by Mike Cooner
Synopsis: Salvation is founded upon divine grace and not human merit, but it remains conditional—it must be received by “hearing with faith” (Gal. 3:2, 5), and the “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5; 16:25).
God offers each of us a gift: “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” (Eph. 2:8-9, NKJV). By grace, God has offered salvation to all men, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11).
So if God’s grace has appeared to all men, why are not all men saved? I believe we see the answer in Ephesians 2:8, which affirms that we are saved by grace through faith. God has provided us with His grace, but it is up to us “through faith” to receive the gift.
We have many examples in the Bible of how this works, and one such example is Noah. In Genesis 6:8, we are told that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Still, it was Noah’s faith that moved him to build an ark so that he and his family could be saved: “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became the heir of righteousness which is according to faith” (Heb. 11:7). God, by His grace, warned Noah of the coming destruction, and we too have been warned by God of coming destruction (2 Pet. 3:10-12).
We, like Noah, have a place of escape, and that place is found in Jesus Christ. The blessing of deliverance, along with all spiritual blessings, is only found in Christ (Eph. 1:3). To be saved, Noah had to be in the ark when the flood came; so likewise, if we hope to be saved from coming destruction, we must be in Christ. God’s word tells us how to get into Christ: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27).
Noah and his family received the gift of salvation when they entered the ark, and God closed the door behind them. Today we can receive the gift of salvation if we are found in Christ. The question for us is, “Will we be in Christ and receive the gift, or will we (like so many) reject the gift of God’s love?”
Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to eternal life, and there are few who find it (Matt. 7:13-14).
All quotations are taken from The New King James Version (NKJV). Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.
