God Only Saves By Grace

“The gospel is an unrelenting assault on graceless religion, on all the ways we try to avoid grace.” + Scotty Smith

As I read this quote from the commentary notes in the Gospel Transformation Bible, the grace of God struck me upside the head.

Christianity is the only religion where grace is the means of attaining salvation. This is one of the reasons why at times there has been a target on Christianity since it’s beginnings. Because the gospel declares that all other works-based religions are invalid. Working to try to attain salvation, or trying to be a better person to earn God’s favor is vain, useless, and inadequate. The gospel assaults this sort of self-salvation project by pronouncing your failures and your need for grace.

God graciously grants salvation to undeserving sinners because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to them through faith. The gospel is gloriously unfair. The gospel declares that those who have abandoned their good works and right behavior and who cling to the grace of God found in Christ are the only ones fit for salvation. At the point of justification, the gospel says, quit working, and believe.

God only saves by grace. There is no other way in which God saves. He will not accept your self-righteousness, for it is not the righteousness of God. He will not allow you to contribute, or chip in to your salvation.

And this is offensive and assaulting on our human nature. Many want to hold up their religious resume to God and say, “I am qualified for heaven.” But God will accept no such resume. God gives grace to undeserving sinners. Do not reject this grace and hold on to your self-perceived goodness and say to yourself, “God loves what I do for him.” He does not. God loves Jesus. And God loves those in Jesus. Throw out the resume and be fastened into Christ – the only safe haven from the wrath of God toward the sin of self-righteousness.