BBD 06.28.07 Can You Save Yourself?
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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06.28.07
Can You Save Yourself?
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. For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:8-10.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy
He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Spirit. - Titus 3:5.
For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23.
A 78-year-old woman was riding in the front passenger seat of a taxi on the
Autobahn in Germany when the driver suddenly had a heart attack and died.
The taxi slammed against the guardrail but the woman did not panic. Instead,
she knocked the car out of gear and then used the car's hand brake to bring
the car to a stop about 300 yards later. Her quick thinking and reaction
most likely saved her life and the lives of others.
Can you save yourself? Sometimes. The 78-year-old woman taxi passenger was
able to save herself from serious injury or death by her quick and wise
actions. Can you save others? Sometimes. The woman by her actions very
likely saved others from injury or even death.
Because we can sometimes save ourselves and sometimes save others from
physical injury or death, we tend to think the same thing when it comes to
the spiritual. This is the most common misunderstanding about the spiritual
realities. We can save ourselves physically so we think we can save
ourselves spiritually. However, it simply is not possible. The most common
misconception about the spiritual realities is in thinking that we can bring
about salvation by doing good deeds. This misconception about the spiritual
realities would have you to believe that you just have to do more good
things than you do bad things and you will have saved yourself. The
spiritual truth is that all have sinned, fallen short of God's perfection
(Romans 3:23). James tells us in James 2:10, "For whoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." The penalty
for those sins is death (Romans 6:23).
The Bible tells us that Jesus died for our sins:
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son.."
Romans 5:6 - "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly."
Romans 5:8 - ".while we were yet sinners Christ died for us."
Romans 6:10 - "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all."
1 Corinthians 15:3 - "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also
received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
Hebrews 9:12 - "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own
blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption."
Hebrews 10:10 - "By that will we have been sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the
unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but
made alive by the Spirit."
If we could save ourselves spiritually, why would it be necessary for Christ
to die? If there had been any other way for us to be saved, if we could save
ourselves it would have been unnecessary for Christ to die. If we could save
ourselves, we would not need a Savior. If we could save ourselves, we would
not call Jesus our Savior. If we could save ourselves the Name of Jesus
would not be the Name above all names (Philippians 2:9) because our name
would be just as powerful. To say that you can work your way to Heaven by
doing more good deeds than bad is to make yourself equal with Jesus.
No, we cannot save ourselves spiritually. Therefore, let us give all the
honor, all the praise, and all of the glory to Jesus because He suffered and
died for us that we might have a Savior.
Copyright © 2007. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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