Unseen Hands of Salvation
"We believe that, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved." Acts 15:2
But how does this salvation come? How does the sinner secure this elusive gift?
‘Through grace.’
Not through ceremony and traditions. The man who insists on the importance of customs, institutions, and traditions is as great a figure in the modern Church as in the ancient. But his medicine will not heal the sinner's deep-rooted and malignant disease. It is sadly superficial and insufficient.
Not through works of service. Diligence and labor are good and necessary in Christ's kingdom, but they will never grant you entrance. They will not gain for you the favor and friendship of the King Himself. Works accepted are the consequence of His kindness, not its preluded purchase.
Not through emotions and feelings. Your tears, prayers, and raptures; are all good in their place. But these streams flow after the wicket gate of faith and repentance, not before it. Feelings and frames will never make you a child in the spotless family of heaven.
No, dear one, you shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. All to Him you owe. His obedience, death, imputation, glorious righteousness, and precious promises are the door, and the omnipotent Holy Spirit is the key. There, and there only, is your hope and boast. "Not me, but Thee" are the first pronouns in the believer's vocabulary—none of self and all of Him. When you can do nothing, God does everything; and you live in triumph because He makes His triumphs yours.
Your salvation, dear friend, is not of you, but of Him;
not of your merit, but of His mercy;
not of your works, but of His grace.
When we are brought to the end of ourselves and realize our insufficiency, then His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. Yet God's grace is not a shallow stream we can wade through, but a mighty ocean we cannot plumb. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5).
Thanks for your presence here, Jerrold, and the encouragement to refocus over the recent months. McCurley brings a refreshing depth I'm now in tune with, at https://www.greenvillepresbyterian.com/resources/sermon-archives/