Romans 4:16-17
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

If our salvation was by works, then God would not get to demonstrate His grace to us.  We wouldn’t be able to understand the depths of that amazing grace and love that is in Him.  Our salvation cannot be by works not only because it is truly impossible for us to earn it, but because God doesn’t want us to earn it.  He wants to give it to us freely as a gift.  He is glorified so much through the demonstration of His grace toward us, especially knowing we are so undeserving, since He died for us when we were yet sinners.

And because God’s grace is free, that means it is available to everyone.  No one can be disqualified for being of one nation or another, from one generation or another.  No one is denied grace because they aren’t strong enough or rich enough or smart enough to do the right tasks that would earn God’s favor.  Anyone from anywhere at any time can say yes to Jesus and be totally forgiven of every sin.  He enables us to become children of God.  And He promises us a home with Him forever.

And receiving God’s grace, rather than earning it, produces the right kinds of things in us, like humility when we understand there was nothing inherently good in us, but Jesus died for us anyway.  It produces grace in us once we’ve received it ourselves, and we can be gracious and kind to others.  We can be patient and forgiving.  We can love others with a selfless, Christlike love that is full of compassion.  It fills us with peace and joy in knowing our Savior and believing in Him.

This was God’s plan all along.  This was the promise made to Abraham, but it was in place even before that.  When God created the world, He knew Adam would sin.  He knew He would send His Son to die on a cross, to shed His blood to secure our salvation.  He knew what it would cost.  But He was willing to set it all in motion.  Salvation is of faith that it might be by grace.  So is our faith totally and completely in what Christ has done, not in anything we might do?  Do we believe wholeheartedly in Christ as our Savior?  May we truly understand what Jesus has done for us so we could be justified by faith, and may we live with grateful hearts for the great grace that God has shown to us.