The Free Gift

By: Ryan Brock

Below is a teaching on Salvation that I have used to lead many Bible Studies. More will be added to this soon

The words ”free gift” are used all the time as a sales ploy. Order and get a free gift! Join this club and get a free gift. We find this ploy being used all over the place and I believe everyone has been pulled in by it at some time in their life.

In fact, if you were to call one hundred people and say, “If you come to where I am right now, I will give you a hundred dollars.” What do you think would happen? Easy, you would give away $10,000! This is because our carnal side (greedy) loves a free gift.

However, none of it offers a free gift, we must do something to get them. And, in most cases, we do something that we would not normally do. But there is one gift that is truly free. You don’t have to do anything to get it. There is no membership rituals, you’ll never have to jump through any hoops to get it and you can have it at any time. It is the gift of everlasting life, the gift of salvation. Sadly, most people choose not to accept it!

”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). Salvation is a process of renewal in which God transforms us and gives us a new life.

This new life is created by being born again. This will allow us to enter the kingdom of God. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Jesus defines this statement further in John 3:5 saying, “unless one is born of the water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom Of God.

By looking at these verses we learn that salvation is the key to heaven. How could anyone not want that key? Well, if they don’t want it, it’s not because God does not want than to have it. He offers this free gift to everyone. But yet there is a lot that goes into this topic. We have free will and while God offers salvation to everyone not all will accept it. We have to choose to open the door and allow Jesus in. The Bible says, “Behold, 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” (Rev. 3:20). Notice that it says we must “hear His voice” and “open the door.” 

We have to take action and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. But it all still goes back to Jesus who must call the person to Him first. The other key word here is “anyone.”  He does not say, “elect,” “called,” or any other word that would leads us to believe that there is some select group that are the only ones that can receive this call. It is ANYONE who decides to open the door.

 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom. 8:28-29). There are some key words in this phrase like “called,” “predestined” and “foreknew” that are all part of His plan of salvation.

And lets not kid ourselves, this is a very difficult topic with many opposing views. But there is only one view that is correct and that is the Scriptural view. No matter what anyone thinks, believes, or says (including myself) the only view that is truly 100% correct is what the Bible says. But if we do disagree on anything, that is okay. We can simply discuss our views.