There are two ways of salvation known to men—the way of merit and the way of mercy. Most people everywhere believe that they are saved either by their own goodness or by God’s grace. The basis of every world religion, except Christianity, is that man is saved by his own goodness. Through the years some people, not understanding the Bible, have tried to interject the idea of salvation by works into Christianity. But the Bible clearly refutes any idea of working for salvation when it says that we are saved, “not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Salvation then is of God’s grace, not of our goodness. It is of mercy, not merit.
I know a man who when he was a boy lived down the street from a neig...