“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16).
Due to the tremendous amount of high-pressure advertising and salesmanship that exists today there is a tendency to be suspicious and treat lightly anything that is offered to us free! We will always look for a gimmick or catch of some kind. We are prone to doubt anything can be of value that is offered to us free. Because of this condition we are apt to think of anything that is free as being cheap. This attitude is carried into religion and salvation.
Because of the doubt and suspicion that we have concerning anything “free,” efforts are made to put a “purchase price” on salvation. Men rebel at accepting a free salvation and will put forth every kind of effort to “buy” salvation. They will try to buy salvation with their good morals, with their good works, with their baptism, with their rites, rituals, and ordinances, with their church membership, and their church activities. It seems as though we want to put a price on salvation, a price that we can pay so that we can be able to say how much our salvation cost us. Probably this is one of the main reasons why the truth concerning the salvation of God has been so twisted and distorted. A tremendous percentage of organized Christianity is nothing more than the efforts of man to buy salvation.
Any salvation that would be so low in value as to be purchased by our puny, sinful efforts wouldn’t amount to much. How ridiculous to think that any of our works of righteousness would be valuable enough to be able to purchase salvation. It seems as though one of the hardest things to realize is that we are completely unable to adequately pay for our own salvation.
Because of man’s efforts to purchase salvation, salvation has been cheapened. Anything that could be purchased by our efforts could not amount to much. Thus man gets a low opinion of salvation.
Another thing that seems to cheapen our salvation is the association of the Gospel with the cheap theatrical appeal, emotional orgies, and third-rate entertainment that exists in the name of religion.
Man needs to learn that salvation is free but not cheap! It is free, not because it is worthless but because the price has already been paid. When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, He paid it all. The terrific price for our sins was the death of Jesus Christ. In His death He paid the price for every sin that you and I had committed and purchased salvation, thus enabling Christ, and Christ alone, to be able to offer unto us the free gift of salvation. We cannot buy it, we cannot earn it, we cannot merit it. It is ours to receive as a free gift. It would be impossible to place a value upon salvation. It goes beyond our minds to understand the infinite work of redemption from Hell and salvation to Heaven.
Maybe as you read this, you are one who has put forth efforts to purchase salvation. Surely now you can see the futility of this effort, and you will turn in repentance and by faith look to Jesus Christ and accept that which He has purchased for you – free salvation.