“Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’”
Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved
This verse is an allusion to the Old Testament Greek rendering of Proverbs 11:31.
The “if” assumes reality in the Greek. It is true that Christians have difficulty in being saved. They have a difficult time coming to grips with grace. The gospel itself is not difficult but it is difficult to come to grips with salvation by grace. Faith in Christ is non-meritorious. Most people have a very difficult time dropping their works-orientation to salvation.
The “righteous one” is not a special class of spiritual Christians. The “righteousone” here is the one who has received imputed righteousness from God. Our eternal standing before God does not rest in righteousness of our own. We standing in a righteousness given to us by Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Saved people are right with God.
“Scarcely” means with difficulty, hardly. “Righteous one” is a term for Christians. It is very difficult for Christians to become Christians. Saving sinners is no mean task. It took Jesus to the cross. The reason Jesus went to the cross because men are totally depraved. There is no way we can come to Christ by our own merit. We can barely become Christians. It takes the act of God to save us.
The word “saved” means to receive salvation. We cannot earn salvation; it must be given to us.
Principle:
Christians go to heaven only by the work of God Himself in sending Christ to die for our sins.
Application:
It takes the work of God to save us. We go to heaven only by the work of Christ. We cannot save ourselves. No merit or human effort makes any impression upon God. Not one of us has any righteousness before God.
“As it is written:
‘There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one‘” (Romans 3:10-12).To become a Christian we have to stop working for salvation and accept the work of Christ for our salvation.
“But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).
Have you come to the place where you reject your own merit for salvation and rest solely on the payment Jesus made on the cross for your sins? Why not make that decision today?
0 Responses to “1 Peter 4:18”