WHEN YOU CONSIDER that there are over five billion humans on earth and each has a brain that contains about 100 billion microscopic nerve cells communicating with each other through electrical and chemical messages, is it any wonder that we humans are unique above all the brute creation! It's amazing how man's mind has functioned to develop the wonders that surround us today - electricity, automobiles, jet aircraft, atomic-powered ships, even footprints on the moon. Through sweat and toil, man has truly accomplished great things.

However, even more amazing to me is the fact that, with all his brainpower, he seems very confused regarding the way to heaven. In Bible times, there were over 60,000 different idols in Europe. We aren't much different today. Go to the East and you will discover Hindus, Moslems, Buddhists and many more strange beliefs. Go to the West and you will find various cults - Christian Science, "Jehovah's Witnesses," Mormons and Unitarians, to name only a few. In Christendom also, there are multitudes of sects, each claiming to be right. Is it any wonder that many throw up their hands and say, "What's the use!"

In view of all this confusion, would you permit me to use my Irish imagination for a moment? It's not possible, but if I were an alien from outer space and landed on this globe and wanted to know the way to obtain God's salvation, what would be the most logical thing to do? If I went to the leaders of the Eastern religions, they would confuse me, to say the least. If I went to the Western cults, it would be the same. Sad to say, even if I inquired of most in Christendom, I would find myself bewildered. However, I'll tell you what I would do; I would simply go to God Himself and ask Him the way. That sounds sensible and reasonable, doesn't it? You say, "Is that possible?" It certainly is! Did you know there is a way in which God can speak to you? He doesn't speak audibly, or through your imagination, or even through nature - but He does speak through His Holy Word, the Bible. Notice what He says!

"For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

If you read this statement carefully, you will notice how simple, short, and enlightening it is. Another thing you may perceive is that God's statement is contrary to what most religions teach! Travel the globe and you will find that every false religion emphasizes the need of working to obtain salvation. Surprisingly, God says otherwise - "not of works, lest any man should boast." There will be no boasters in heaven claiming that they are there by their own efforts. God says - it is "not of works."

SAVED!

You will notice that God talks about being "saved." You don't hear preachers talking much about that in our modern day. However, it is a very important word which occurs 104 times in the Bible. What does it mean? The answer is simple - it means to obtain deliverance from a catastrophe. The solemn fact is that all of us were born sinners, and as such, we are not fit for heaven in our natural state. Babies, when they die, go to heaven, but people who have reached the age of responsibility, knowing right from wrong, must answer to God for their sins. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Consequently, we are all under its power, dominion, control, and the condemnation that results from it (Romans 3:9). We are "dead in trespasses and sins... children of disobedience" (to God)... and "by nature the children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:1-3). That is why if man dies in his sins, unforgiven by God, he goes to hell for eternity - that's a catastrophe! In the light of all this, "saved" is a wonderful word, isn't it? Saved from hell and secured for heaven! God wants you to be saved, no question about it.

GRACE!

The question now arises - how? "For by grace are ye saved through faith," is the answer. Grace is unmerited favor. We do not deserve to be in heaven, we should be punished eternally for our sins, for God's righteous government demands it. However, God manifests to us His unmerited favor. We didn't deserve it, nevertheless He displayed it. He did so by sending a Substitute to be punished in our place so that we might be freed from the penalty of our sins. His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent from heaven to die for us. "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). His was pure love, mingled with wondrous grace - to you, to me!

FAITH!

One may ask, "How can I obtain God's salvation?" Notice what God says, "through faith." Isn't that simple enough? There is nothing complicated about that. What is faith? - it is trusting! As a lad of 15, I soloed an airplane for the first time. In doing so, I placed faith in its ability to carry me safely through the air; so it is with salvation. You can be saved by trusting Christ, resting on the fact that He died for you, and that His blood can cleanse you from all your sins (I John 1:7; 3:5).

Remember, salvation is "not of yourselves." YOU can be baptized - YOU can say prayers - YOU can join church - YOU can do penance - YOU can do good works - but that's all of YOU, and God won't accept it. The verdict remains forever: "and that not of yourselves." Yes, my friend, salvation is "the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Why not believe God, trust Christ - and be eternally saved! God declares, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).