And
the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy
cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the
sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto
me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
(Luke 1:35-38)
And
blessed is she that
believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told
her from the Lord.
(Luke 1:45)
Mary believed God, and the Son of God was miraculously
conceived in her and born from her.
"Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were
told her from the Lord." This
miracle was an act from God. Mary simply
submitted herself to the Word sent by God to her from the angel, and believed
him. God performed the rest. A miracle took place, wrought by God, not
man. There was nothing any human being
could do to bring about the Savior of the world or Israel's Messiah. Just so, there is nothing man can do to bring
about another birth, the new birth of the believer -the life of Christ Himself
born in us. It is an act of God as we simply believe (trust in, adhere to, rely
on) into Christ, the only provision
for our salvation.
But
to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
(John 1:12-13)
For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus… (Ephesians 2:8-10a)
The Word of God is powerful and able to fully work in us
what He says He will do. It is the power of God that performs in us the new
life, when we believe in Him as our Savior, making us a new creation in Christ
Jesus. It is not our performance or works that saves us. What a wonderful salvation the Lord has
brought about for us! Man tries in so
many ways to complicate it with his own religion or works but God has shown us
all through His Word, that man is unable to be righteous at all, and God alone
is able to save us by fulfilling the righteousness and the penalty of the law,
and becoming our salvation, imputing righteousness to us. To think to save
yourself by performance or works is to degrade that salvation and nullify it
(Galatians 2:19-21).
What a wonderful gift God has given to the world! It should encourage our hearts to know that
just as He fulfilled His promise to come
to us, and to give the gift of His Spirit to dwell in us (Romans 8:9), that He
will just as surely fulfill His promise to complete our redemption by coming
again to take us to be with Him, changing our bodies to be like His, so we are
enabled to dwell with Him forever in unbroken fellowship. The first part of our salvation was
accomplished by giving us a new birth into Christ. We are given a promise by His Spirit, a
guarantee by that, that we will also see the completion of our redemption and
enter into our inheritance
In
him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise
of his glory.
(Ephesians 1:13-14)
I remember when I was a young
teen, seeking for the truth, seeking God's salvation, having been convicted of
my sin, and knowing I was lost and on my way to hell, how joyful I was to
discover that there was salvation for me!
I didn't know very much about God at the time. I didn't really know a
lot of doctrine or theology. I didn't
even know that much about Jesus. but just as when Moses held up the bronze
snake in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9, John 3:14) and all who looked upon it
were healed, I looked upon Jesus one day, believed in Him and what He did for
me, and asked Him to save me… and He did.
I remember when the person who prayed with me that day, told me He would
come into my heart and live there how joyful I was. Come into my heart? Yes!
Suddenly my eyes were opened, and I understood that I was a
"whosoever" and that Jesus died for me. For a couple years before that day I walked
around in darkness, trying desperately to clean up my life, to be better, to
quit sinning. But all my efforts were to no avail. I tried reading my Bible but didn't
understand it. What I did understand
from it was that I was a sinner and worthy of death. There was no escape from the law of God. I was struck by it. I cried out to God to show me if I could find
His salvation.
God answers those desperate
cries. Anyone who seeks to know Him in
truth, God will answer that. He is so
eager to save "whosoever will."
My prayer is for many this
Christmas season to learn of His wonderful gift of salvation, and simply turn
to Him, repent (change your mind) and
believe in Him alone to save you, and trust that His Word is true, and He will
perform it. Blessed are you if you
believe what the Lord has spoken.
Blessed indeed, with everlasting life that can never be taken from you.
Like Mary I want to sing, "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble
estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me
blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his
name.'"
(Luke 1:46-49)
My confidence in eternal
salvation does not come from myself, my goodness, any works I've done but I
have a confidence that what the Lord has spoken in His Word regarding His
salvation for "whosoever will believe in Him" is true and He will
perform it. It is for all!
Abraham was… "fully convinced that God was able to
do what he had promised."
(Romans 4:21)
I am also fully convinced.
