ByA gift is a thing given to another willingly without any charge attached to receiving it. Givers of gifts have no terms and conditions required for their receivers to fulfil before taking them.
Dr Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries said in His “Now that you believe” book that “when a condition is attached to a gift, it becomes a trade.”
Salvation not a trade but the gift of God because He doesn’t expect anybody to apply any effort to merit its reception. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that,
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.
Accessing God’s gift
Every gift requires a receiving response from the beneficiary. Even though God has made the gift of salvation available to all people (Titus 2:11), not everyone is born again. And since the Bible explains in 2 Timothy 2:4 that God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth, it follows that God wants all people to access His gift. However, it’s not according to our methods, but His method.
Jesus is the only way to the Father. Therefore to receive salvation, you must come to Him. How? By hearing God’s powerful Word in order to believe in Jesus and then confessing His lordship over your life with your mouth (see Romans 10:9-10).
Salvation is not a trade but the gift of God because He doesn’t expect anybody to apply any effort to merit its reception.
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Working out your salvation
When you get born again, you have salvation. However, you must understand that God has purchased you with the blood of Christ (see Acts 20:28, Romans 3:25). So you’re not your own (1 Corinthians 6:20). You must live unto God, and that centres around the work out of your salvation.
Suppose I own land but don’t work it out, I’ll not lose its possession, but I won’t get the full benefit it can give me even though it’s mine. In the same way, when the Bible says we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), it means God’s gift of salvation that you have is a complete package. He gives it to people with a lot more benefits.
However, God knows you cannot work out your salvation by yourself. So the Bible says in Philippians 2:13 that
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
So God places the desire to act according to His will and also to fulfil His good purpose in you so that you can love unto Him. That’s amazing because He has made everything dependent on Him.
Child of God, understand that your salvation is secure. Romans 11:29 (NIV) tells us that,
for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
God’s gift of salvation to you is permanent. Just submit your ways to Him, and be regular with Christian gatherings. Your life will be transformed.
Also Read: The Inworking and Outworking Aspects of Salvation In Christ
