For nearly thirty years I assumed a person could decide
to become a Christian. However, it became clear that salva-
tion was on the basis of grace through faith – gifts of God.
This is evident from many passages of Scripture, such as
Ephesians 2:8-9: “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.”
Faith and Grace
I knew grace was a gift of God, but I had assumed faith
rose out of the individual. I did not see that faith was a gift
as well. But grace comes through faith and both are gifts.
Faith cannot be a work, or grace could not be grace. But this
is more of a problem for many than I imagined! The biblical
understanding of grace is ignored or twisted, while at the
same time almost everyone knows the words to the great
hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The Real Reason
The real reason for this I am convinced has to do with
fear: fear that something so vital is beyond our control. Sal-
vation, forgiveness, and eternal life are all ultimate issues,
and all come through grace; they are given and cannot be
acquired or earned. So then, what if God does not give grace?
What if God chooses to predestine to hell rather than heaven?
It is a fearful prospect, or so it appears at first. But it is fear,
perhaps demonically inspired fear, that is behind the hostility
directed towards the good message of grace.
The Fear of God
Scriptural passages teach that the fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom. The kind of fear of God encouraged in
the Bible is a respect, honor, and reverence for the Almighty.
Fear of grace, though, is entirely different. This fear reasons,
“If I cannot choose God, and he does not choose me, I am
lost.” This is a great and terrible fear.
Good News!
It is good news that I cannot choose God. It is good news
that God chooses me. Why? It is simply because I cannot
believe; I have no capacity to do so. Not only am I dead in
my trespasses and sins, but the best I can do, as far as faith
is concerned, is to generate within myself some measure
of positive thinking. Though positive thinking is often presented
as the nature of faith, it is not at all. And most of us
are failures at being positive all the time, or even some of the
time. I may be able to be so for a while, but I soon give way to
doubt and pessimism. I cannot stay focused in my thinking.
So then, if my salvation depends upon my ability to be positive,
I am doomed and will be gripped with a powerful fear.
Love Replaces Fear
Love and fear are opposites. Remember the song: “Jesus
loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”? Not only
does God love me, but he also does not wish me to perish but
to come to him for forgiveness. He is actually seeking sin
ners; he is knocking on the door, calling out our name. He
has come to seek and save those who are lost. “In this is love,
not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10); and
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The truth is, God’s
love overcomes our fear.
Come to Jesus
Here is both the heart of the matter and the reason for
strong hope and confidence: “All that the Father gives me
will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast
out” (John 6:37). For the person who senses a fear of God
and hostility towards grace welling up inside, this is not from
God. Come to Jesus who is seeking you, loves you, and longs
to be your Savior.