“But God…”

Author and professor John Patrick suggests that there are nine questions that every person must answer —

• Where did I come from?
• Why am I here?
• Where am I going?
• How do I come to terms with death?
• How do I make sense of suffering?
• How can I possibly believe in justice?
• What can I know?
• What should I believe?
• What must I do?

I largely agree with his questions, but particularly for believers in Christ, I would add two more “why” questions.  Not “why am I here?” but, “Why has God chosen and acted to save me?”  And, “Why did God not just condemn me to hell?”  It really does seem inscrutable that He has saved anyone, never mind me.

That God saves any of us seems particularly astounding when we consider the actions of our lives.  You’ve sinned — again — so horribly, embarrassingly, foolishly that you can only say, “I have no idea why You might love me and save me…”  This is the very point of Paul in Eph. 2:1-3 — a dead man is dead, living according to the principles of the world, under the authority of Satan, and according to his own fleshly and dead desires.  He is under the condemnation of God.

So why indeed does God save us?

The first chapters of Ephesians are rich with talk about the saving work of God, repeatedly demonstrating that God saves us apart from any merit and work on our part — spiritual salvation is an act of the sovereign God.

But in the first part of Ephesians 2, Paul opens the window and pulls back the curtain to why — just why does God save?  Why does God go to such lengths to redeem sinful man when it would be so much “easier” for Him to condemn men to hell (and He would be fully just in doing so).

Why does God save sinners?

You may not have good reasons for your own salvation, but God does.  God answers the question with four compelling reasons for our salvation.  What is notable about these reasons is that they are all demonstrations of His character and attributes.  His reasons are therefore a picture of His character — reflections of the portrait of God.

God saves sinners because of His mercy (v. 4a).  Verse four begins with one of the great contrasts in the Bible — but God.  The contrast is with verse 1 — you (we all) were dead, worthy of the condemnation of God, but God interceded.  The emphasis is that man was incapable and hopeless; God was able and willing.  And the reason He was willing was that God is a merciful God.  In Greek culture mercy meant to have emotional concern for those who suffered some calamity.  That’s not what it means in Scripture.  When God is merciful, He has emotional concern and even withholds justice from those who deserve it.  It is undeserved kindness.  His mercy doesn’t mean He won’t punish at all; it does mean He is willing to wait a long time

God saves sinners because of His love (v. 4b). An appropriate response to the richness of God’s mercy in light of our sinfulness is “why God?”  Here we have the answer — because of His love with which He loved us.  God is intrinsically kind, merciful, and loving.  It is in that love that He extends the offer of salvation and compels destitute, angry, hostile rebels to come to Him for salvation.  This love is demonstrated even when we were dead in our transgressions (v. 5).  There is nothing lovely or compelling in these sinners to motivate God’s love.  His love emanates not from our worthiness, but from Him and His inherent and infinite love alone.

God saves sinners because of His grace (vv. 5-6).  Grace is related to mercy, but not the same as mercy.  In mercy, God withholds what the sinner deserves (wrath and hell), and in grace, He gives the sinner what He does not deserve.  And in these verses, Paul reminds us that what we do not deserve is life, resurrection, and position in the heavenlies with Christ.  Yet that is exactly what God in His grace has given us.

God saves sinners because of His glory (v. 7).  Our salvation is not just about keeping us out of hell.  Our salvation is designed by God as an eternal demonstration of just how great He is.  God takes miserable, weak, broken, hostile sinners (His enemies) and shows just how great He is by making them live and then giving them all the riches and position of heaven!  As John Piper has noted,

“God is not like an insecure bully, who likes to show off his strength by putting weaker people down.  God loves to show off his greatness by being an inexhaustible source of strength to build weak people up.  His exuberance in delighting in the welfare of his servant is the measure of the immensity of his resources — what the Bible calls, ‘the riches of his glory.’…the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory (Psalm 149:4).” [Piper, The Pleasures of God.]

Why does God save us?  He saves us not because of our worthiness, but out of the fullness of His character and as a demonstration of the greatness of His character.