“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
It is said that, when the Betty Crocker company first came out with cake mixes and all one had to do was add water, the mixes didn’t sell very well. Market research revealed that people wanted to be involved in producing the cake. So the company changed the recipe and required the customer to add an egg to the mix. Then the product sold like wildfire.
Satan’s most effective weapon is whispering into the sinner’s ear, “You need to do something for your salvation.” When the sinner hears that all is done – that Christ Jesus did it all by His holy life and innocent sufferings and death and God’s gift is complete – Satan says, “It’s too easy; you need to do your part.”
And sinners concur. They want to produce their cake of salvation from scratch, using the ingredients of their own works. Or, they desire at least to add an egg or two of their own efforts into the mix.
Salvation that requires no work whatsoever on their part just doesn’t appeal.
Of course, Satan forgets to mention that the cake of salvation the sinner tries to bake can only turn out to be a flop – one that will give stomachaches when sins trouble us and when death draws near, and one that will be burnt in the oven of God’s judgment on the Last Day!
When it comes to salvation, there is nothing sinners can add to what Christ has done!
“It is finished,” Jesus said, as He suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of the world (John 19:30). All was done! Atonement was made! Our redemption was accomplished! Salvation was purchased for all with Christ’s shed blood!
Because all is already done, the Bible tells us that whoever believes and trusts in the finished redemption of Christ Jesus has full pardon and forgiveness for all his sins and will not perish in God’s judgment, but has, as God’s Word says, “everlasting life.”
May God grant us faith to simply receive the finished salvation won for us by our Savior, Jesus Christ.
[21st Century King James Version (KJ21), Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.]