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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
"Words never saved anybody!" At least that is what someone was heard to say. However is it true? Can words save? Consider that question as we look at today's devotional lesson.
Cornelius saw "…an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.'" (Acts 11.13-14). In this case, words were instrumental in the salvation of Cornelius, but he was not saved by words alone.
Do you know what saves man from sin and brings him into fellowship with his Creator? Perhaps that would be a good mental exercise for all of us to do. What does the Bible say "saves" us?
Jesus saves - "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1.21).
Belief and Baptism saves – "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16.16).
The name of Jesus saves – "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4.12).
Belief saves – "So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'" (Acts 16.31).
Blood saves – "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Romans 5.9).
The life of Jesus saves – "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5.10).
Calling on the name of the Lord saves – "For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'" (Romans 10.13).
The Gospel Saves – "…by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you——unless you believed in vain." (1 Corinthians 15.1-2).
Grace saves – " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2.8).
Mercy saves – "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…" (Titus 3.5).
The word saves – "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1.21).
Baptism saves - "There is also an antitype which now saves us——baptism…" (1 Peter 3.21).
The fact is, we are not saved by any one thing. We are saved by ALL that God says! Look at the scriptures above; we are saved by all these things!
Questions for Discussion:
1. What is the word that saves according to James 1.21?
2. Does grace save apart from any action on the part of man? If man is saved by grace apart from any action on his part, how many people would be saved? Or, to ask this question another way, for whom did Christ die (see 2 Corinthians 5.15)?
3. Which, if any, of the above things saves apart from any and all other items on the list?
4. Who says we are not saved by any one thing?
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