Saved by grace through faith, or by works?

[lamesa]

The teaching of Scripture is clear. In Acts 16, Paul was talking to the Philippian jailers who said to him, “What do I do to be saved?” to which he said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30, 31).

Salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Salvation is by grace, through faith, apart from works. This is the singular true gospel of Christianity. Anything added is damning heresy, bewitching heresy. Unbelievers are bewitched in all kinds of false religions of works.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30, 31).

Jesus said (talking to Nicodemus), “Whoever believes in Him, the Son of Man, will have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting, or eternal, life” (John 3:16).

The Bible always talks about salvation by faith alone, and Paul in Ephesians says that we are “saved by faith, not works.” Specifically says “not by works” (Eph. 2:9).

It is clear from the Scriptures that there are no works by which we can earn righteousness. There are none. All our righteousness is our filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). We are wretched to the core, to the bone. There is nothing in us that can please God. There is nothing in us that can do anything that honors Him in the way He deserves to be honored by perfect righteousness.

The apostle Peter said, “Be holy, as I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15, 16) because that’s what God said in the Old Testament. The only way that we can be holy is if God grants us His holiness, His righteousness; if He reckons it to our accounts, imputes it to our account, or as we read in Romans, credits it to our account. If He gives us His righteousness, and that is the gospel, that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – no works – if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved; that is to be saved from your sin by being forgiven and granted the righteousness of God.

In terms of our moral and legal status, believers are judged perfect immediately—not on the basis of who we are or what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. We are forgiven of all our sin. We are clothed with a perfect righteousness (Isa. 61:10; Rom. 4:5), which instantly gives us a standing before God without any fear of condemnation (Rom. 5:1; Rom. 8:1). And when Paul writes that God has “raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6), he is again speaking of this position of favor with God that we have been granted by grace alone.

But God does not stop there. Having judicially declared us righteous (Scripture calls that justification), God never stops conforming us to the image of His Son (that is sanctification). Although our legal standing is already perfect, God is also making us perfect. Heaven is a place of perfect holiness, and we would not be fit to live there unless we too could be made holy. In a sense, then, the blessing of justification is God’s guarantee that He will ultimately conform us to the image of His Son. “Those whom He justified He also glorified” (Rom. 8:30).

God is changing us from the inside out. We have new desires to please God We have new hearts and a whole new love for God (Rom. 7:22; 2 Cor. 5:17).

[goghtherefore]

Hi lamesa

I appreciate your post very much.

Regarding: "There is nothing in us that can please God. There is nothing in us that can do anything that honors Him in the way He deserves to be honored by perfect righteousness."

Some scriptures pertaining to pleasing God:

1 John 3:22
And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

John 8:29
“And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Hebrews 13:16
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
Philippians 4:18
I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

Psalm 149:4
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

.02,

goghtherefore

[lamesa]

There is nothing in us that can please God. There is nothing in us that can do anything that honors Him in the way He deserves to be honored by perfect righteousness.

Some scriptures pertaining to pleasing God:
John 8:29
“And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (John 8:29). “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).

There is nothing in us that can please God. There is nothing in us that can do anything that honors Him in the way He deserves to be honored by perfect righteousness.

“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4–5 NIV). Here we see two great truths. First, God justifies the ungodly—not people who have done their best and somehow elicited a gracious response from God. God justifies those who do not deserve it. Second, God justifies people who receive salvation by faith—not people who give it their best effort. If they are justified in any part based on what they do, they are receiving wages, not a gift.

If grace is based on works to any degree, then it is not grace (Romans 11:6).

“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mat. 19:25, 26).

“Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
--Romans 3:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

[lamesa]

"Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you... Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.' Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent'” (John 6:26-29).

[lamesa]

This is the Gospel (good news!):

“God justifies the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). God only saves the ungodly. God only saves the people who come back and cry out, "I have sinned," who realize they are in rags, who realize they have no resources.

“For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:3, 4, 5).

[lamesa]

The first and most important fact of the Christian gospel is that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3). The death of Christ as our substitute is the heart of the gospel. It’s not just that He died, but that He died for our sins.

Jesus Christ came to pay the penalty for your sin. Until you come to grips with the fact that you are a sinner, separated from God and under His condemnation, you cannot be saved.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

[Walt72]

James 1:22 - Romans - 2:13 - Matthew 7:21 - 1 John 2:17 - 2 Peter 3:11 - 1 Peter 2:12 - 1 Timothy 6:18 - Hebrews 6:1 - 1 John 3:12 - Titus 2:14 - - revelation 3:15 - romans 2:6

[goghtherefore]

Hi lamesa

What you are presenting (scriptures) are absolutely correct! However, imo, it is possible to grieve Holy Spirit and it is possible to think say and do things that are pleasing to God. (I'm not saying this amounts to anything toward our sins being forgiven or even declared righteous via our Lord Jesus' shed blood)....I'm simply relying on scriptures that state one can do things that please God and conversely can do things that grieve Holy Spirit.

.02,

goghtherefore

[Proselytiser of Jah]

"Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you... Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.' Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent'” (John 6:26-29).

To "believe" doesn't just mean to intellectually believe or acknowledge. Jesus himself said this. As did Apostles James and Paul both.

People take Paul's words out of context that "faith alone" saves (something Peter mentioned in his letters that people don't understand his words, it's just as valid today as it was back then).


To "believe" means to "obey Jesus", which means to do the "works" Jesus commands, which means obeying God's laws. Our works do not save us from everlasting sin, only Jesus' sacrifice opens that door, but we have to obey the commands of Jesus, or we will die. Jesus saves us from sin alone, but willingnly living a life of sin, even if believing in Jesus, will invalidate that salvation.


"Many will say to me, Lord, Lord... I will say to them, I never knew you".


I made articles on this subject of "faith alone", "always saved" and "faith vs works". You might find them interesting or insightful.


https://proselytiserofyah.wordpress.com ... -or-works/
https://proselytiserofyah.wordpress.com ... ays-saved/


Anyone who teaches all they have to do is believe in Jesus to be the son who died for our sins, but doesn't obey his commands and thinks they can do what they want and will still be saved through mere belief alone, the Bible says are condemning themselves.

[lamesa]

To "believe" doesn't just mean to intellectually believe or acknowledge. Jesus himself said this. As did Apostles James and Paul both.
People take Paul's words out of context that "faith alone" saves (something Peter mentioned in his letters that people don't understand his words, it's just as valid today as it was back then).
...
Anyone who teaches all they have to do is believe in Jesus to be the son who died for our sins, but doesn't obey his commands and thinks they can do what they want and will still be saved through mere belief alone, the Bible says are condemning themselves.

Yes! VERY TRUE. John Calvin would also AGREE with you on this point! John Calvin DID NOT teach “once saved always saved,” in fact, he called those heretics “hogs” because they roll in filth of sin. I have read and studied what Calvin and the Puritans wrote and they did NOT teach “once saved always saved.” I personally know what John Calvin wrote because I've read many of his books*, honestly, I am telling you the truth. John Calvin preached AGAINST “once saved always saved” heresy in his day.

*I own every book published in English which John Calvin wrote. Also, I've translated one of his books from 16th century English into modern English. I know his writings very well.

Unfortunately, the “once saved always saved” proponents CLAIM to be “Calvinists” but that’s another story. Apostasy is everywhere, as you well know.

To "believe" means to "obey Jesus", which means to do the "works" Jesus commands, which means obeying God's laws. Our works do not save us from everlasting sin, only Jesus' sacrifice opens that door, but we have to obey the commands of Jesus, or we will die. Jesus saves us from sin alone, but willingnly living a life of sin, even if believing in Jesus, will invalidate that salvation.
....
It is not “faith alone”, nor “works alone”, but it is “faith with the works of faith”, our belief and our obedience to live in righteousness both, in that we attain our salvation.

Respectfully, you seem to make “faith = works” and thereby invalidate the apostle Paul’s inspired words. Please consider the following 3 questions:

• Why did Paul say “NOT by works” and “it is a GIFT”?

“For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith—and this NOT from yourselves, it is the GIFT of God—NOT BY WORKS” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

• WHY did Paul say “to the one who does NOT work but trusts God”?

“Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4–5 NIV).

• WHY did Paul say “it does NOT depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s MERCY”?

“What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses: ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s MERCY” (Romans 9:14, 15).

YOUR FAITH DOES NOT SAVE YOU.
YOUR WORKS DO NOT SAVE YOU.
GRACE ALONE saves you.

Respectfully, you have confused the “faith alone” doctrine. It seems you do not understand the doctrine because you have mischaracterized it in your blog. Of course, I don’t think that’s intentional, as I think you are sincere. In fact, I wholly believe you would agree with the 5 Solas if you truly understood them!

1. Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”
2. Sola fide: “faith alone”
3. Sola gratia: “grace alone”
4. Solo Christo: “Christ alone”
5. Soli Deo gloria: “to the glory of God alone”

Each of these Solas were correctives to the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church at the start of the Reformation.