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This is a long post, I realize, but I feel I must respond to the rising presence of heresy on this board regarding works-based salvation. Confusion arises among Christians and pseudo-Christians regarding faith and works. We see this confusion every day here, as many insist on teaching that doing the right thing and not doing the wrong thing are necessary aspects of our “continuing salvation.” As I’ve said many times, to many of these “teachers” here, this is a fallacy, a lie, a heresy that must be stamped out.
We are not saved by entering into a cooperative “covenant” with God to do good works!
In order to be saved, we must be justified, and only God can justify. God does not justify on the basis of “good works,” but on the basis of faith, which He grants to us by His grace, the same grace by which He reckoned, or credited, Abraham a righteous man, even when in his sin!
Faith, through grace, saves. Not “good works”! If He did so by “good works,” and if man could actually do enough “good works” to be justified, then why did Jesus die on the cross?
We are the same basic nature as our father Adam. Until that moment in the Garden when he allowed his wife to be deceived and then allowed her to lead him astray as well, he had not sinned. If “good works” was a method of achieving or “holding onto” salvation, Adam’s sin would have been far outweighed by the sinless life he had lived to that point.
But that one sin was sufficient to end his spiritual life and subject him to physical death and judgment! So in light of the evidence before us in Adam, how do we hope to “perform” to the level that is required to be justified by God?
The simple answer is obvious: We can’t. We won’t. We need a Savior to die the death we deserve, to pay the price we should pay, and One who will rise from the dead, thus overcoming death on our behalves. If we could be saved by works, then righteousness would have been based on the law and Christ would not have needed to die.
Christ did need to die, though, which proves our works cannot save us. Our “good works” do not get us salvation, nor do they help us keep our salvation. This is because our good works are filthy rags before God.
However this does not mean that we are not to have good works, nor that it is futile to do the good works prepared before us beforehand, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10. The Bible clearly tells us that if we claim to be Christian and we do not have good works, then we are not saved.
A quick word about that word “abide,” which in the Greek is meno (meno). The heretics who preach works-based salvation regularly misrepresent what this word actually implies. Ironically, it means the same thing the English word “abide” means as meno is rendered in the NASB. It does not relate to action, but to location, or as we say, our “position” in Christ! To abide in Him is to live in Him, not to “behave” in Him.
I hasten to add here that there is another misnomer the heretics preach, that those who believe in the biblical concept of eternal security believe we are free to be sin, that the pejorative “OSAS” is a belief that we have a “license to sin.” Obviously, Paul said that isn’t true, either.
On the contrary, we are obligated to be good, and it is such a great obligation that John wrote of it twice.
This, of course, is where the heretics love to confuse the issue. They have just read this and are all ready to jump in and yell in my face, “See? See? Right there! You just destroyed your own argument!”
Wrong. We are not saved by our works because we cannot be. The only way to be saved is to trust in the finished sacrificial work of Christ on the cross. But, once saved, the person is now changed.
What does that mean? Simply, that our old sinful ways are doomed. Some will disappear immediately. Others will take time, as we struggle against them. This is called sanctification, being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), which He does in us, by His power. It is not us who “conforms” to His image, but He who conforms us. We allow Him to make the changes and adjustments in our thought life, our words, our deeds, and our attitudes that are necessary for us to be made more Christlike.
Understanding the difference between justification and sanctification can be as important as understanding the difference between salvation and damnation. Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner, so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law.
This righteousness is not earned or retained by any effort of the saved. Justification is an instantaneous occurrence with the result being eternal life. It is based completely and solely upon Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Peter and Paul both confirm this in their recording God’s word.
No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification. Otherwise, it is not a gift. We would have to “earn” it. Clearly Paul says we can only “earn” death. Eternal life is God’s gift through Christ Jesus.
Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ. This conforming to Christ outwardly appears to involve the saved person’s “work,” but it is nothing less than God, working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified.
Sanctification is instantaneous in that our expressed faith in God instantly sets us apart for Him, but it is also ongoing, as we see in the Philippians passage, and it never stops as long as we are breathing. It becomes perfect in the eternal life we are promised, sealed in the Holy Spirit, given to us as a down payment toward that day in which we are redeemed.
Is God a man that He would lie? Would He make a promise and then renege on it? If He was, then He would not be God. The justified person is actively submitted to the Holy Spirit, who by our submission will help us resist sin, seek holiness, and work to be more godly. Significantly, sanctification has no bearing on justification. That is, even if we don't live a perfect life, we are still justified.
We are not saved by entering into a cooperative “covenant” with God to do good works!
In order to be saved, we must be justified, and only God can justify. God does not justify on the basis of “good works,” but on the basis of faith, which He grants to us by His grace, the same grace by which He reckoned, or credited, Abraham a righteous man, even when in his sin!
Romans 4, NASB
23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
23 Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,
24 but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Faith, through grace, saves. Not “good works”! If He did so by “good works,” and if man could actually do enough “good works” to be justified, then why did Jesus die on the cross?
We are the same basic nature as our father Adam. Until that moment in the Garden when he allowed his wife to be deceived and then allowed her to lead him astray as well, he had not sinned. If “good works” was a method of achieving or “holding onto” salvation, Adam’s sin would have been far outweighed by the sinless life he had lived to that point.
But that one sin was sufficient to end his spiritual life and subject him to physical death and judgment! So in light of the evidence before us in Adam, how do we hope to “perform” to the level that is required to be justified by God?
The simple answer is obvious: We can’t. We won’t. We need a Savior to die the death we deserve, to pay the price we should pay, and One who will rise from the dead, thus overcoming death on our behalves. If we could be saved by works, then righteousness would have been based on the law and Christ would not have needed to die.
Galatians 2
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
21 "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
21 "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
Christ did need to die, though, which proves our works cannot save us. Our “good works” do not get us salvation, nor do they help us keep our salvation. This is because our good works are filthy rags before God.
Isaiah 64
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
However this does not mean that we are not to have good works, nor that it is futile to do the good works prepared before us beforehand, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10. The Bible clearly tells us that if we claim to be Christian and we do not have good works, then we are not saved.
1 John 2
4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
4 The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
A quick word about that word “abide,” which in the Greek is meno (meno). The heretics who preach works-based salvation regularly misrepresent what this word actually implies. Ironically, it means the same thing the English word “abide” means as meno is rendered in the NASB. It does not relate to action, but to location, or as we say, our “position” in Christ! To abide in Him is to live in Him, not to “behave” in Him.
I hasten to add here that there is another misnomer the heretics preach, that those who believe in the biblical concept of eternal security believe we are free to be sin, that the pejorative “OSAS” is a belief that we have a “license to sin.” Obviously, Paul said that isn’t true, either.
Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
On the contrary, we are obligated to be good, and it is such a great obligation that John wrote of it twice.
John 14
15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
1 John 2
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
1 John 2
3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
This, of course, is where the heretics love to confuse the issue. They have just read this and are all ready to jump in and yell in my face, “See? See? Right there! You just destroyed your own argument!”
Wrong. We are not saved by our works because we cannot be. The only way to be saved is to trust in the finished sacrificial work of Christ on the cross. But, once saved, the person is now changed.
2 Corinthians 5
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
What does that mean? Simply, that our old sinful ways are doomed. Some will disappear immediately. Others will take time, as we struggle against them. This is called sanctification, being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), which He does in us, by His power. It is not us who “conforms” to His image, but He who conforms us. We allow Him to make the changes and adjustments in our thought life, our words, our deeds, and our attitudes that are necessary for us to be made more Christlike.
Understanding the difference between justification and sanctification can be as important as understanding the difference between salvation and damnation. Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner, so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law.
Romans 5
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Galatians 2
16 … knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Romans 3
11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Galatians 2
16 … knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Romans 3
11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
This righteousness is not earned or retained by any effort of the saved. Justification is an instantaneous occurrence with the result being eternal life. It is based completely and solely upon Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Peter and Paul both confirm this in their recording God’s word.
1 Peter 2:24
24 … He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Ephesians 2
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
24 … He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
Ephesians 2
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification. Otherwise, it is not a gift. We would have to “earn” it. Clearly Paul says we can only “earn” death. Eternal life is God’s gift through Christ Jesus.
Romans 6
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ. This conforming to Christ outwardly appears to involve the saved person’s “work,” but it is nothing less than God, working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified.
Philippians 2
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Sanctification is instantaneous in that our expressed faith in God instantly sets us apart for Him, but it is also ongoing, as we see in the Philippians passage, and it never stops as long as we are breathing. It becomes perfect in the eternal life we are promised, sealed in the Holy Spirit, given to us as a down payment toward that day in which we are redeemed.
Ephesians 1
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 4
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 4
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Is God a man that He would lie? Would He make a promise and then renege on it? If He was, then He would not be God. The justified person is actively submitted to the Holy Spirit, who by our submission will help us resist sin, seek holiness, and work to be more godly. Significantly, sanctification has no bearing on justification. That is, even if we don't live a perfect life, we are still justified.
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