Free Food!
My wife and I have a date every Tuesday for lunch. We usually grab a bite to eat at one of our local establishments. As we left one restaurant, we noticed that if we filled out a survey, we could get a free sandwich. I started wondering whether a person could survive just by filling out surveys. My wife said, “Try it!” I said, “No.” I have filled out a survey on occasion to get free food, but I don’t want to fill out surveys every day. Also, the value of this free food is relatively low. Usually, what you get is one of the cheaper menu options. Someone else, however, might want to do that! After all, it’s for free food!
I couldn’t help but think about how many religious folks today claim that if a person must do anything to be saved, then he has earned his salvation. Does filling out a survey “earn” a sandwich? No. That’s why they say it is “free.” Yet, what Jesus offers us in salvation is so much more valuable than a cheap menu item. It is priceless! How could a person so earn His salvation through obeying God’s commands? He could not. It is not an equal exchange. There is no comparable value in obedience to the price that God paid.
Do we earn our salvation when we do what Jesus tells us to do to be saved? No! But we do meet the conditions that God has set. It is why Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16). The notion that there is absolutely nothing one must do to be saved is a false doctrine that Jesus did not teach.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley