# 376 Saved By Grace

The Book of Genesis

Day 376

Ge 41: 32 "And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

When God repeats things, He is merely underlining or highlighting them for us. He gives them an extra sense of urgency. This spiritual truth is especially driven home to us in the Gospel of John where the phrase, “verily, verily,” is repeated 24 times!

Today we will turn our attention to Joh 3:11 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.”

Jesus is still talking to Nicodemus. He had just told him of the urgency and necessity of being born again through the action of water and the Spirit. (baptism) Baptism is a magnificent grace of God because it is all God’s doing, we merely receive what He has promised in the water and His Word. 

The next time you see an infant being baptized, stop and consider this grace. The infant can do nothing but receive all the promised blessings of baptism including the Holy Spirit and all He brings to the table….including faith. .  This is why Jesus reminds us of the innocent faith of a child in Lu 18:17 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."

Did you catch that word, “receive?” Pure grace! Baptism plus faith equals salvation! (Mk 16:16)

So Jesus continues His conversation with Nicodemus and continues pushing the matter of grace. He lumps Himself in with the Old Testament prophets when He says “we,”  “We speak what we know and testify of the things the Father has shown us,” and He asks Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?” (Do not know grace?)

The fact that we must be born again from on high is not just a New Testament teaching. It is the central theme of the old! The rich man realized it as he called out to Abraham from Hades. It’s not by accomplishments of the flesh that we enter the kingdom, the beggar Lazarus was in the kingdom because he was a spiritual beggar, relying totally on God’s grace and mercy!

The rich man then begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to his family to warn them of trying to rely on their flesh for salvation, and Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them, if they don’t hear them, they won’t listen  to someone raised from the dead either.”

Listen therefore to Jn 3:11 again! It is underlined by God because He wants us to see that we are saved by grace alone. Receive the witness of the prophets, and the witness of Jesus, they are one in the same, and their message has been and always will be saved without effort…..saved by grace!