If you gave me a nice gift, and I immediately proceeded to pay for it. How would you feel? What would you think of me? Would you be insulted? Just what would you feel like if I did you that way?

Well that is the way God feels when people try to earn salvation. Mixing grace with works will not go together. It is one or the other. Are you working to be saved? Do you believe God has saved you by Grace?

Many people are confused about God’s saving grace and the promised guarantee of assurance that comes with it. The moment a person is saved by God from their sin they also get God’s seal of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). God has done all that is necessary to fulfil his promise through Christ work on the cross.

It is completely by His grace without anything else. He paid the price for your salvation and it was not cheap. It cost God dearly through the shed blood of his Son. The gift of salvation was free to us but not to God.

If I did something nice for you in an attempt to pay you back for being kind to me, I would be confusing grace and works. If I invite you into my home for dinner and I fixed some expensive food such as T-Bone or Ribeye steaks with all the most exquisite food to go with it.

After you had eaten and had enjoyed yourself, it would be an insult to me if you reached into your wallet and left money on the table to pay for the dinner. How do you think I would feel? How do you think you would feel?

Well my friend that is the same way God feels when any one tries to save themselves by paying for their salvation with their effort. It is an offence to God and it is not acceptable to Him. God will only accept His finish work which is the Cross.

To reject Christ Jesus work on the Cross is to reject God’s payment for Sin. What is the work that God is only accepting for the payment of Sin. St John 6:29 says, “This is the work of God, that you believe on him whom he has sent.”

In case you missed the point he repeats it again in verse 39, 40 by telling us what God’s will is. “An this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

God the Father’s will(desire) is that you:

1). See the Son (Jesus Christ) v.40

2). Believe on Him (Jesus Christ) v.40

3). Have Everlasting Life  v.40

God is the only one worthy and able to pay for the price of Sin. No one else can pay the price for Sin but our holy God. He alone has redeemed us. 1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23 says “You are brought with a price.” God paid the bill for your Sin if you believe Him.

“Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”, Romans 4:3. Simply believe God and trust what He has done on the Cross for your Sin and God will have paid the bill for you. Stop trying to pay the bill of Sin for your self accept God’s payment. trust God’s grace and not a debt you pay.

To not believe God is stupid like two men were watching the news. A suicidal man was standing on a bridge, and police were trying to talk him down. The first man said, “Bet you five bucks the guy jumps.” The second man says, “You’re on!”

They watch with great inerest for a few minutes, and suddenly the man threw himself from the bridge. “Here’s your five dollars, I really didn’t think he’d do it.” The second man says. “I can’t take your money, the same story was on earlier, on the five o’clock news,” the first man said. “No, No, take it,” the second man insisted. “I saw it at five, too, but I didn’t think the guy was stupid enough to jump again.”

The bible says it is grace not debt that has justified us right with God. Romans 4:4,5 – “Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not but believed on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

The bible says the person that works by trying to pay for sin with good deeds would cause God would owe them. God would be indebted to any person that worked to saved them selves. There would no longer be grace applied to that person, but a debt. God is not going to be indebted to anyone.

The person that did not work but simply trust God by believing in Christ would be justified and counted as righteous. Simply believe the finished work of Christ on the cross for their sins. Grace alone.

The question is have you accepted the grace that God has provided? Are you trying to pay the bill for sin yourself? Are you getting up from the table and paying the free meal of redemption? The bible says that the person whose sins are forgiven are blessed.

Romans 8:7,8 – Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Have you been saved? Are you sured? Have you been saved by grace or works?