Saved by faith, not saved by faithfulness

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 [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.

The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith. It is equally clear that this salvation is a gift of God and not a result of works. But boastful people cannot accept this. They cannot accept that they have no role in their own salvation. 

So they redefine what it means to be saved by faith apart from works. 

One way people redefine salvation by grace through faith is to say that we are saved by faith alone but the faith that saved is not alone. This is just a fancy way of saying if you truly believe, there must be accompanying works because it is the works that qualify faith as a saving faith. So if you believe in Jesus but have no works, you don't actually believe. This is like saying you believe in Jesus but you don't actually believe in Jesus. They're inserting works in the faith equation. 

Another way to deny salvation by faith is to say that without works, faith is not complete. So if you have no works, you either lost your salvation or you're not really saved. Again, works determine if you're saved or not. Without works, your faith isn't sufficient to save. 

Another way they go around this is to say that we're saved by grace through faithfulness. That is, they redefine faith as faithfulness. You have to turn away from sins and do good works and serve God till death. If you did not endure to the end, if you become unfaithful, you lost salvation. 

All of these despite the clear, unequivocal message of the Bible- "the gift of God," and "not a result of works."

Have you ever worked for a gift? If you do, that is not a gift. That is a wage. You earn that wage. Calling it a gift does not make it a gift. 

When Paul says "it is not a result of works," he remove works from the equation of salvation. Works are important; in fact we're saved to do good works (v10) but works do not contribute anything to our salvation. The only work that God accepts is Christ's work on the Cross as the propitiation for our sins. The only work that we can do is to believe in Jesus. Jesus said it: John 6:29. 

Stop working for what God give as free. Accept the gift of eternal life by "faith-ing" in Christ. We're saved through faith and not through faithfulness. 

Faithfulness is desirable and a must for saved individuals. But it cannot save an unsaved man. 

Believe in Jesus for eternal life. 

Manatiling nakapokus sa biyaya. Huwag ninyong hayaang nakawin ng mga huwad na guro ang inyong karapatang mag-isip ng doktrina.

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