Have you ever had your vision tested? If you have blurred vision, you need the right pair of glasses to see clearly. This same principle applies to seeing God. Without the right lens you cannot see God clearly.
In the days when Jesus walked the earth, most people did not understand who He was. Once, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” How did Peter see clearly? How did he know that Jesus was the Messiah? Jesus said that this was not revealed to him by flesh and blood, but by His Father in heaven. [1]
Peter did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah because he was better than others. No, he recognized Jesus as the Messiah because God gave him grace to do so. We need a revelation from God to understand that Jesus is the Messiah. This is how Paul knew Jesus. He told the Ephesians that the mystery of the Gospel was made known to him by a divine revelation. [2]
Paul’s perspective was this, “I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. Although I am less than the least of the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the nations the boundless riches of Christ.” [3]
This is the perspective we need of God and of our salvation. We are saved by His grace and not because of anything we did. God called us thru His Gospel. The revelation of the Gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to sinners. [4]
A 15th century monk named Martin Luther was convinced that the Gospel was indeed God’s “power for salvation.” God revealed to Luther that the words of the Gospel have creative power like God’s words in Genesis 1. God spoke into existence that which formerly did not exist. The message of the Gospel brings new creation to sinners living in the void of darkness.
The world did not know God through its wisdom because God was pleased through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. [5] The wisest and richest men of this world cannot see God. Human reason cannot make God clear. Our spiritual eyes must be opened by a miracle of God’s grace. Faith in Jesus Christ is the key to unlocking the mysteries of God. Jesus is the way, truth, and life no one comes to God, except through Him. [6]
By creating faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, the Gospel bestows the benefits of His death and resurrection upon people. [7] God’s Word kills the sinner and makes him or her alive as a new creature in Christ.
Once upon a time, there was a gangster named Nicky Cruz. His parents were worshippers of Satan. They raised Nicky to hate and kill people. Nicky became the leader of a New York gang called the Mao Mao’s.
David Wilkerson was a Gospel preacher. He preached Jesus to Nicky. Nicky threatened to slice up David. He slapped David and spit in his face. David responded to Nicky’s hatred by telling him that Jesus loved him.
One day, as David shared the Gospel with Nicky, he believed. His life was totally transformed. He became a worldwide evangelist. Did Nicky deserve to know Jesus? No. Did God reveal Jesus to him? Yes.
The Apostle Paul’s testimony is, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” [8]
Did you catch that? Paul blasphemed God. He persecuted Christians. He was a man of violence. God had mercy on Paul. He poured His grace out on him abundantly. In exchange for Paul’s bad language and violent behavior, God gave him faith and love. This is what God’s grace is all about. It is unmerited favor. You get saved by God when you least deserve it.
Paul told Timothy, “I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His immense patience as an example for those who would believe in Him and receive eternal life.” Paul was the worst of sinners and yet God saved him. His salvation perspective is, “God has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” [9]
So before Paul did anything good or bad, even before the beginning of time, God had a plan to reveal his salvation to him and have him preach it to others. The point here is that if you have believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is because of God’s grace. God did not leave you in the dark. He did not let you die in your sins.
Paul was blind after he met Jesus. He could not see for three days. God sent a man named Ananias to pray for him, As Ananias prayed for Paul, the Lord opened his eyes. [10] We all need Jesus to open our blind eyes. Only Christ can give us clear vision.
As Christians we must understand this point. Salvation is of God. Only God can save us. He gets all the credit. To God alone belongs all the glory.
The monk Martin Luther tried to earn God’s favor by doing many good works. His good works did not ease his troubled conscience. No matter how good he tried to be, he never had peace of mind about his salvation. What if his best works were not good enough for God? That is why he turned to the Bible and studied it diligently. Through his studies, he saw that the Bible focuses on Christ. He read where Paul said to others, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” [11]
We do not have to be famous or fabulous to be God’s messenger. We do not have to be superman or wonder woman to serve God. We do not have to have great accomplishments, titles, or degrees because the power is of God and not of us.
It is not about us. “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” [12] The message that we are saved by grace glorifies God.
The message of grace is the correct perspective of humanity’s position before God. The message of grace points to Christ. Faith in Christ is the sure foundation to build your eternal future on.
Phillip Melanchthon wrote that the chief worship of God is to preach the Gospel. When we tell sinners about Christ, and they repent and believe all heaven breaks out in praise and worship.
Paul wrote that his only aim in life was to finish the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. [13]
What about people who say that if we are saved by God’s grace, we can sin as much as we want? What should we say to them? We can point them to Jude 1:4. It says, “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”
God did not save us TO sin. He saved us FROM sin. God did not give us grace so that we could sin more but so that we could escape it’s bondage and live holy lives that glorify Him.
Paul credited God’s grace for his ability to work effectively for God. “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” [14]
The same grace that opens our eyes to salvation empowers us to live a new life. When Peter confessed Jesus as the Son of the Living God, Messiah had a word for him. He told Peter, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this Rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” [15] The revelation of Jesus as Messiah is the mighty power of God to overcome all the works of the evil one.
[1] Matthew 16:15-18
[2] Ephesians 3:3
[3] Ephesians 3:7-8
[4] Romans 1:16
[5] 1 Corinthians 1:21
[6] John 14:6
[7] Romans 4:25
[8] 1Timothy 1:12-14
[9] 1Timothy 1:16; 2 Timothy 1:9
[10] Acts 9:10-17
[11] 2 Corinthians 4:5
[12] 2 Corinthians 4:7
[13] Acts 21:24
[14] 1Corinthians 15:10
[15] Matthew 16:18
