Some suppose that the book of
James is a modifier of the truth that the salvation of God's people
is solely and completely according to the gift of grace by a sovereign
God. Those who love to proclaim the
free will of men as though it were some sovereign power often
turn there to prove that salvation is as much about the works of
the creature as it is about the grace of God. If one assumes
the notion that God has made his will subservient to the will
of man, then he is predisposed to view the salvation of the
Lord's people as a cooperative effort with God providing a gift
and man making a decision to receive it, and thus earning
favor in the sight of God by being obedient to various commands
and duties. This concept is rooted in the
very nature of man and is proof of the law written in the hearts
of all men. Unfortunately for the natural
man, he is blind to his condition, and apart from a new birth he
can never see the glory of the kingdom of God. He can never
proclaim salvation by grace alone because he is too preoccupied
with establishing his own righteousness before God, just as the Jews
did in rejecting Christ, even though he walked in their midst.
By nature, men are convinced that they can bring something
of value unto the Lord, whether it be sincerity of purpose, obedience
to the outward precepts of God's law, demonstrations of faith,
or outward manifestations of worship and praise. In this state,
he can never find comfort and rest in a salvation that was
purposed in eternity by a God who cannot be approached by men.
Neither can he be content to magnify the glory of God's grace
apart from any participation by the creature, for he believes
that he can bring faith to God rather than the necessity of
God bringing faith to him. The natural man hates this declaration
because it gives him no place in which to glory, nor any place
wherein he might demonstrate his own worthiness compared to
someone else. The natural man is quite content
to speak of a salvation of which man makes the deciding choice
in time, but he recalls the notion that God should do so from before
the foundation of the world. He might speak of a sovereign
God with his lips, but in reality he believes in the sovereignty
of man's free will. God's eternal love to those whom
he has chosen in Christ is an abhorrent idea to that man who
believes that salvation is by chance rather than by the design
of a God who has predestined all things according to the good
pleasure of his will. Thus the glory of the salvation
of the elect bride of Christ is hidden from his view, even
though it is stretched across the ages of time like an unfurled
banner, and is set forth upon every page of the Bible in bold
letters which are unmistakable to those who have been given
eyes to see. There has never been a day when
those whom the Lord has loved in Christ have ever been hated,
despised, or in any wise the objects of his wrath. Rather,
they are the appointed heirs of salvation who, while hidden
in the earth for a season like a buried treasure, are brought
to light at the appointed time by Him who has purposed their
redemption. They are brought to faith because
they are ordained to receive it. There are some who give an
outward appearance of being among the household of faith for a
season, but in time they prove that they are not the sheep of
the Lord's pasture as they turn back from following after him
and are content to return to that way from which they had
seemingly escaped. Isaac is illustrative of those
who are the appointed heirs of grace. He was born into this
world as the heir of his father's estate. While Ishmael was the
son of a bondwoman, Isaac was free-born. Hagar was born in
bondage, and while benefiting from the wealth of Abraham, she
was not an heir to any of it. Neither Hagar nor Ishmael did
choose their birth, and the station befitting it, any more than Isaac
decided to be the child of promise. Yet he rejoiced in the God of
his salvation. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.