Suppose a wealthy church member were to buy me a car. Let’s indulge this fantasy a little, shall we?
Suppose this wealthy church member purchased for me, a brand new, 2026 Ford Bronco, Raptor edition, four-door, removable hard-top, trail-rated, and loaded with luxurious features. These vehicles retail for about $90,000. I have no business owning one, but what a cool vehicle! You can own one, and I’ll rejoice for you.
This church member drives this new vehicle up to my house and says, “Here you go, it’s a free gift!”
Now, receiving a gift like this makes me a little uncomfortable. Am I really worthy of such a gift? (I doubt it.) Will I ever live up to the expectation that prompted such a gift to be given?
I have issues.
So, I talk with this member, and I offer to give back.
“At least let me give you something for it,” I say.
“I wouldn’t have it. This is a gift. I want you to be happy.”
“I just know this came at a big sacrifice for you. At least let me give you something for your sacrifice,” I reply.
“It’s really not necessary.”
“Can I at least give you a couple of thousand? You can donate it if you like.”
“Okay.”
So, I pay my church member $2,000, then go test drive my new Ford Bronco. It’s a fun drive, but the experience has been ruined.
For my church member, the complete selfless act of donating this vehicle has been marred by the exchange of money. It’s just not the same.
For me, the humbling experience of receiving a valuable gift was changed into an amazing purchase. I now have the satisfaction of knowing that I gave something for the vehicle, and so, in some way, I deserve this Bronco.
I have no longer received the amazing gift of a new Bronco. I bought one, brand new, for $2,000! I’m either an amazing negotiator, or an amazing person to command such a steep discount.
My church member… now looks as if he’s been taken advantage of.
I hate this fantasy. I hate this story. It’s not going to end well. Let’s end it right now.
Nothing about the above-described situation is redeeming, comforting, or gives hope. What was presented as a selfless gesture of love became a conflict of pride and ego. Because I insisted on giving something, I ruined a good thing.
Yet, we do this all the time to God.
Ask anyone why they think they will go to heaven, and very often, you will hear something like the following:
“I’m basically a good person.”
“I read my Bible and pray every day.”
“I go to church.”
“I was baptized.”
“I supported __________”
Any act of piety or righteousness listed as a reason to go to Heaven is that person’s $2,000 paid for the free gift of the Bronco… I mean, any act of piety or righteousness, any religious act listed as a reason for salvation is a pittance paid toward the free gift of salvation.
And when we try to claim anything we have done as a reason for our salvation, we do to God what I did to my fictitious church member in response to the fictitious gift of the free Bronco. It’s easy to see how this would offend this church member, but do we even consider that we may be offending God by claiming credit for the free gift of Salvation which came at the price of His only begotten Son’s life?
In Romans 4:2, the Bible says, “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.”
Abraham is the patriarch of Israel. He is the hero of the Old Testament religion, and is known for following God through some pretty tough situations.
If Abraham’s obedience to God and his great works were what saved him, then the glory of his salvation belongs to Abraham, not God. Romans 4 takes this a step further in verse 4, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”
In other words, if there were any single work, no matter how small, required for salvation, then once that work is completed, God owes a debt of salvation to the sinner who completed the work.
What you have in that situation is an offer, acceptance, and the exchange of consideration… the makings of a legally binding contract.
In that system, we are the victors and overcomers, and the glory is all ours. God is simply the one who asked too low a price for eternity in His Kingdom.
This is blasphemous, offensive toward God, and it is not the way salvation works.
Romans 4 is part of a greater thought being expressed in Romans that demonstrates that salvation comes by God’s grace, and is accessed by our faith, apart from any act of faith or work of righteousness. For Abraham, Romans 4:3 simply says that Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
It’s a free gift that we cannot purchase, and even if we could, we could not afford it.
Our salvation was purchased by Christ when He gave His life on the cross for our sins, and it was secured when He rose from the grave. All we are capable of doing is accessing that salvation by believing in that Gospel, and knowing that it is His death, burial and resurrection that will bring us into Heaven.
Therefore, we simply trust in the Gospel and we give all the glory to God, and we shun the temptation to steal any part of that glory by advertising our own righteousness, because at the end of the day, we know that we have none.
So, don’t steal God’s glory. Place your faith in Him, and Him alone, and trust Him to save you based on what Christ did, not on what you can do.
Leland Acker 