“..Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 

Principle 6: Saving people is God’s work.

When the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed himself, he showed he loves us more than anyone else (Joh 15:13). He planned it (Act 2:23) and carried it out (Joh 12:27) knowing the shame and agony he would endure (Heb 12:2).  He did it to save us from an awful fate, one that we can avoid if we believe that he died for our sins. He wants everyone to believe (1 Tim 2:4) actively working in people’s lives and providing us divine guidance and strength to tell others about it (1 Cor 2:3-5,2 Cor 5:20).

Tragically, many resist God’s attempts to convince them how much he loves them. The early Christians experienced this despite God using them as facilitators of His magnificent power (Acts 8:6-7). For example, during the first recorded missionary journey, it seems Simon made a false profession that Jesus Christ is his Lord (Acts 8:18-23).  This account serves as a sad and vivid reminder that the “seeds” of the gospel will not always fall on “good soil” (Mat 13:18-23).

How a person responds to the gospel is between them and God. The watchman’s accountability is a good illustration: he was held accountable for sounding the warning only — not for whether the people responded (Eze 33:6). When we tell others about it, our only responsibility is to ‘sound the warning’, we can only do that effectively when we follow the Holy Spirit’s lead (Rom 8:14) and ‘cleanse’ ourselves so that we are a “vessel for honourable use…ready for every good work” (2 Tim 2:21).

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mat 27:46, Mar 15:34), demonstrates that the gospel is exclusively a divine work– no human or any other life form compelled or forced him to die for our sins and empowered him to rise from the dead. As stated above, God planned (Acts 2:22-24) and executed it (Joh 10:18, Acts 2:32, Rom 8:11). Further, it is only through his power that someone truly becomes saved (1 Cor 3:6-9, Joh 16:8-11).

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9