DECEMBER 3 - Lifesaving Truth As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. — EPHESIANS 2:1 I once heard Dr. R. C. Sproul paint a fascinating picture of how "dead in sin" we are. He described the unbeliever as lying "flatdead- drowned" on the bottom of a pool under six feet of water. The man is so dead he can't possibly hear the "good news" that a lifesaver is on the way. He can't respond. God is the Lifesaver who must reach down, pull the unbeliever out of the water, and breathe life into his dead body. Once quickened, the man happily recognizes his Savior, reaches up, and embraces him. That's the gospel. There are two different interpretations of the gospel. One makes salvation dependent on the work of God, the other on a work of man. One regards faith as part of God's gift of salvation, the other sees faith as man's own contribution to salvation. One gives all the glory of saving to God; the other divides the praise between God who "built the machinery" of salvation, and man who operated it by believing. John 1:13 underscores that we are spiritually born "not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." We are made alive out of the deadness of our sin by the will of God, for Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). As much as it goes against our natural grain, we are not masters of our own fate or captains of our own souls. Throughout this day, rehearse in your heart that (1) all men are sinners and cannot do anything to save themselves; (2) Jesus Christ, God's Son, is a perfect Savior for sinners, even the worst; and (3) the Father and the Son have promised that all who know themselves to be sinners and place their faith in Christ the Savior shall be received into favor and no one cast away. Father, I praise you for quickening my spirit and giving me saving faith that I might recognize Jesus as my Savior! _ |
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