Salvation Is of the Lord (#83 of 365+)

Today, Joni’s devotional was so especially incredible and wonderful that I copied it in its entirety into this post. I couldn’t add a thing to her words. Here it is…

- - -

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. —Revelation 3:20

I love the painting of Jesus standing at a door with a lamp in one hand and gently knocking with the other. When you look closely, you see there is no doorknob. The suggestion is that the door can only be opened from the inside, placing the responsibility of salvation on the person behind the door. It’s a lovely painting inspired by Revelation 3:20 (which is actually an invitation of fellowship to believers, not an invitation of salvation to unbelievers).

The true picture of salvation is that we are utterly dead in our sin. We are spiritually deaf and cannot even hear Jesus knocking. A more accurate picture might be Jesus rapping on the door, climbing over it, and then placing our lifeless hand on the inside doorknob! Jesus is the One who gives us the faith to believe (Romans 12:3). He unplugs our ears, opens our eyes, touches our hearts, illumines our thinking, and plants within us saving faith to say, “I believe!”

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” The spiritual mind would rather speak of conversion in a way that makes plain whose work it really was: “Salvation belongs to our God,” says Revelation 7:10.

Jesus says in John 6:44 that “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” When we insist “I made up my mind to be a Christian,” it indicates a will that believes it has played a major role in salvation. The truth is, “apart from [Jesus] you can do nothing” (John 15:5)—not even secure your own eternal life.

Lord, thank you that you awakened me out of complete spiritual lifelessness to give me the gift of salvation.