One of the fallacies of the church is that a person is saved because the Lord "knew" that he or she would ... fill in the blank. The person would eventually ... become a responsible parent; shake loose from the chains of addiction; become a dedicated philanthropist; devote their talents and gifts to the service of the Church. Take your pick. This idea has been repeated, in various forms, for centuries.
But even though Christians have picked up on this idea and promulgated it throughout the world, it is still untrue; it still contradicts the Word of God:
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.
Ephesians 2:8-9 [NKJV]
If our salvation is dependent upon something that we do -- either in our past, our present or our future -- then we have nullified the effect and power of grace. It's simply not possible to adequately describe how wrong, dangerous and blasphemous such a notion truly is.
A man is saved only because of the work of Christ.
Without His saving grace, we are able to do nothing of eternal value. Nothing that is good and pleasing to the Lord.
Altruistic works are fine, but if they lack the power and authority of Christ (which ALL non-believers lack), then they lack any eternal value.
The humility of recognizing that nothing you or I have done or will do changes our election Christ will have a natural and wondrous result: We will acknowledge the amazing work that Jesus has done for us and in us. And we will join with all the angels in praise to the Glorious King of kings!
Be encouraged, Jose
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