We are saved by grace, through faith, in baptism, for good works. We are aware that no one can “work their way into heaven,” but once we have obeyed the Gospel, our Heavenly Father can expect us to be the best workers for the Lord Jesus and His Church.
One of the reasons that we have salvation is found in I Peter 2:9-11. Peter contrasts the life of the lost with that of one who is a Christian. He tells us what should be the result of our salvation and how that should impact our Christian life and those we come in contact with.
Peter starts off in I Peter 2:9 by describing the church as:
- A chosen generation.
- A royal priesthood.
- A holy nation and
- His own special people.
All of the above designations show us different aspects of what it means to be a Christian. He goes on to further elaborate on that last one, “His own special people.” It is from the description of what it means to be “His own special people” that we get the title of our article.
Peter tells us that it was and is the will of God that we not keep our salvation to ourselves. We have been given a privilege, yea a command to tell others about our salvation. We are to tell others about God’s love for lost mankind and help them find their way out of darkness into the light of the Gospel, that is, salvation.
He says first in 1 Peter 2:9 that we should “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The Apostle Paul in Col. 1:13-14 sheds some light as he talks about how we were called out of a kingdom of darkness and “conveyed (translated) into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” In both passages, darkness and light are contrasted.
We should love and appreciate the “marvelous light of the Gospel” so much more than the spiritual darkness that leads to Hell and we should want to help others who are lost find that pathway. We must, as the song goes, “Take the Name of Jesus With You” and try to fulfill the words of Jesus in the Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel…” Our “world” may not be around the world, but in our own family or sphere of influence.
Wherever it is, Christians must be faithful in evangelism. Remember, we proclaim Jesus, both audibly and by our actions– let’s always “practice what we preach” and live our lives as close to the Lord as we can. By doing so, we will not only draw nearer to the Lord ourselves, we might influence some one outside of Christ to desire to know about the Lord Jesus Christ.
-Larry Miles lives in Louisville, KY and worships with the Cherry Street Church of Christ in New Albany, IN