GraceLife Thoughts – The Practice of Salvation

Grace Thoughts

GraceLife Thoughts – The Practice of Salvation

The practical side of salvation is Christians (saved people) doing what God tells them to do. Again, pretty simple. What did God tell saved people to do? Testify about Christ, make disciples in the power and authority of Christ and teach them to obey Christ. How do we do that?

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:5-6

Notice the process: plant, water, increase. Anyone who has done or seen any gardening or farming understands that right away. The gardener or farmer takes a seed and plants it in the ground. They water the ground and the seed grows. That’s the part we play in telling people about sin and salvation.

We may wonder where we should plant the seed of the Word. How do we know who God has chosen for salvation? We don’t. That’s not for us to know or even consider. Our job is to tell everyone, everywhere about God’s saving grace. God gives the increase. Our job is to be faithful in planting and watering.

Paul reverse engineered the process in his letter to the Romans:

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’ Romans 10:14-15

First – we are sent to preach the Gospel
Second – we preach the Gospel
Third – some people believe the Gospel

We see that basic idea throughout the New Testament. Jesus called the disciples and sent them to preach the Gospel. They preached the Gospel and people believed. The disciples sent the new believers out to preach the Gospel. They preached the Gospel and people believed. That simple but profound process has been repeated hundreds of millions of times during the past two thousand years. It works because that’s how God designed it to work.