.
Grace here is appropriate because the thief is dying on the cross. Jesus saved one, but not the other. Why? Because grace is not for everybody. Both thieves died at the end of the day. What are the important lessons that we can learn from the thieves on the cross? The important lesson for us to remember is that grace is not guaranteed. Grace is not for sale. We cannot always depend on salvation by grace. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.“ Matthew 7:21. Jesus said we can depend only on salvation by doing the will of Jesus’ Father. In general, grace was never promised to non law abiding citizens since the time of Adam and Eve. What does Saul of Tarsus say? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.“ Ephesians 2:8-9. Saul said exactly the opposite of what Jesus said. Read again Matthew 7:21. Saul was against Jesus Christ. And so were Adam and Eve. They were against God the Father. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, `You shall not eat of every tree of the garden' ?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; "but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, `You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make [one] wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.“ Genesis 3:1-6. Is that why we follow Saul of Tarsus so we don't have to do what God wants us to do. Have faith only, and not do the will of God? Who made us so dumb? We are not the thief on the cross. We are alive and well. We are not dying. Do we think that we can fool God by asking Him for His grace?
Saul disobeyed Jesus. Adam and Eve disobeyed Jesus’ Father. Adam and Eve did the exact opposite of what God the Father said, and Saul of Tarsus did the opposite of what God the Son said. Adam and Eve received no grace from God the Father, but Saul of Tarsus received plenty of grace from his followers.
God’s grace is available only in life threatening situations, like the thief on the cross. Just because we like to eat snake’s meat which the Bible forbids, we cannot ask God for grace so we can eat dogs and snakes. That, I believe, is what Ephesians 2:8-9 is all about. Adam and Eve received zero grace from God. If we cannot keep the ten commandments of God for any reason don't ask God to be graceful to us so we can avoid doing the will of Jesus' Father. Adam and Eve tried to ignore God's will long time ago, and we are still suffering the result of their disobedience to God until today. Remember, the story about the thief on the cross applies only to the thief on the cross, and not to us, unless we are standing in front of a firing squat or tied to an electric chair.
Grace comes in when there is nothing more that we can do, like the thief on the cross, to get out of a life threatening situation. The thief was dying on the cross, and Jesus was aware of it. There is nothing more that the thief can do. And here’s when God’s grace comes in. But we we are not the thief on the cross. We are not dying on the cross. Nothing is threatening our lives. So why do we need grace from God? So we can disobey Him? So we can eat dog meat? Is that why? If the church that we want to join forbids us from eating dog meat, find another church that allows us to eat dog meat. No grace is needed. Grace is needed when there is nothing more that we can do to save our lives like the thief on the cross. Then, and only then can we ask for God’s grace. Do not make fun of God by asking God to give us grace because we want to disobey Him.
“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." There is nothing more that the thief can do. And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:39–43.
Grace here is appropriate because the thief is dying on the cross. Jesus saved one, but not the other. Why? Because grace is not for everybody. Both thieves died at the end of the day. What are the important lessons that we can learn from the thieves on the cross? The important lesson for us to remember is that grace is not guaranteed. Grace is not for sale. We cannot always depend on salvation by grace. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.“ Matthew 7:21. Jesus said we can depend only on salvation by doing the will of Jesus’ Father. In general, grace was never promised to non law abiding citizens since the time of Adam and Eve. What does Saul of Tarsus say? “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.“ Ephesians 2:8-9. Saul said exactly the opposite of what Jesus said. Read again Matthew 7:21. Saul was against Jesus Christ. And so were Adam and Eve. They were against God the Father. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, `You shall not eat of every tree of the garden' ?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; "but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, `You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make [one] wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.“ Genesis 3:1-6. Is that why we follow Saul of Tarsus so we don't have to do what God wants us to do. Have faith only, and not do the will of God? Who made us so dumb? We are not the thief on the cross. We are alive and well. We are not dying. Do we think that we can fool God by asking Him for His grace?
Saul disobeyed Jesus. Adam and Eve disobeyed Jesus’ Father. Adam and Eve did the exact opposite of what God the Father said, and Saul of Tarsus did the opposite of what God the Son said. Adam and Eve received no grace from God the Father, but Saul of Tarsus received plenty of grace from his followers.
God’s grace is available only in life threatening situations, like the thief on the cross. Just because we like to eat snake’s meat which the Bible forbids, we cannot ask God for grace so we can eat dogs and snakes. That, I believe, is what Ephesians 2:8-9 is all about. Adam and Eve received zero grace from God. If we cannot keep the ten commandments of God for any reason don't ask God to be graceful to us so we can avoid doing the will of Jesus' Father. Adam and Eve tried to ignore God's will long time ago, and we are still suffering the result of their disobedience to God until today. Remember, the story about the thief on the cross applies only to the thief on the cross, and not to us, unless we are standing in front of a firing squat or tied to an electric chair.
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