The Gospel is a Gift, Not a Reward
Have you ever bought yourself a gift? Perhaps before a birthday you saw something on sale and bought it. When you brought it home, a spouse or parent asked, “Where did you get that?” “I bought myself a present.”
Every time any one of us has bought ourselves a gift, we have really skirted the process. Gifts are not awarded to one’s self. Gifts are given from one person to another. Anything we purchase for ourselves is a possession gained by our earned income and decision making. A gift is freely given and received.
Ben Mandrell calls salvation “the gift you can’t give yourself.”*
It should come as no surprise that people try to give themselves salvation. In some ways, it appears as people trying to earn heaven by their good works. In other ways, people try to reason or bargain with God for a “ticket into the pearly gates.”
The Bible does indeed call salvation a gift; a gift of God, to be exact. In Romans 6:23 Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Salvation is a gift that cannot be earned, much less be awarded to one’s self. The idea that heaven is a reward for our effort is not found in the pages of Scripture. It is, as Proverbs tells us, a way that seems right, but in the end leads to death.
The gift of salvation is not earned; it is received.
Jesus called on His listeners to “repent and believe the good news [gospel].” Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in lordship. We recognize our separation from God, turn from our sin, and accept Christ as Lord. We believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. The gift of salvation is not earned; it is received.
The Book of Ephesians teaches us salvation is a gift received by faith, so that no one will be able to boast is his or her own accomplishments (2:8, 9). The focus of heaven will be the risen Lamb, Jesus Christ. We will not take turns recounting how we all made it to heaven on our own. No one will stand before God and say, “I gifted myself with salvation.”
The entire process of salvation is extended by giving. God the Father gave Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. God, in His grace, extends salvation as a gift. Those who receive this gift give of themselves to tell others of the grace of God in salvation. God’s offer of salvation is received by still others, and on it goes.
As I have written these few months now about Bible Studies for Life, it is important to note the ways God connects those who are unconnected. Small-group communities grow as friends invite others inside the body to participate. Connections are made and community is built. But, as the good news is woven into the story of our lives, people outside the body are drawn to repentance and faith. Men, women, boys and girls receive God’s free gift of salvation. God is glorified and the church is built up.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
General Editor, Bible Studies for Life
*- Bible Studies for Life, Do Over: Experience New Life in Christ
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Will You Pray Today and Tomorrow for Our Senior Pastors who are Gathering to Pray for Spiritual Revival and Awakening?
There is power in sharing your heart with one another. There are 178 Senior Pastors from 26 states who are gathering today and tomorrow because a few pastors shared their hearts with one another about the need for spiritual revival and awakening. We let time test what we felt God was putting in our hearts, He confirmed it clearly, and we began to extend to other Senior Pastors, A Call to Pray For Revival and Awakening.
Today is the Day
The day has finally arrived for us to gather from across the nation to pray for spiritual revival and awakening. After a challenging Sunday in all of our lives, we gather from across America with a spiritual resolve: We must have spiritual revival and awakening in the church and in America. While I am confident the enemy has tried his best to place excuses before many of these men, providing reasons they cannot come, they are gathering in spite of it with a holy anticipation that God is up to something great. We do not want to miss it.
Since today is the day, we need you to come alongside us in prayer and support. Our goal is to see God move among His church and in our nation. While crises are looming in the church and in our nation, we gather to pray with faith and confidence that God will hear our prayers.
The Big Question
The big question is, “Will you pray for us?” We must know in our hearts as we gather to pray, that Christ-followers and local churches are praying with us. We are not here with some kind of political or denominational agenda.
We are here, reporting for duty to our Lord, ready to follow His call to us to pray. He states in Jeremiah 33:3,
Call unto Me, and I will show you great and mighty things that you do not know.
Therefore, we gather to do just that. Our agenda is singular: to obey God’s Spirit as He moves among us.
What we do will be based upon the Word of God, but also empowered and led by the Holy Spirit of God. We gather believing with all of our hearts, that God has called us to be here at this certain time, in this period, for our generation.
Therefore, will you pray for us? Will you pray with us? Technology allows us to go global with what we are doing. That is right, global. Spread the word now with people all over the world, and let’s petition the God of Heaven to meet with us like we have never known before. How should you pray? A few days ago, I wrote about how you can pray for us and with us.
Standing in the Gap
We are here in Southlake, Texas, just minutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. We are here to stand in the gap, praying and believing God together. What will we pray for?
- We will begin by preparing ourselves spiritually to pray and stand in the gap.
- We will pray for pastors across our nation.
- We will pray for our churches across the nation.
- We will pray for America.
Our single desire: We gather to pray for spiritual revival and awakening. Could this be the day that God answers the prayers of people who have been praying since the last great move of God in our nation? Could it be the day when God meets with us in ways like we have never known before? God is able. We are willing.
I close with this Scripture today that perhaps will stir you, but yet encourage you in your life. Ezekiel 22:30 says,
I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.
The need is urgent. Will you stand in the gap today for us? Be encouraged that here in Southlake, Texas, God has called 178 Senior Pastors from 26 states across our nation, to be here, standing in the gap.
We are standing in the gap for pastors, churches, and our nation. When our prayer gathering was planned and this date was chosen, not one of us knew that on this very same day, a crisis would be looming in Washington D.C. over whether or not the government will be shut down. While our nation’s politicians and leaders are in this major conflict, we are praying.
Our Hope and Answer
Our hope and answer will not come from the White House nor from the People’s House; but our hope and answer will only come from the church house when God wakes us up like never before and pours out upon us a mighty, fresh outpouring of His Spirit that will become the catalyst for the next great move of God in our nation. Thanks for praying for us and praying with us. May God do all He wants to do when we gather on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.