The Bible tells us, that without exception, all people are lost, meaning that our sin separates us from a holy God 1. But the Bible also proclaims that the lost can be saved and restored to right relationship with God. Since it’s dealing with man’s eternal state, the Bible provides a lot of information regarding salvation. Yet, it’s scary how some people pick and choose among the scriptures and teach things about salvation that are not consistent with the gospel that God proclaims in His word.
If we can’t clearly communicate God’s plan of salvation for the lost, then nothing else we’re saying or doing has merit. At stake are people’s eternal destinies, so we must get this right.
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The Bible states clearly that all people are sinners 2 and it’s completely impossible for us to live in a way that earns us right standing with a holy God and positions us to deserve an eternity living in His presence. Even if we do some righteous things, that doesn’t erase the sins we have committed. At our best, we still stand guilty and condemned before God 3.
The Bible proclaims that man’s sin is paid for by the death of Jesus Christ 4. On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserve so that our sin is fully paid for, and we can be forgiven, cleansed, justified, and righteous in God’s sight. Forgiveness isn’t just an attitude God has towards sin. Forgiveness was bought and paid for by Jesus’ suffering and death.
Salvation cannot be achieved by us presenting our works to God. Salvation is God’s work, accomplished through Christ, and it must be received by faith, as the gift of God.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24 ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
Receiving God’s Salvation
Even though the Bible makes it clear that we can never save ourselves through our own efforts, the Bible also states there are requirements that must be met to receive God’s gift of salvation, and there’s an abundance of scriptures that communicate this. Failing to teach this is a dangerous deviation from the saving truth of God’s word. While it’s clear that we cannot depend on our works to save us, it’s a serious mistake to think that works play no part in receiving salvation. There are many scriptures stating clearly that works are essential to receiving God’s salvation.
What Does It Mean To Believe?
Does the Bible say that if we believe we have eternal life? Yes, it does.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47 ESV)
But it’s a mistake to isolate this verse and treat it as if this is all the Bible has to say about eternal life. While this verse is an important truth, it’s still only a part of the whole truth. If you take a portion of the truth and treat it as if it’s the whole truth, it becomes a lie.
The truth about any subject is everything the Bible has to say about that subject.
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In the Bible, believing isn’t just a thought that we hold in our minds. Faith is a conviction of the heart that will be demonstrated through our actions.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (James 2:14-18, 20-22, 26 ESV)
Faith is not just a mental agreement. Faith is active, and will be demonstrated through works. This passage states clearly that apart from works faith is useless and dead.
Salvation And Repentance
Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)
In this verse, Jesus gives two imperatives: you must repent, and you must believe. To be saved, man is required to repent just as he is required to believe.
There are scriptures on salvation that only mention believing.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 ESV)
There are also scriptures on salvation that only mention repenting.
I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32 ESV)
No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3 ESV)
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, (Acts 17:30 ESV)
One scripture never cancels out another scripture. Instead, scriptures complement one another and work together to communicate a complete truth. As stated earlier, the truth about salvation is everything the Bible has to say about salvation, and there’s an abundance of scripture stating that both repentance and faith are required for salvation.
testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21 ESV)
Repentance is not just a feeling, and it’s more than just confessing sin and asking for forgiveness. Repentance involves a sincere commitment to change, turning from sin and turning to God, turning from rebellion and turning to obedience.
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. (Acts 26:19-20 ESV)
Repentance is a prerequisite for forgiveness.
and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47 ESV)
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, (Acts 3:19 ESV)
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18 ESV)
Some teach that repentance is something that should follow salvation. But there are multiple scriptures declaring that repentance is a necessary step to receiving the salvation that was accomplished through Jesus Christ.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation… (2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV)
And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:18 ESV)
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)
Salvation And Obedience
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (Hebrews 5:9 ESV)
Obedience isn’t the source of eternal salvation, Jesus Christ is. But this verse clarifies that he is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (Romans 1:5 ESV)
Faith isn’t just a feeling we have or a thought we hold in our minds. Faith calls us to obedience.
…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 ESV)
The gospel isn’t something to just be believed. To be saved from the wrath of God, the gospel must be obeyed.
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:17 ESV)
Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35 ESV)
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21 ESV)
The predominant belief among Christians is that we should obey God. However, obedience is often viewed as something that follows salvation, but not something that has anything to do with receiving salvation. Yet these verses present obedience as an integral part of receiving the salvation that was accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Eternal Judgement And Our Actions
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus gives an extensive account of what it will be like on the day of judgement when he sits on his glorious throne and the nations are gathered before him. He says he will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will tell the sheep, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Jesus refers to these people as the righteous and explains why they are welcome in the eternal kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. They ask when these things had happened and Jesus says ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Then he will tell the goats ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Again, he explains why they are eternally cursed. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
In this passage, Jesus communicates in the strongest and clearest language that works are a determining factor in our eternal destiny. Some are proclaimed righteous, blessed, and welcome, based on what they have done. Others are declared cursed and rejected, based on what they failed to do. Two groups of people, with completely opposite eternal destinies, based on their actions. People who teach that works play no part in our salvation need to give serious thought to what Jesus is saying in this passage. To ignore this is incredibly and eternally dangerous.
He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. (Romans 2:6-10 ESV)
Do Not Be Deceived
When scripture specifically warns about deception, it is addressing an area where people are commonly deceived.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8 ESV)
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Ephesians 5:5-6 ESV)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV)
The last passage is a great statement about how the cleansing power of the blood of Christ works. We can be completely forgiven and cleansed from the worst kind of sin, but we must leave that kind of lifestyle behind. We are forgiven when we turn from these things and put our faith in Jesus Christ. The grace of God is not a provision to continue in these things.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. (Titus 2:11-12 ESV)
There are some who adamantly proclaim that it’s dangerous to think that works play any part in our salvation because it constitutes “works-based salvation”. But in fact, they are ignoring large portions of God’s word and teaching an unbiblical approach to salvation. What they promote is a dangerous deception.
The Evidence Of Knowing Christ
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3 ESV)
This verse doesn’t say that eternal life comes from knowing about God and Jesus Christ. Eternal life comes from being in a genuine relationship with the Lord. And scripture goes on to say that there is evidence of this kind of relationship.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (1 John 2:3-5 ESV)
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God (1 John 3:6-7, 9-10 ESV)
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Praise God for His great mercy and grace. What an amazing love, that God would sacrifice His son Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sins; that we are declared clean, righteous, and justified, by faith in Christ’s death and resurrection. And how wonderful is the revelation of His word, that leads us in what we must do to receive God’s amazing gift of salvation. Lord, help us to live in, and to proclaim, the full truth of your great salvation.
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Footnotes:
- Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
- Romans 7:14 ESV For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
- Romans 2:5 ESV But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
- John 1:29 ESV The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Revelation 5:9 ESV And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Test Everything 