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Salvation BY GRACE
by Dr. Roy Brill
W HAT MORE IMPORTANT TOPIC could occupy our thinking than that of the message of salvation through Christ’s sacrificial death on Calvary’s cross? In Phil. 2:8 it is re ferred to as “even the death of the cross.” Although the Saviour’s life was one of holiness, of complete obe dience to the Father, and totally sep arated from the world, yet men are not saved by virtue of emulating the life of Jesus. Our Lord knew that He had left the Father’s glory for one purpose, and that was to die for fall en mankind (John 3:14-16). His death was a carefully planned event. God’s program is always of design and purpose. Galatians 4:4 reminds us that when the divine calendar was ready, and not before, nor after, Christ came “in the fullness of time.” (The same is true in Rom. 5:6.) This should convey that He was not taken unawares when He went to Calvary. He was not over powered by sinful man (John 19:11). Christ, did not die as a foreigner on behalf of a good cause. God had this in mind before He laid the founda tion of the world. Let us never for get to challenge the unsaved with such verses as I Pet. 1:18-20. Again we find this blessed thought in Tit. 1 :2. This means that the Lord has a perfect knowledge of our personal present spiritual condition as He has had in eternity past. The picture is far from beautiful! In Rom. 3:10 we are reminded, “There is none righteous, no not one!” The Creator of the universe saw that we were full of sin. Listen to the way the prophet Isaiah puts it: “From the sole of the foot, even to the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putri-
fying sores” (1:6). Hospitals, jails, and rescue missions all bear testi mony to this fact. It’s not difficult to get a person in these areas to ac knowledge he is a sinner. How many there are in society’s other levels who feel they are really morally up right before God. To such an indi vidual read Isa. 64:6. When Jesus Christ went to the cross, His death was a shameful one (Heb. 12:2). “He made himself of no reputation.” He didn’t take the load of just part of our sins but all of them, past, present and future! His was a substitutionary death. Here was something never known be fore or since, the righteous dying for the unrighteous. This truly re veals in a wonderful way the match less, unspeakable grace of God. God poured out all of His wrath and con demnation upon Christ. As we em brace Him as our own personal Sa viour, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us and we thereby be come holy before God. Yes, the Saviour died to redeem sinful man. The word redeem means to deliver by paying a price. It is the picture of a man completely bound and enslaved by sin. He has no power or ability to reverse his situation apart from God's own pro vision of grace. But more than this Christ reconciled us to God (Isa. 59:2). The very moment you reach out to take the Saviour, you are brought nigh to God. Salvation also means forgiveness (Eph. 1:7). All of these things are as a result of “the riches of His grace.” Do you have the assurance that you possess eternal life? If not, by faith won’t you accept Him right now? (Rom. 10:9, 10). 3
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