Dwight L. Moody once gave the following illustration during a sermon to demonstrate that our salvation is all of grace and not of works:
Suppose I were to say, I will give this Bible to “whosoever . . . .” What have you got to do? Why, nothing but take it.
But a man comes forward and says, “I’d like that Bible very much.”
“Well, didn’t I say ‘whosoever . . . ?”
“I’d like to have that Bible, but I’d like to give you something for it. I don’t like to take it for nothing.”
“Well, I am not here to sell Bibles; take it, if you want it.”
“Well I want it; but I’d like to give you something for it. Let me give you a penny for it; though to be sure, it’s worth twenty of thirty dollars.”
Suppose I took the penny; the man takes up the Bible and marches away home with it. His wife says, “Where did you get that Bible?”
“Oh, I bought it.”
Mark the point; when he gives the penny it ceases to be a gift. So with salvation, if you were to pay ever so little, it would not be a gift.
Each and every one of our good works as believers results from our regeneration that occurs at the moment of our rebirth. Works contribute absolutely nothing to our salvation nor do they keep us saved. It’s all of grace from beginning to end.
That’s the point of Jesus’ parable of the vine and branches in John 15:1-8. Branches never bear fruit by themselves; they cannot do so. But those connected to Jesus they cannot fail to bear fruit; true disciples of Jesus bear fruit. The bearing of fruit proves that we are true disciples (v. 8).
The Matter of Justification
Much understanding exists in the church today regarding our justification, which is God pronouncing us righteous. The word for justify in the Greek denotes a judge pronouncing a verdict of not guilty. The basic meaning of the word denotes a judge declaring an individual righteous, not guilty on all counts.
Paul uses the word in Romans 5 to describe God’s declaration of righteousness upon unworthy sinners. It’s the exchange of our sins for Jesus’ righteousness as the apostle describes in 2 Corinthians 5:21.
If God says we are righteous, no one will ever be able to overturn His verdict or claim that He justified us without sufficient evidence. Paul assures us that such a scenario is impossible (Rom. 8:31-34); God’s pronouncement will stand forever and ever.
In Romans 8:30 the apostle tells us with words that cannot be misunderstood that the one who is justified will be glorified. Once God pronounces us righteous based on the righteousness of Christ, that verdict cannot be overturned and will never be negated. That’s simply impossible!
Nothing can separate the true child of God from the Lord’s saving grace. Once God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us, it absolutely cannot be undone.
Secure in the Father’s Love
What does this mean for us? If you truly belong to Christ, you cannot do or say anything to lose the gift of eternal life you possess. No one can undue God’s justification of the sinner. No one can bring forth evidence He did not know about at the time He justified us.
Our final salvation depends on God’s pronouncement of righteousness at the moment of our rebirth. And nothing, absolutely nothing can undue God’s pronouncement.
I love these words by J. I. Packer from his book Knowing God,
There is unspeakable comfort . . . in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love, and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me.
God justifies us with His eyes wide open, with full knowledge of the case before Him at the time. He knows we are sinners who will never ever obey Him of our own accord. Yet, He looks at our entire lives and pronounces us righteous. Such knowledge does not lead to laziness in following Jesus; it rather motivates us to serve Him with all our being.
Our journey to heaven does not depend on our faithfulness or watchfulness or on our efforts to stay close to the Savior, but solely upon the Savior’s great mercy, grace, and love for us. I love the words of Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
!n Christ, we already possess eternal life (1 John 5:11-12); the rapture is the time our new life becomes a reality for us.