ONE QUALIFICATION FOR SALVATION

...that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners... 1 Timothy 1:15

Truly, there is only one qualification for salvation— that we are sinners. According to the Bible, every single one of us qualifies, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). The weakness of our flesh lusts against the Spirit to spoil one’s mind to suggest two arguments to oppose the work of Christ.

The flesh might arouse a person to suggest he or she is not a sinner; or at the very least, suggest the sins which abide in the core of their being are pardonable apart from any atoning work necessary from a holy God. This abominable indifference to sin is blind to the offensive nature which opposes a good, just and holy God. This perspective exalts the flesh and man’s work apart from the LORD, belittling the necessity and sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. There is no hope for such a person unless the God of all grace and mercy opens his blind eyes, softens his hard heart, and resurrects his dead soul to the truth of his lost condition and need of Christ’s excellent work.

At the other end of the spectrum, the flesh might arouse a person to suggest the sins he or she has committed are unpardonable before a gracious and merciful God. Their attitude implies that Jesus Christ is either powerless and insufficient to save or else unwilling and too capricious to do so.

Paul handles both of these arguments— the former by saying that he received God’s mercy while he “acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim 1:13); and the latter by reminding us that he was the chief and foremost of sinners (1 Tim 1:15). Jesus came to save sinners. Period. And when Jesus saves, He makes every one of us a “true child in the faith” because we are recipients of “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Tim 1:2).

A faithful word indeed,
For Jesus Christ did bleed,
You qualify if you
Are but a sinner too.

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Today's M'Cheyne Reading Schedule: 4/12 - Lev 16; Psa 19; Prov 30; 1 Tim 1

If you don’t have one, get a free PDF copy of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s “Daily Bread” Bible Reading Calendar by Clicking Here.

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Jon Cardwell writes devotional thoughts like the one above & sends them via email daily (except Sunday). Go to www.calvarybaptistninilchik.com/devotionals.html or click the optional weblink below.