A letter to the editor of a Christian magazine recently*, called my attention once again to the matter of the importance of Grace to the plan of salvation for mankind.  The writer of the letter referred to grace as "the main ingredient in God's relationship to man..." and speaks of how most religious authors emphasize what man should be doing for God and how we dare not fail Him. To put the matter of the Grace of God in proper perspective, let us consider a few points.  Were it not for the Grace of God, He would have cut off Adam and Eve, not merely cast them out of the Garden of Eden. Nor would there have been animal sacrifices whereby man could atone for his sins through repentance. More important, still, Jesus would never have been sent into the world to be a sacrifice for all mankind, but for the Grace of God. Precisely what is Grace?  As used by Christians, we go to the third through seventh definitions in the Random House Dictionary.  W...favor or goodwill...a manifestation of favor, especially by a superior...mercy; clemency; pardon.. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity... the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. Further definitions under theology are merely ambiguous phrases referring to aspects of God's Grace and are already covered in the above definitions.  Webster's Third New International Dictionary goes a step further.  "...divine favor un-merited by man: the mercy of God as distinguished from His justice...', Strong's Exhaustive Concordance lists Grace, Gracious and Graciousness a total of 200 times, some of which refer to earthly masters and kings granting grace to their servants. Grace, then, is the extension of unmerited favor to mankind by God. Without this Grace of God, there could be no salvation, period !   But those who sincerely seek to know how to obtain the dispensation of God's Grace in their own lives will look to God's Word.  There, they will find one crystally clear plan of Salvation which also tells how they can know beyond question that God has confirmed their salvation. Grace is like a multi-millionaire whose hand is outstretched toward a person with a million dollars in cash.  The millionaire says, "Here. You can have this million dollars.  You have not earned it, but it is yours if you will reach out and take it and hereafter be my friend."  To say that Grace is "most important" is as if the would-be recipient says, "I'll be glad to have it, but you're going to have to stick it into my pocket and I won't guarantee that I'll be friendly even then!" Grace was extended to him, but Nicodemus, in John 3, left Jesus as an unbeliever, therefore, Jesus could not and would not go on into the further steps of Salvation.  If you do not believe me, how can I instruct you? Most who preach heavily on the subject of Grace quote part of Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved..." But that is not the whole story!  As on the day of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church, if you please, the incident begins with a Holy Ghost Spectacular!  In response to the praises of Paul and Silas, God sends an earthquake.  The jailer, fearing the escape of his prisoners is ready to commit suicide.  Paul reassured the jailer that no one has escaped and the jailer recognizes a superior power.  "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" he asks in verse 30.  Paul and Silas did not stop with telling the jailer to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved," but there is a conjunction, "and."  "...and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house." (v.32).  What "word of the Lord?"  I've heard it said by the "ignorant brethren" Paul so often refers to that the words they spoke must not have been important since they are not quoted.  Anyone who has studied literature knows that a better literary device than quoting the word spoken often is to illustrate by what the person does in response to the things he is told.  So, as we go on to verse 33, we see the jailer first exemplifying his belief in Paul's message by bringing Paul and Silas into his house in direct disobedience of the magistrates' orders -- an act which could have brought death to his entire household under Roman law.  Had he not believed the Word of the Lord that was spoken unto him in verse 32, he would certainly not have jeopardized the lives of every member of his family.  So we see Step 1 of Salvation: Belief.  Then, he proves his repentance.  Only the day before, he had had a part in the beating of Paul and Silas with the Roman lash.  Their backs had been torn to a bloody mess.  Now, repentantly, he washes their backs and later, feeds them in his house.  So he proves Step 2 of his Salvation: Repentance.  Following the first demonstration of his repentance, he goes on to be baptized in the same hour.

Step 3: Water Baptism.  In the jailer's case it is not mentioned just how he was baptized, but it is only sound logic and sound doctrine to believe that it was done the same way Paul did it in Ephesus (Acts 19:5) and Peter preached it in Acts 2:38 and did it in Acts 10:45 (see the RSV), and as Philip did it in Sameria (Acts 8:12,16).  In fact, in every recorded instance in the New Testament, baptism was in the name of Jesus Christ (Jesus the Promised or Anointed One).  Nor is it mentioned in the case of the jailer whether his salvation was confirmed or not, but had it not been, it would have been far more noteworthy that for once, God had not honored His promise than if the usual confirmation occurred---all by the Grace of God. So, what then is the Plan of Salvation in the Bible?  The plan extended by Grace?  It was not given to anyone before the ascension of Jesus and the Birthday of the Church.  Now, it is clear that not one of the 120 in the upper room really merited the favor they received, but by His Grace, as they had obeyed Jesus' command in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4, they received the glorious outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  By God's Grace, a crowd was drawn to hear and see the "Holy Ghost Spectacular" and to hear Peter's anointed sermon which began with a direct answer to their question, "What meaneth this?"  "This is that..." (Joel 2:28-32) and continuing to Acts 2:36 where he states, "...that God hath made that same Jesus, whom yea have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Messiah)."  The crowd then evidenced their Belief by asking, "What shall we do?" Peter does not say, “You’re part of the same crowd that crucified Him.  You don't deserve to be saved, so I'm not going to tell you."  No, he extended the Grace of God to them, turned the key in the gate of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew16:19), and said under Holy Spirit unction, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." "...for the remission of sins...” What does that mean?  Forget everything you have been told in church.  The Bible is God's Word to YOU.  In this context, it is absolutely clear that the word “for” means. It means: to obtain, to receive, to acquire, to gain possession of.... “Remission” always means to put something into a state of having no further consequence.  When you remit the payment of a bill, the bill goes into remission.  When you have a disease and it is "knocked out," it is properly said to have gone into remission.  Thus, God's Grace was extended as the Holy Ghost, through Peter, said to Repent (after having believed) and be baptized (baptizo = immerse) in the ~ that is above every other name..." (Philippians 2:9). The name we are commanded, "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Colossians 3:17), since"...there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12). It is by Grace that we receive this revelation of God's will. Now, when a person truly believes the Word of God and his own need of God's grace and salvation, repents of having failed to please God in every aspect of his life and is buried with Jesus in baptism (Romans 6:3), he arises to walk in newness of life and God confirms the sincerity of his heart by pouring out the gift of the Holy Ghost.  There is not one scripture to indicate that we should "'tarry for the Holy Ghost" as many Pentecostals teach.  I've seen and heard too many believers who knew nothing of tongues come up from the waters of baptism speaking in tongues. God confirms the salvation of the seeker by this individual outpouring of the Holy Spirit. (This is not the "gift of tongues" which enables one to preach or prophesy in other languages whether known or unknown tongues. See 1 Corinthians. 14.)  In every instance recorded in the Bible, the initial evidence has always been a spectacular demonstration.  Tongues are specifically mentioned in Acts 10:44 & 11:15,17 and 19:6 as being the evidence of the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Truly, Grace is the doorway to God.  Without His Grace, Jesus would never have given His life on Calvary. Without God's Grace, we could repent and be baptized all day long, but never receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But neither will God force you to accept His Grace.  If you will not reach out to Him the way He clearly tells you to, "Stick it in my pocket and I'll take it, but I still won't promise to be your friend, God," is essentially what you are saying. Or, as Jesus put it, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). --  S. M. S. (*NOTE:  This article was written intended for publication in New Wine Christian magazine in 1976 while I was living in Skandia, Michigan and attending Northern Michigan University in Marquette. It was never before published in print, though I have preached it.) — S. M. S.