Saved according to His mercy

Why are we saved? Are we saved because we have decided or because God in His mercy has decided to save us? There is something very special that we must understand about salvation, and is that salvation is a gift of God, a gift that He gives us through the death of His Son on the cross, not because we deserve it, but because of its wide mercy to us.The new testament tells us a lot about justification through Christ, about the gift of salvation, and always emphasizes that this is not something that has been granted to us because we are good, intellectual, intelligent or because we have any kind of talent, but it has been granted to us because God has mercy on whom He wants and we give glory to God because He has had mercy on us.

The apostle Paul wrote to Titus:

4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,

5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Titus 3:4-5

The Bible tells us in verse number four of Titus chapter 3 about that time in which God’s love and kindness to men was manifested, and that time is when Christ came and gave His life to justify us. Then in verse five he tells us that we have a savior, and here we must make an interesting stop to understand the weight of salvation. We have a savior, that means we have not depended on ourselves to be saved, but we have a savior, a redeemer, someone who rescued us and paid the highest price for our sins.

We are not saved by our good works or because we are the most punctual Christians, we are not saved by any of this but we have a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ. We could not save ourselves and it was impossible that today we were Christians of our own free will, for which, we needed a savior and He saved us from ourselves and from the wrath of God.

We must always abide in this thinking, that we have been saved by the wide mercy of God towards us and not by our works.

Reflecting on these truths allows us to understand the depth of the gospel. Salvation is not simply a spiritual concept; it is the greatest demonstration of divine love. If salvation depended on human effort, no one would be able to reach it, for our works, although valuable, are imperfect and cannot erase sin. God knew this, and because of that He provided a perfect Savior, someone without blemish, someone capable of carrying our guilt on His shoulders. This reality humbles us and reminds us that everything we have in Christ is by grace.

Many people still believe that salvation is earned through good behavior or strict religious discipline. However, the Scriptures repeatedly show that human merit is insufficient. The Old Testament reveals a humanity incapable of fulfilling God’s law, and the New Testament affirms that Christ fulfilled what we could not. Salvation, therefore, is not a reward but a rescue. It is God extending His hand to a humanity unable to save itself.

Understanding salvation as a gift also changes the way we live. A gift produces gratitude, and gratitude produces obedience. We do not obey to be saved; we obey because we already have been saved. This distinction is crucial for living a healthy Christian life. When we recognize that we were rescued by mercy, our hearts respond with devotion, humility, and sincere worship. We stop comparing ourselves with others and begin to focus on the greatness of the One who saved us.

Another important aspect is that salvation not only frees us from the penalty of sin, but also begins a process of transformation in our lives. Paul mentions the regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, reminding us that salvation is not static but active. God not only saves us but also renews us daily. He shapes our character, strengthens our weaknesses, and guides us toward a life that reflects His glory. This renewal is evidence that salvation is truly a divine work and not a human one.

Finally, remembering the mercy of God keeps us in a posture of dependence. We walk knowing that our strength comes from Him, that our hope rests on His promises, and that our salvation is secure not because of what we do, but because of what Christ already did. And this truth should fill us with confidence and joy, because if God saved us by mercy, He will also sustain us by that same mercy every day of our lives.