This doubt is something all believers face at one time; especially in the early times after receiving Salvation through Christ. Let’s look at a few important Scriptures and then a very important doctrine taught by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 which is vastly under taught in the pulpit, yet is so vitally important to the faith.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye BELIEVED, ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of PROMISE, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-16 KJV)
“There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)
Jesus talking about Salvation said this,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 KJV)
BELIEVE BELIEVE BELIEVE!
Salvation is NOT something we work for. It is not by being a good person nor never sinning. It is not what we do that saves us but what Christ DID on the cross.
SALVATION IS A GIFT to be RECEIVED through belief.
“For BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
“These things have I written unto you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13 KJV)
“WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH that Jesus IS THE CHRIST IS BORN OF GOD: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep HIS COMMANDMENTS (Don: this is not talking about the Ten Commandments. It is the commandments Jesus gave to love others as God loves you and to love God.) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even OUR FAITH. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that BELIEVETH THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD?”
(1 John 5: 1-5 KJV , with my comments added in brackets)
“These things have I written unto you that BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13 KJV)
Rest in the Lord.
He will never fail you though we fail all the time still in this Body of Flesh. All who believe on Christ are SAVED and HAVE (present tense) eternal life because the Spirit of God indwells a person from the very moment of belief.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit OF PROMISE, Which is the EARNEST (Don: in Greek means ‘guaranteed down payment’) of our inheritance (Don: eternal life/heaven) until the redemption of the purchased possession (Don: until our bodily resurrection), unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV, with notes by me)
Once a person believes on Christ and the atonement for sins through His sacrifice on the cross as the Son of God, who is God in the Flesh that person is a new creation in the Spirit. This new spirit in the person is now the NEW REAL US. It is the seed of God which is perfect and never sins. However, a believer still has this bodily corrupt and sinful Flesh nature until our bodily resurrection when Christ returns. As a believer on Christ, the new you in the spirit wars with the Flesh and it is a real struggle. We do at times fall into sin as believers but that is the Flesh and not the spirit. Our spirit is eternal and our sins will not prevent a believer from keeping their eternal life. Apostle Paul is clear, yet so many believers miss this important truth that believers have TWO NATURES now; the Newly Created Spirit (the new you!), and the Flesh nature (corrupt body with sin nature).
Read Romans 7 Carefully
Apostle Paul is a saved believer, just like you and me right? (that is, if you accepted Christ for Salvation.) Read Romans 7 VERY CAREFULLY. I am adding some info in brackets to help in understanding this vital passage that so many believers do not yet understand.
“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold UNDER SIN.
For that which I do I allow not: for what I would (Don: I WANT to do good and not sin), that DO I NOT (Don: yet, I sin instead); BUT WHAT I HATE, THAT DO I. (Don: I hate sin, yet I still find myself sinning)
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
>>>Now then it is NO MORE I THAT DO IT(Don: My newly created spirit does not want to do it and so, because the spirit is the new me, it is not me doing it), BUT SIN THAT DWELETH IN ME (Don: It is the Flesh nature doing the sin. Sinning comes naturally to this nature)
For I know that in me (that is, IN MY FLESH,) DWELETH NO GOOD THING (Don: we are completed wretched! All are sinners!) : for to will is present with me (Don: I WANT to do good and not sin); but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Don: Yet I still fail utterly and sin.)
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
>>>Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Don: The sin nature is the one sinning, not my perfect newly created spirit which can never sin)
I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man (Don: the inward man is the newly created spirit of God which is eternal and perfect and has the very righteousness of God in Christ;2 Corinthians 5:21):
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. (Don: belief on the atonement for sin He provided, not our works) So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; (Don: with the REAL us, our Spirit and inner man) but with the flesh the law of sin.”
(Romans 7:14-25 KJV, with my own notes in brackets)
This is why Paul goes on to teach that he rather boast in his weaknesses because it is ALL Christ that saves us. In John 15, Jesus Himself tells us that we can do NOTHING without Him abiding. That is, without the Holy Spirit (God) indwelling us. And that happens by belief on Jesus Christ in faith in the only atonement for sin, Christ crucified, which He provided to us as God in the flesh; the only begotten Son of God. In other words, we must be born again of the spirit (John 3) and believe on Christ alone for our Salvation. By doing so, all the sins of a person’s life are forgiven and penalty paid by Christ.
Once a believer our focus should be on walking in The Spirit which is the ‘new us’ and abide in the Word of God. By doing this, we renew our mind to God’s truth and worldview. And by doing such, we find a peace in our Salvation through God and avoid the lusts of the Flesh.
Before answering these questions there is another question that you must answer and that so many believers leave out when answering these questions. That question is, ‘Do you believe that the Bible is the one word of the one true God?’ You must believe that it is the true word of the only God of the universe because Salvation is based on the truths of the Bible which all focus on Jesus Christ.
If you do believe this then read on. If you are unsure, or you are unsure why you believe this to be true then first go read another article I have written; The Bible Is The True Word Of God .
Believing that the Bible is the word of God, the very next question you need an answer to is what is God really like? Starting with knowing about God and His perfect ways gives you a solid foundation upon which to build better understanding when reading the Word of God. Let us quickly look at some of God’s characteristics from the Bible.
God is eternal. He is not a created being. He has always existed. God never changes. He is the same today as He has always been.
(Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 , James 1:17, Deuteronomy 33:27, Psalms 90:2)
God cannot do anything against His own perfect character. God keeps His promises to us. (Psalms 12:6-7, Mark 13:31)
God is perfect in every way:
+ Perfect in love. (1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16, 1 John 4 :7)
+ Perfectly Holy and perfect in justice.(Revelation 4:8, 1 Peter 1:15-16)
+ Perfect in mercy. (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 3:23-24, Psalms 111:9)
NOTE: The list continues because He is truly perfect in every way. I have a more complete article on what the Bible has to say about God’s characteristics and His ways that you can read here . For the purpose of this article we will focus on the above attributes of God.
GOD IS LOVE. Then, All Is Good Right?
Perfect love is the trait of God that we want to hear about the most right? If God loves us then what have we to fear? In fact, many pulpits focus on this aspect of God yet deny the other attributes of God. We must remember that God is also perfectly JUST and Holy. And that is the problem that we humans need to address and face head on. If we compare our goodness to others who have done greater sins than we have, that is not a fair assessment of our true sinfulness. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 KJV) and that “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ” (Isaiah 64:6 KJV). The very best thing we do in goodness is as filthy rags to God. You see, we all have a SIN NATURE in us. And God is so Holy that even just ONE sin is enough to cause Him to punish us with His perfect justice.
To make matters worse, the punishment for even ONE SIN is eternal death in a place of torment that was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). God is THAT HOLY! And when we compare ourselves to God, believe me when I say that we fail miserably. God gave us the Ten Commandments as His Absolute Truth to show us just how sinful we really are. No normally born human has kept the Ten Commandments perfectly.
Some say, I have not committed murder or adultery! However, Jesus said that if you have hate toward another in your heart you have committed murder. If you lust after the opposite sex you have committed adultery in your heart. And have you really loved God with ALL YOUR HEART AND MIND? Honestly, none of us have. You see our heart, our inner being is where the problem is. We all were born with a SIN NATURE and a ‘bent’ toward sinning since the fall of Adam and Eve.
So we have all sinned. What does that make us? It makes us sinners! And what does the Bible say happens to sinners? They are headed for God’s judgement and condemnation in hell.
“For the wagesofsin is death;…” (Romans 6:23 KJV)
A look at this verse in the Greek in which it was penned defines this death as ‘with the implied idea of future misery in hell’. This is an eternal death. That is not good news right?! So, what about God’s love you keep hearing about? Isn’t God perfect in love and mercy? YES He is! But not in a wishy washy sense. What I mean is that God is not going to just tell you in the court room of God, “ok. You did more good deeds than bad, so I will allow you eternal life in heaven”. NEVER. God CANNOT do anything against His perfect Holiness! To be given entrance to Heaven a person must be perfect and without any sin debt.
Here is the good news! The wonderful news!
God is also perfect in love and mercy and so He must also abide by these character traits perfectly. You see God loves you and me more than any being in the universe. He does not want anyone to end up in Hell. No! He loves the sinner but hates the sin. He wants all to be in heaven with Him forever and ever.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJV)
But this SIN is in the way because He must judge it. The penalty MUST be paid. So what is God to do in this predicament?
This is what Salvation is all about. The Bible tells us that God is a Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7). The Bible is clear that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). God in His perfect love and mercy decides to commit the single greatest act of love in the universe for all of time. God decides to take the punishment for our sins upon Himself so that our penalty for sins can be paid in full. To do this, He would have to become a man but also still be God. This God-man is Jesus The Christ.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and was not born into the sin nature as we were. He is God after all. He could be tempted to sin but never sinned in His entire life in deed, nor in thought. Why? Because He is God become flesh. God had to become flesh and live as one of us so His blood could be shed for us. It was the only way that we could be forgiven our sins because they had to be paid for. God is perfectly just and our sins MUST be paid for.
When Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood God took upon Himself all the sins of the whole world (past/present/future) and paid for them (1 John 2:2) so that we could be freed from our sin debt against the Holy God Almighty. Salvation is a FREE GIFT of God’s grace and an unmerited favor. So you see, yes God is love. Amazing love! But His love that saves us was not in a wishy washy way. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sins and in doing so kept all His perfect traits and characteristics intact. He loves us perfectly. He judged our sins in His perfect justice and Holiness on Christ who willingly paid for our sins. He was perfectly merciful toward us in paying the penalty for our sins. THAT is the true love of God from the Bible. THAT is the love of God that you hear so much about. It far surpasses any love we have for each other here on Earth.
The Free Gift of The Grace Of God
“For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
The Bible is clear that this act of love towards us is a FREE GIFT to be accepted or rejected. As a GIFT, it is never earned. That is, it is not us working our way to heaven by performing good deeds and good works, being a good person nor by religious rituals. It is a Grace GIFT from God. An UNMERITED favor from God to humankind. Now God did not create us as robots. Instead He gave us a free will so that we could have a real relationship with Him. And so God offers the free gift of Salvation to all who believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, who atoned for our sins on the cross, died and rose again on the third day. Jesus on the cross cried out, “It is finished” and if we look at the Greek that the New Testament was written, it actually means “DEBT PAID IN FULL!” God does not force anyone to accept this free gift and turn to God for Salvation from our sins. As a GIFT, it must be received or rejected. Jesus said about Salvation through Him,
“That WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE.
For God SENT NOT his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world THROUGH HIM might be saved.
He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:15-18 KJV)
This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is called the good news!
What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Only one thing which is not of your own self righteous efforts in any way; BELIEVE the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who paid your penalty for the sins you have committed. When a person believes this they are from that very moment saved eternally, even without saying a prayer (it is good to give Him thanks in belief, do not get me wrong!), The Holy Spirit of God indwells the person and they are SEALED and saved for all eternity!
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye BELIEVED, ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of PROMISE, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-16 KJV)
And this Scripture below shows just how much God has saved such a person for all eternity. To be with God in Heaven we must be without sin debt. In belief, the person actually becomes the very righteousness of God, in Christ. An amazing truth to be so thankful for, yet many believers have not grasped how powerful our Salvation is!
“For he hath made HIM [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God IN HIM.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV, [] brackets for clarification)
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts13:38-39 KJV)
Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and has imputed the righteousness of God to us, in God’s eyes He sees us through the filter of Christ! To Him we are holy, righteous and redeemed for all eternity. To God, all your sins (past/present.future) have all been fully paid for and so there is now no condemnation for them that believe on Christ alone in faith and belief.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 KJV)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 KJV)
Is Just Believing Enough To Save us? What About Repentance?
The New Testament was first penned in the Greek. The Greek word for the English word ‘repent’ is ‘metanoia’ and is defined as “…a change of mind, change in the inner man”. (see http://biblehub.com/greek/3341.htm) It is not defined as ‘turn from sin’ as many pulpits teaching works based Salvation are telling their church members. That is the modern day dictionary definition but not the Biblical definition of ‘repentance’.
In fact, we see in the Word of God that God Himself repents many times, yet God has no sin to turn from! To repent is to ‘change your mind’.
You can see clearly now that the Biblical meaning of ‘repent’ is nothing like the dictionary definition (change one’s life for the better; be penitent. ) True repentance is not a work that WE DO to gain God’s acceptance and favor after Salvation. God reached out to usfirst and provided a way for us sinners to be forgiven completely, but it is NOT from our own efforts. God gives Salvation to us as a free gift to be received. The Bible tells us that BEFORE God created the Earth He established the one and only way for us to be forgiven our sins and that way is by faith in the act of atonement provided by Jesus The Christ on the cross.
Repentance is changing our mind and thinking about how to be saved. We are NOT saved by our works, which is what the every religion in the world teaches. Repentance and belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which is Salvation by faith alone In the atonement for our sins through Christ crucified) is two sides of the same coin. That is if you repent about how to deal with your sins (change your mind about how to get forgiveness for your sins) and believe that this is accomplished only through faith and belief in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and the atonement for our sins on the cross, you HAVE ALREADY repented.
Repenting is the change in your mind from the world’s way of dealing with sin and changing to God’s way of dealing with sin which is believing on Christ for Salvation apart from works of any kind (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Stopping the practice of a particular sin is a result of repenting and changing your mind. That is, it is not the repenting itself.
The Main Books Of The Bible On How To Be Saved Prove This!
The book of John is all about how to be saved. Do you know that the word ‘repent’ nor ‘repentance’ does not even appear once! But the word ‘believe’ on Christ is seen all over the book many times.
The book of Galatians. This is the book fighting against the false Gospel based on works for Salvation right? Again, the word ‘repent’ is not found once in this book contending for the true Gospel! However the word ‘faith’ in Jesus Christ is found all through the book.
The book of Romans. Paul tells us again and again that Salvation is NOT OF WORKS IN ANY MANNER! And where the word ‘repent’ is found, it is not the same Greek word. It does not mean ‘turning from your sin’.
The Christian religions need to stop using the dictionary definition of the word ‘repent’!!! They are teaching a FALSE GOSPEL WHICH WILL NOT SAVE ANYONE.
Believe The Gospel And Be Saved
Do you believe Jesus is the Christ (Christ is not Jesus’ last name, it means ‘the anointed one’), the only begotten Son of God who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, born without sin, lived a sinless life, atoned for and paid in full the sins of the whole world (past/present/future) on the cross (1 John 2:2), died and rose again on the third day? If so, the Holy Spirit now resides within you and you are SEALED and saved for all eternity. You are Heaven bound and your sins will not cause loss of your Salvation. They are fully PAID by Christ on the cross 2000 years ago.
Visit The Gospel Q&A And Learn More
About Biblical Salvation & The Gospel Of Grace
Through Christ Crucified , Died and Risen:
First Let Us Read Scripture. My Opinion Means Nothing.
“For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And BY HIM ALL THAT BELIEVE ARE JUSTIFIED FROM ALL THINGS, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts13:38-39 KJV)
“For the law of THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS hath MADE ME FREE from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2 KJV)
“For there is ONE God,and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself A RANSOM for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Timothy 2: 5-6 KJV)
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9 KJV)
“Now to the one who WORKS, his wage is NOT RECKONED on the basis of GRACE, but as what is DUE. But to the one who DOES NOT WORK, but BELIEVES in Him (Jesus) WHO JUSTIFIES the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Romans 4:4-5 KJV)
THE GALATIANS
Apostle Paul Taught Against ‘Good works For Righteousness’
Apostle Paul Taught Against the false ‘Works for Salvation’ gospel and gives stern warning to the Galatians, where false Judiazer teachers were telling them that following good works of Law were also requirements of their salvation and not faith in Christ ALONE. This is what Paul had to say about it:
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, LET HIM BE ACCURSED.” (Galatians 1:6-8 KJV)
“Knowing that a man is NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, but BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have BELIEVED in Jesus Christ, that we might BE JUSTIFIED by the FAITH OF CHRIST, and NOT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.. But if, while we seek to be justified BY CHRIST, we ourselves also are FOUND SINNERS, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make MYSELF a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but CHRIST LIVETH IN ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for IF RIGHTEOUSNESS COME BY THE LAW, THEN CHRIST DIED IN VAIN.” (Galatians 2:16-21 KJV)
“O FOOLISH GALATIANS, WHO HATH BEWITCHED YOU, that ye should not obey THE TRUTH, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, CRUCIFIED AMONG YOU? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or BY THE HEARING OF FAITH? ARE YE SO FOOLISH? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things IN VAIN? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by THE HEARING OF FAITH? Even AS ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, and it was ACCOUNTED TO HIM for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are OF FAITH, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would JUSTIFY THE HEATHEN THROUGH FAITH, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be OF FAITH are blessed with FAITHFUL Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are UNDER THE CURSE: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that NO MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW in the sight of God, it is evident: for, THE JUST SHALL LIVE -BY FAITH-. And the law is NOT OF FAITH: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.” (Galatians 3 KJV)
STERN WARNING…
“Christ is become of NO EFFECT UNTO YOU, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are FALLEN FROM GRACE. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness BY FAITH.” (Galatians 5:4-5 KJV)
Jesus warned the same in Matthew 7:22-23:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done MANY WONDERFUL WORKS? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23 KJV)
What is the iniquity Jesus is telling the Jewish people in His Earthly ministry? The INIQUITY is the FALSE TEACHING of works for salvation; following the Law of Moses for Salvation. Salvation is not BY good works, nor Law following for righteousness, nor is salvation kept BY good works. These are not my words. It is the Gospel truth from Scripture, read in proper context.
ARE YOU SAVED BY DOING GOOD WORKS?
The Answer is a resounding NO! This is such an important issue because if a person believes that works are a requirement for salvation, such teachers are giving them a false Gospel. Apostle Paul is clear, the wages of sin is NOT good works, nor being a good person.
“…the wages of sin IS DEATH; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 KJV).
This death Paul spoke of, if you look in the Greek, is ‘Eternal Death in condemnation’ . It is Spiritual death. Believing our good deeds will save us is no different than trying to save our self through our OWN EFFORTS – which is basically following the Law which the Bible calls “the ministry of death” and the “ministry of condemnation”.
“But if the MINISTRATION OF DEATH, written and engraven in stones (Don: Ten Commandments), was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the MINISTRATION OF THE SPIRIT be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 KJV)
Do NOT continue in the Ministry of death, trying to keep the Ten Commandments for our salvation as if we could actually do so with our sin nature. Impossible!
We should not think that we are a “good person” or that we are better than anyone else regarding our sin. We should not be using a human standard to compare ourselves with “other evil sinners” while we think we are good using human standards. Human standards regarding our sin are MEANINGLESS. God is perfectly HOLY and JUST.
It is against God’s own character of perfect Holiness that we should be comparing our self with – and believe me WE ALL FAIL MISERABLY! We are all SINNERS. Before accepting Salvation through Christ crucified, we have a sin nature at our core (The Spirit of Adam) within us and it is impossible to never sin – even after becoming a Christian! And of course to make things worse there are those who believe in a works based salvation and believe they are better than others when the fact is they are completely wretched within.
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 KJV)
Paul makes this clear. The LAW (Ten Commandments) SAVES NO ONE! The Ten Commandments are like a mirror so we can see how terribly sinful we actually are.
“For no one is put right in God’s sight by DOING what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make man KNOW that he has sinned.” (Romans 3:20 KJV)
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might ABOUND. But where sin abounded, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND:” (Romans 5:20 KJV)
“”The sting of death is sin; and the STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.” (1 Corinthians 15:56)
“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the DEEDS OF THE LAW there shall NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED in his sight: for by the law is the KNOWLEDGE of sin. But now the righteousness of God WITHOUT THE LAW is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God WHICH IS BY FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST unto all and upon all them THAT BELIEVE: for there is no difference: For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being JUSTIFIED FREELY by HIS GRACE through the redemption THAT IS IN Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be A PROPITIATION THROUGH FAITH in HIS blood, to declare HIS righteousness for the REMISSION of sins that are past, through the FORBEARANCE of God; To declare, I say, at this time HIS righteousness: that HE might be just, and THE JUSTIFIER OF HIM which BELIEVETH IN JESUS. Where is boasting then? It is EXCLUDED. By what law? of works? NAY:but by the LAW OF FAITH. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified BY FAITH WITHOUT THE DEEDS OF THE LAW. (Romans 3:19-28 KJV)
BEWARE THE FALSE GOSPEL THAT IS RUNNING RAMPANT IN MANY PULPITS… YOUR SALVATION IS AT RISK!
Do not take as truth, everything a pulpit is teaching! It is our individual responsibility to read the Bible and see if what is being taught is correct in Scripture, read in proper context. Do not even take my word for it! Let the Scripture read in proper context be truth.
