Saved By Grace ... But Who's Grace?

When I was a teenager, the question of my salvation was not exactly at the forefront of my thinking. I didn’t ponder often – or long – how I was going to be saved. I kind of knew about my salvation. I had been through two years of catechism instruction and had been taught both Law and Gospel by a pastor who himself had extensive learning in Law and Gospel.

I knew my salvation was based on what Jesus Christ had done for me (and the world) when He died on the cross and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday.

But I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.

I wish I did. Because I think it would have made me think about just what it means that I am saved. It might also have made me think about how other people are saved.

I was taught – and I still believe with all my heart – that I am saved by grace.

Ephesians 2:5 says it plainly, “By grace you are saved.“

But then I was thinking, that’s how a Christian is saved, since Ephesians is part of the Christian Bible.

Muslims don’t use the Christian Bible in the same way. Neither to Jews. Are they still saved by grace?

Maybe a better way to say it is that we (Christian, Muslim, Jew, and anyone else) is saved by God’s grace.

After all, most of the planet believes in God in some form or another.

But it occurs to me that this would be to generalized to be of any good. For something as important as eternal salvation, you’d think that God would have been as specific as possible.

Then I came across this passage of Scripture in the Book of Acts:

“But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 15:11 ESV).

I don’t believe this is trying to say that only Christians will be saved. But I believe it is also saying that there is only one way to be saved and that is through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Does that mean Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and any other person cannot be saved?

No, in fact just the opposite. All people can be saved. All can be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.

We don’t have to go around searching for the right grace or the right way or the right religion. We only have to go one place – to Jesus Christ Himself.

We don’t have to spend our time trying to be good enough, do good enough, or say good enough to be saved.

Salvation is through the grace of our Lord Jesus.