Saved by the Power of God

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

 (James 1:18 ESV)

One of the most prevalent doctrines in the church today is that we are saved by our decision or choice. We’re told that we are to make a decision for Christ. We are told that we must choose Christ.

However, we find in Scripture that this is not possible. We find that our salvation has nothing at all to do with us. In fact, we don’t play any role in it whatsoever. It is the work of God alone, from beginning to end.

We see this brought out in the above passage. James tells us that God brought us forth, that he saved us, of his own will. In other words, we aren’t saved because of our own choice or decision, but God’s.

We see this in the words of Jesus as well. In John 15:16, Jesus says: “You did not choose me, but I chose you…” Again, it’s by God’s will that we are saved.

In our sinful nature, we want nothing to do with God. Left to ourselves, we would never choose Christ nor make a decision for him. By nature, we long only to rebel against the Lord and to live for our own desires.

Our natural state is described by the apostle Paul in Romans 3. Starting in verse 10, he says: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

James tells us that we are brought forth, that God saves us, through the Word of truth. He saves us through the gospel. It’s only as we hear the Word of God that we are enabled to believe in him and be saved.

However, even this results from the power of God. It results from the power of God because, apart from him, we can’t understand the gospel. As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:18, the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing. It’s foolishness to them. And, as he says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

It’s only as God works in our hearts, by his Word and Spirit, that we are saved. It’s only as he provides to us his Word, and his Spirit enables understanding, that we can believe and be saved. Again, from first to last, our faith is a work of God.

This does not suggest that God will forcefully save us. We are able to reject him and this great gift that he offers. However, we cannot and will not be saved by our own decision.

This also doesn’t suggest that God will choose some to be saved and others to be damned. Scripture assures us that, by his death, Jesus atoned for the sins of all people. It assures us that it’s God’s desire for all to be saved.

However, it tells us that we can take no credit whatsoever for our salvation. It wasn’t accomplished by a choice that we made. It wasn’t accomplished by our response to an altar call. And it wasn’t accomplished by a prayer that we prayed. All of these are the result of faith that was kindled in our hearts by the Word and Spirit of God.

This may be troubling to some but, in reality, it’s very refreshing. It’s refreshing because I don’t have to worry if my motives were pure enough when I made my choice. I don’t have to worry that, perhaps, my prayer wasn’t sincere enough when I offered it up. Nor do I have to wonder if, when I responded to that altar call, it was truly good enough. I have full assurance that, by faith, I have been saved. I’m assured that my salvation is an act that was accomplished by God apart from any effort or merit on my part.