Who But God?

“Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13).

Question: Who but God has the ability to bring salvation to those who we consider least likely? Answer: No one.

In that light, I think you would agree that if the Bible shows us anything, it’s that God saves those who, at least to our eyes, appear least likely to turn to Christ for salvation. Think of Augustine, Martin Luther, John Newton, C. S. Lewis, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Colson and Josh McDowell, just to name a few. These are men who were vehemently opposed to God at one point in their lives.

Frankly, that same thing may apply to some of you. Perhaps you can reflect on a time in your life when a relationship with God was the furthest thing from your mind. I know that applies to the Apostle Paul, who came to faith in Christ after encountering him on the road to Damascus. In the words of Ananias, who spoke what is cited above, “I have heard…how much evil he has done to your saints.”

I wish I had time to tell you the stories of how the men named above came to faith in Christ. I encourage you to read their stories for yourself. Although you will learn a lot about them, the biggest lesson is about God. What you will conclude in reading their stories is that God takes the initiative in saving those who appear least likely to come to faith in Christ.

In that light, what we learn is that God is sovereign over everything, including those to whom he brings saving faith. Let me say that in a different way. The men named above did not find God. Rather, God found them. That’s certainly what we can surmise from the story of Paul’s salvation in Acts chapter nine.

Listen to a sample of the things Paul said about himself as a means of demonstrating the grace of God in saving him, in spite of his hatred of Christianity. In various places he wrote: “I persecuted this Way to the death; if anyone has confidence in the flesh, I far more; as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church; even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor, I was shown mercy.” The only way to interpret those words is that Paul understood that it was not he who found God, but rather God who found him. It’s with that understanding that Paul wrote, “But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…by grace you have been saved through faith, and that is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

We must never lose sight of the fact that salvation is God’s gift to us. Even the faith that saved us is God’s gift. That thought alone should humble us to a significant degree. Friends, can you echo the words of Paul? “To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given.”