I believe that salvation is a gift that cannot be earned. No person is good enough to earn salvation. Only through the grace of God can it be obtained. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Even though the previous verse is addressed to Christians, it still tells of how one is saved. The gift of salvation was paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ when He died on the cross and rose from the grave. Without His sacrifice, salvation is not possible. Without knowing that it cannot be earned and without simply accepting it, there is no ability of obtaining it.
Before one can accept salvation, the acknowledgement of his or her sin and inability to saves themselves from it is necessary. Everyone who has ever lived, is living, or will live is completely depraved in their sin. They are nothing without God. John Calvin confirms that “…our ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, depravity, and corruption, leads us to perceive and acknowledge that in the Lord alone are to be found true wisdom, solid strength, perfect goodness, and unspotted righteousness…” (Calvin’s Institutes Vol. 1 47-48). There is absolutely no hope without a perfect, sinless Savior to rescue them from the utter despair of sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” On our own, we cannot reach God’s standards. Therefore, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for mankind because He loved them enough to save them from their sins.
Christ died on a cross to pay for the sins that man could not pay for themselves. However, if He had only died, it would not have been sufficient enough to atone for the sins of man; He had to come back to life. Therefore, He did rise from the dead three days later in order to conquer sin, death, and Hell. Through His selfless sacrifice, those who trust in Him as Savior have eternal life, as well as an abundant life here on earth. Because of what He did on the cross, those who belong to Him should rightfully give their lives back to Him by telling others about Him and living for Him alone.
Works Cited
Calvin, John. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman, 1998. Print.
Before one can accept salvation, the acknowledgement of his or her sin and inability to saves themselves from it is necessary. Everyone who has ever lived, is living, or will live is completely depraved in their sin. They are nothing without God. John Calvin confirms that “…our ignorance, vanity, poverty, infirmity, depravity, and corruption, leads us to perceive and acknowledge that in the Lord alone are to be found true wisdom, solid strength, perfect goodness, and unspotted righteousness…” (Calvin’s Institutes Vol. 1 47-48). There is absolutely no hope without a perfect, sinless Savior to rescue them from the utter despair of sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” On our own, we cannot reach God’s standards. Therefore, God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for mankind because He loved them enough to save them from their sins.
Christ died on a cross to pay for the sins that man could not pay for themselves. However, if He had only died, it would not have been sufficient enough to atone for the sins of man; He had to come back to life. Therefore, He did rise from the dead three days later in order to conquer sin, death, and Hell. Through His selfless sacrifice, those who trust in Him as Savior have eternal life, as well as an abundant life here on earth. Because of what He did on the cross, those who belong to Him should rightfully give their lives back to Him by telling others about Him and living for Him alone.
Works Cited
Calvin, John. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Nashville, TN:
Broadman & Holman, 1998. Print.