John Cooper (@no_mark_ever)

How salvation is a gift of grace. After having preached to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius in Caesarea - Acts chapter 10, Peter returned to Jerusalem to find himself being reproached by the believing Jews, who were not yet ready for the revelation that God had called the Gentiles also to believe in Jesus. So Peter explained from the beginning all the things that had happened and how he came to be the first to bring the gospel to non-Jews. And when he had explained everything, 'they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life' (Acts 11:18) Why did the Gentiles believe in Jesus? Because God granted them repentance. That means that it was a gift. God enables people to repent. He calls us to repentance. Without his call and enabling, we would not repent. There are some who do not repent, hardening their hearts to the call of God, and sometimes God leaves them to their own devices. There are cases in the Bible of people who harden their hearts to the call of God and eventually no longer hear his call. When Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from their first missionary trip, they summoned the church and recounted to them all the things that had happened, and all the things that God had done through them, and 'how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles' (Acts 14:27) Why did the Gentiles believe in Jesus? Because God had granted them the faith to believe. This means that it was a gift. God enables people to believe. Without his enabling, we would not believe. This is why salvation is of grace. Another example: Paul and Silas came to Philippi in Macedonia, and on the sabbath day they went out of the city to a river side where people used to pray, and they spoke to the women who gathered there. And one of these women was called Lydia, 'whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul' (Acts 16:14). She duly believed and was promptly baptised in the river. Why did Lydia pay attention to the word of the gospel, and why did she respond in faith? Because God had opened her heart. Salvation is of grace. Without God's enabling, this would not have happened. Since God enables people to respond to the message of the gospel, therefore it is nothing of our doing, except that we respond to the gracious call of God. Therefore salvation is of grace. The evidence of repentance is a change in the direction of our life. The evidence of faith in Jesus is that we begin to follow his teachings. No new life - no new birth.