Imagine filling out an application for heaven. After filling in your name and address, you come to a section marked “Qualifications.” What would you put there? “My belief in God”? “The people I have helped along the way”? “I’ve tried to live by the Ten Commandments”? Or would you write, “No qualifications other than my reliance upon what Christ, the Son of God, has done for me”? The reason these questions are important is that if we treat salvation as a reward rather than a gift, we may fail to qualify for the gift. Out of concern for those who could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime, I’d like to suggest ten reasons to believe salvation is a gift:
1. The Bible calls it a gift. According to the most published book in the world, no one qualifies for heaven by trying to be a good person (Romans 4:4-5; 6:23; 10:13). Nor will we live forever because we have done better than our neighbor. According to the Bible, the only way to live forever is through a willingness to receive “the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:7-9).
2. There are risks in receiving it. Those who receive gifts often feel beholden to the giver. This sense of moral obligation is true of those who receive God’s offer of salvation. According to the apostle Paul in the New Testament, such persons are no longer their own. They’ve been “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). While a sense of moral responsibility does not always accompany a gift, it often is felt by those who know they’ve been given something they didn’t earn.
3. It is offered by grace. The apostle Paul said, “By grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8). “By grace” means the “unmerited kindness” by which God offers to rescue us from our failures. This help comes only to those who have given up hope of qualifying for heaven by their own accomplishments or by comparing themselves with others. The apostles James and Peter both called attention to a foundational principle of the kingdom of God when they said, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
4. It is received through faith. If the Bible only said, “By grace you have been saved,” we might conclude that everyone will receive eternal life. Without the added condition of faith, it would appear that everyone, whether atheist or apostle, will end up with the gift we don’t deserve. The complete statement, however, says, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” We need this faith in order to qualify for the gift (Romans 1:16-17; 4:4-5). Unless we see that salvation is received only by trusting what God has done for us, we are still relying on ourselves.
5. The most undeserving people can receive it. The Bible gives us the names of people whose only qualification for heaven is that they were given a gift they didn’t deserve. Among those who relied on God’s grace were not only the apostle Paul (1 Timothy 1:13-15) but others who had nothing to offer God but their trust. Among those named in the genealogy of Christ are people with stories of incest, prostitution, adultery, and murder (Matthew 1:1-16).
6. The most deserving people cannot earn it. The Bible also tells us about people who seemed to have lived wonderful lives but who lost the opportunity of a lifetime by trying to earn what God wanted to give them. The New Testament describes these people as very religious, “having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). Although these individuals often spent their lives seeking to please God, they never understood that His kindness was more important than their own.
7. It is an exclusive offer. When the apostle Peter said that there is “no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), he did not speak out of pride. He spoke out of concern. He knew that it was only because Christ had died for him that he had any hope of heaven. Peter saw himself as an undeserving fisherman who had found mercy and grace. He did not believe that there was any other way for anyone to be accepted by God. His conviction is shared by the apostle Paul who wrote that “there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
8. It is an offer with limited time availability. The Bible warns us that, like any offer, this one will expire. The New Testament says that when Christ returns He will come not as a Savior but as a Judge (John 5:22-29; Acts 17:31). Although the offer is still open, it has an expiration date. The apostle Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Peter’s concern is reflected in the words of the apostle Paul: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
9. There is a precedent. From beginning to end, our life depends on a series of gifts. First, God gave us the gift of existence. Then He gave us the provisions and circumstances we need to survive. He gave us the ability to see, to feel, to hear, and to enjoy. In light of these gifts, the apostle Paul asked, “Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
10. A gift is what we need. This is the most personal reason for believing salvation is a gift. If the Bible is telling us the truth about ourselves, we don’t need fairness and justice. Neither do we need compensation or rewards. We need mercy. We need forgiveness. We need to open our hearts to the undeserved rescue God gives to anyone who receives the ultimate gift of relationship with His Son (John 1:11-12).
Father in heaven, thank You for doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. We gratefully acknowledge that because of Your gift, we are not only Yours by creation but by Your purchase as well.
