Commanded Gifts

At first glance the title of this post seems almost like an oxymoronic statement. What do you mean by commanded gifts? A gift is something given freely and not commanded of the receiving party to do. Its kind of like saying terms like boneless ribs or self help group. It just does not make sense. But when speaking of commanded gifts from a biblical perspective it becomes another story. So in terms of salvation I want to just discuss some of those aspects in a quick intro post. I may develop some of these points later or all of them depending on time. Lets begin to look at the gift of salvation from a biblical perspective....

Act's 13:48 says, "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."

The verse above simply states that all those who believed were appointed to do so. But then why are they commanded to repent and trust in Christ if they were appointed to eternal life? Well this is where the commanded gifts come in. Lets look at those two terms of the same coin, repentance and faith in Christ....

Repentance the command....

Mark 1:14-15, "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Repentance the gift...

Acts 2:24 "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."

Faith the command....

John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live"

Faith the gift...

Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God"

Here we have on display the loving pursuing God who grants to His children the wonderful gifts of salvation NOT based on anything deserving in themselves but based on a sovereign God's choosing. None of these gifts are meritorious in themselves (for we have nothing to boast about) but they come handed down to us from the father of lights in whom there is no Shadow or turning. Interesting to see just how God's commands and grants our ability to do those commands by His great power.