Bible Basics

Receiving God's Gift

Many do not believe that salvation is conditional. They believe that if man must do anything to be saved, grace is nullified. But the Scriptures clearly show that man is saved by faith (John 3:16; Eph. 2:8; etc.), thus making our faith a condition of our salvation. But God’s promises have always been conditional. Take, for instance, God’s promise to the Israelites to overthrow the city of Jericho (Joshua 6:1ff). God said, “See, I have given into thy hand Jericho,” and later Joshua said, “Jehovah hath given you the city” (v. 16). And yet they had to meet certain conditions before God’s power caused the walls to fall. But marching around the city, blowing their horns and shouting as God commanded were not the means by which the walls fell down. The walls fell down by the power of God, not by anything that the Israelites did. When God exerted His power to flatten those walls, He gave them the city. But this gift was conditioned upon their faith, a faith made complete by their obedience. And so the Hebrew writer says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days” (Heb. 11:30). No conflict exists between God’s grace and man meeting God given conditions essential to receiving His promise. Only after meeting God’s conditions of obedient faith do we receive God’s gift.

                                                                                                               -- Clark Dugger

Bible Basics