According to Almighty God's Mercy He saved us

"...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." -Titus 3:5 [KJV]

“Shew us a miracle, and we will believe you are inspired,” say carnal men. We can, but they have no eyes to see it. Blessed be God, miracles are not ceased. The Lord works miracles of grace daily. Every regenerate sinner is a miracle of God the Father’s mercy, of God the Son’s grace, and of God the Holy Spirit’s power. His humble language proclaims it. I stand forth and declare, that I was a vile sinner, condemned by the law of God, and justly deserving the damnation of hell; yet full of the pride of my own works, and confident of salvation by my own righteousness; but God, by an act of sovereign mercy, has saved me from the power of sin, and a vain confident hope of my own righteousness. 

“Not by works which we have done.” Our works are out of the question. For all boasting is excluded. Yet the notion of absolute mercy in God to any sinner, without respect to works of righteousness performed by man, to fulfil the law of God, is absurd and unscriptural. It is to be rejected as contrary to the attributes and perfections of the Godhead. Therefore, we are saved by mercy, according to works of righteousness: but not which we have done. 

No. But what Jesus our law-fulfilling Head hath done for us. He hath fully obeyed the commands of the holy law; perfectly satisfied the demands of strict justice, hence the mercy of the Holy Spirit flows to us. Jesus saves us from the curse of the law, and the sword of justice. The Spirit saves us from the blindness of our understanding, the rebellion of our will, and the carnality of our affections. 

Pause, O my soul! Fall down and adore His rich mercy, that snatched thee from hell, and saved thee to heaven. Yes, into the heaven of the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit. My soul is formed for it. I have suitable dispositions to it. How? “By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” 

As water separates the filth from the thing washed, and makes it clean; so the Spirit separates us from the love of sin, our pride, self-righteousness, and aversion to Christ and His salvation; begetting us again from our old natural false hope, to a new and lively hope of salvation, by the death and resurrection of Jesus, by the word through faith; renewing us hereby in the spirit of our mind, making us new creatures in Christ. 

So that salvation is not by reforming and mending our old nature. That is left just as it was. But begetting us anew in Christ, that we might live and walk in Him to the glory of God. Our old nature is subjected to grace. Christ is in us the hope of glory. -see Colossians 1:27 [KJV]

 

No works of ours have any share, 

God’s mercy to procure: 

It’s all by grace, we’re what we are! 

May grace make us more pure.

 

-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

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