THE GRACE THAT BRINGS SALVATION 

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). This verse certainly does not mean that all men will be saved, but the grace that brings salvation is available to all men. In recent devotionals, I have tried to present the teachings of Calvinism (Reformed Theology) and then counter what they profess to believe with what I am confident the Bible really teaches. The 5 points of Calvinism (as it is well known) are presented by the acronym TULIP. The T stands for 'Total depravity' which presents a lost person as being dead and unable to respond to any stimulus. The U represents 'Unconditional election' which they use to teach that before the foundation of the world God sovereignly chose the individuals He would save, and all who were not chosen would never have a chance to be saved. The L is for 'Limited atonement' stating that Jesus would only die for the ones God chose. In this devotional, I will deal with the letter I which stands for 'Irresistible grace'. They believe those God chose were the only ones Jesus died for, and they will not be able to resist the grace that brings God's salvation when at His own time and place He chooses to save them.

For any who are not familiar with the beliefs of the Calvinist, it may be shocking to find out what they really believe about the salvation of a lost soul. They teach that telling a lost person to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ is asking them to do what is impossible for them. They compare it to going into a cemetery and telling someone buried there to come up and mow the grass. They believe a lost person is dead and unable to understand the Gospel and do anything for himself. He must wait for the Holy Spirit to come into his heart and give new life and then he can have faith. If he has been given new life, then he has already been born again so there should be no need for faith! The Bible clearly teaches that the grace that brings salvation is offered to everyone, and I have found that to be true in my own experiences of sharing the Gospel with others. Some have accepted His grace and been gloriously saved while others showing obvious signs of conviction have sadly chosen to resist God's offer of salvation. 

The experiences I have had of people resisting God's grace are like what numerous Biblical characters experienced as well. Luke shared the statement made by Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:66, "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Those Jews remained lost because of their own choice to resist the Gospel! Stephen declared in his great message to the unbelieving Jews, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye" (Acts 7:51). Paul was very concerned about the Jews who tried to earn their own salvation and refused to accept the righteousness that only God's grace could give them in Romans 10:1-3, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." I could give many more examples from Scripture of people refusing to accept God's grace, but I believe what Jesus had to say should prove that lost people can receive or reject His salvation. He said in John 5:40, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." You will notice that Jesus did not say that they COULD NOT come to Him, but they WILL NOT come!

The Scriptures are the only thing that is needed to refute what the Calvinist believes, but the experiences we have had are also meaningful if they coincide with what the Bible teaches. I do not try to lead a lost person to salvation when he walks down the aisle during an invitation. I ask them to be seated on the front pew and announce to the congregation that I will not be at the door shaking hands. The individual is taken to the office (or Sunday School room) where I will have more time to use the Scriptures to show them clearly how to be saved. Talking to them at the altar amidst all the noise of singing makes it difficult to supply them with all the information they may need. With an open Bible before them, I show them verses that explain why they are lost, why they cannot save themselves, what Jesus did for them to be able to provide salvation, and what they need to do to accept His offer of salvation. This is the same thing I would do if I was witnessing in their home. They will be able to ask questions and respond to my questions as well. I will ask them where they would go if they were to die right now. The answer, "I would go to Hell." I would ask, "Where would you go if you ask Jesus to forgive your sins and come into your heart and save you and then died 15 minutes from now?". The answer has come, "If I ask Jesus to save me then I know I would go to Heaven." Then I encourage him in his very own words to call on Jesus from his heart to save him. I remind him that I am praying for him, but my prayer will not save him! He must call on Jesus himself knowing that Jesus will hear and answer. When he has placed his faith in Jesus, I have asked, "Where will you go when you die right now?" The answer has come, "I will go to Heaven!" I ask again, "Where will you go if you die 20 years from now." The answer comes, "I will still go to Heaven!" I have had a similar experience with so many lost people. So don't try to tell me that lost people are dead and cannot understand the Gospel and make the decision to either accept Jesus as Savior through His grace or resist His offer! I have seen many tears from those who were lost turn into smiles of joy after receiving God's grace!

If you are taking the time to read my devotional thoughts, I am confident that you have had similar experiences to what I described above. Do you remember when the Holy Spirit convicted you that you were lost and needed to be saved? Did someone take the Bible and show you how to be saved? Although you were dead in your trespasses and sins, your spiritual death did not interfere with your living soul understanding and responding to the work of the Holy Spirit on your behalf. The grace of God brought salvation to each of us!