First Baptist Church, Montevallo
I was recently reminded of the wonderful grace of God through an excerpt from “Saving Private Ryan.” The movie ends with Capt. Miller (Tom Hanks’ character) sitting near a bridge after an attack by German forces. His life is ebbing away as he pulls Ryan (Matt Damon) down toward him. Struggling for breath, he whispers, “Earn this, earn this.” As Ryan stands, his face morphs back into the present as a senior adult searching for Miller’s cross in the cemetery. Crying, he turns to his wife and says, “Tell me I’m a good man.”
Many people believe that Christ died for them, but they have an attitude that He has commanded them to “Earn this” in regard to their salvation. They spend their lives trying to receive validation of their good deeds through religion so that people will tell them, “You’re a good man or a good woman.”
It is difficult for our pride to rest totally on God’s grace for our salvation. We feel we must “do” something to earn our way to heaven and to atone for our sins.
I heard a humorous story of a very old rich skinflint in declining health finally getting serious about his relationship with the Lord. He had apparently been very successful in life with his earnings. He went to his pastor in an effort to do what he could in the last days of his life to get to know the Lord and settle his eternal estate. He was graciously received by the pastor and invited to be seated. The pastor said, “Well you finally got around to getting things right between you and the Lord, eh?” Convicted, the old miser finally said, “OK. … How about if I give every cent I’ve got? Will that do it; will that guarantee I’ll go to heaven when I die — if I give my entire fortune to you?” The pastor paused a moment and then replied, “Well it’s worth a try!”
On a more serious note, the Scripture is very clear about knowing God and going to heaven: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). Knowing God can be experienced as we receive His grace.
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