My Part in my Salvation

The 19th and 20th century Canadian-American pastor Harry Ironside once told a story of a new Christian who gave his testimony during a church service. Beaming with joy, the man spoke of how God had rescued him from a life of sin. He gave all the credit to the Lord, saying nothing about his own efforts.

However, the meeting’s moderator—a legalistic man who didn’t grasp that salvation is entirely by God’s grace, not by human effort—interjected. “It sounds like you’re saying God did everything in saving you,” he said. “Didn’t…