Morning FreeNChrist,
I totally agree with all that you said in your post. This subject is I believe, one of the biggest deceptions that Satan has perpetrated to remove people from the truth. They claim salvation by grace through faith, but then through circumvention and the twisting of Scripture, they come right back around and end up with salvation by works. It's like they have spiritual blinders on. A good example of this are those who teach the keeping of Sabbath on Saturday as a requirement for salvation. So then salvation becomes faith in the shed blood of Christ and the keeping of the Sabbath on Saturday and whatever else they've added. The last requirement kills the first one! Paul made it clear though that those who put themselves under the works of the law or any works for the sake of obtaining or maintaining salvation have been alienated from Christ and have wandered away from grace. I believe that the NTL version really drives the point home:
"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." (Eph.2:8-9)
Before I go outside I do not get my bible out and go over the ten commandments so as to make sure that I don't break any of them nor do I even think upon them. I follow Christ and am led by the Spirit! When I am out and about and God provides a good work for me to do I am not thinking "Oh good, another good work to maintain my salvation." Having the Holy Spirit, we should naturally have a desire to do good works, but not for the sake of obtaining or maintaining salvation, but for the purpose of glorifying God, being about his business and also by doing so, the Lord says that we are building up our treasures in heaven.
We should always be secure in knowing that our salvation has already been provided by the Lord's sacrifice as a free gift, that he alone purchased men for God with his blood and there is nothing that we can do or need to do to add to that. It's a done deal! In my opinion, anyone who brings in any works as a requirement for salvation along side Christ's shed blood is basically saying that his sacrifice was insufficient.
I have to keep going back to the father of faith, father Abraham, who was credited with righteousness because he believed God. God made a promise to him and he settled it in his heart that God was able to and would do what he said, and that's it. He had faith and it had nothing to do with good works, feeding and clothing the poor, being circumcised, the keeping of the law or anything else. But he was credited with righteousness by faith and faith alone. And we are the spiritual children of Abraham having the same faith and are also credited with righteousness.
The man who was crucified with Christ is an example of the simplicity of salvation when he said, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom," and that one act of faith saved him. He couldn't come down to even be baptized, much less perform any works or be circumcised, but just by acknowledging Christ as Lord.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
