And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

— Revelation 7:10

8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

— Ephesians 2:8-9

He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

— Titus 3:5

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

— Romans 3:20

Through Him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

–Acts 13:39

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

— Galatians 3:11

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, peace and joy to you from Jesus Christ.

Believers have been saved by grace through faith, not of themselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast. A fairly common confusion regarding gospel presentations is to require the sinners to do some work for salvation, but the gospel is NOT faith in Christ plus good work. The Bible teaches that salvation is the work of God. It belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. We can add nothing to Christ’s work on the cross. He achieved complete and full salvation for all mankind, without the help of anyone. It’s not by our works of righteousness, but according to His mercy, He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Another confusion regarding gospel is that sinners have to believe and keep the Law, the Ten Commandments. Actually the Bible speaks plainly against this wrong gospel. Paul pointed out that man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, for by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Clearly no one is justified before God by the law because “the righteous will live by faith.” The Law was given to be our school master to teach us to recognize our need for salvation, but it was never given to save us. Only Jesus can save us.