The Sufficiency Of God’s Salvation

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.
–Colossians 2:13

In Hebrews 2, the writer explained why we should respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ right now. The reason we must tie up to God’s offer of salvation is because of the superiority of God’s messenger Jesus, the severity of God’s judgment, and the sufficiency of God’s salvation. Here is the good news: God has provided a way that we can escape His judgment. It is not one of many ways; it is the only way. The only way to escape God’s judgment is through the salvation that Christ died to provide for you and me. What is so great about this salvation?

First of all, it is a salvation without cost. Notice that Hebrews 1:14 does not say “those who work for salvation”; it says “those who will inherit salvation.” Salvation is a gift we receive. Paul said in Romans 4:5, “To the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.” If God allowed you or me to work for our salvation, then salvation would be something to brag about. When we got to Heaven, we would say, “Let me tell you what I did to get here.” But there is no bragging in Heaven. We will be there because of God’s grace. We will be thanking God for our salvation. It is without cost. The final invitation of the Bible, Revelation 22:17, says, “Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”

Second, it is a salvation without condition. There are no strings attached. God does not say, “I am going to give you this gift, but if you mess up, I am yanking it back.” Romans 11:29 says, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” In John 10:28, Jesus said, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” When you trust in Christ as Savior, Jesus holds you in the palm of His hand, and those fingers can never be pried apart, not by you from the inside and not by the devil from the outside. You belong to Jesus forever. It is a salvation that is without condition.

Third, it is a salvation without constraint. Nothing disqualifies you from receiving that gift. Some of you think, “God could not forgive me for what I have done.” If you believe you are constrained from becoming a Christian because of what you have done, then look at what God did with your past: “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Colossians 2:13). That word “all” includes every sin you have ever committed. When you trust in Christ for forgiveness, it is all erased.

If you reject or neglect so great a salvation–a salvation that is without cost, without condition, and without constraint–then what is your plan for surviving God’s certain and severe judgment?

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “So Great A Salvation” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2013.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.