Since I was a child, I was taught that we are "saved by grace alone". Not only that, but once I
prayed the "sinner's prayer" - I was forever saved. There was nothing I could ever do that
would take that salvation from me. Then I learned that the Bible - God's Word - says the demons also believe and know that Jesus is the Son of God. Since knowing and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ hasn't given them salvation, what are we missing here? And, why is this so important to discuss?
Let me tell you a story from my teenage years that is a really good analogy. When I was a teenager, I had tried to swim - with some of my friends - out to a raft in the middle of a lake.
I only made it halfway there when due to exhaustion -I couldn't swim any further. I was in water over my head, so the only thing I could do was to yell for help! A friend swam to me, but made the mistake of grabbing on to me. A battle started with me pushing her under the water in order to get my head out of the water. Eventually, she broke free from me and I started gulping down water as fast as I could swallow.
I was about to pass out when I heard a calm voice saying over and over again - "Roll over on your back. Roll over on your back." As soon as I obeyed the voice by rolling over on to my back, I felt the strong arms of a lifeguard grab hold of me. By placing my life into his hands and obeying everything he told me to do, he soon had me back to the safety of land.
From experience, I can tell you that "grace alone" did not save me that day! First of all, I had put my trust in the wrong thing when I let my friend try to save me. She proved to be a "false lifeguard" and was going to cause us both to drown. 2ndly, I recognized "the voice" of the lifeguard as the real thing in which to put my trust. But just believing that he was the lifeguard - still did not give me salvation! I had to "obey his voice", submit to him by putting my life into his hands, and then do what he commanded me to do. At any point if I had been foolish enough to choose to go against what he was telling me to do, I would have lost my salvation and drowned.
When we pray "the sinner's prayer", we need to acknowledge that we have sinned because we have broken God's law - the 10 Commandments. Because of our disobedience to His holy commands - we have been given the "death penalty" and on the Day of Judgment, we will be sentenced to Hell. However, God saw our need for a "Lifeguard", took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and "jumped" into our world of humanity so we could be saved. Our part is to hear His voice, believe He is who He says He is, and accept His offer of salvation through His death on the cross to pay the penalty for our "lawlessness". Choosing to submit to Him and to obey His Word for the rest our lives until we reach Heaven's shore is what will guarantee our salvation.
What is missing in most of the "sinner's prayers" you may read or hear from our pulpits today is the need for us to be obedient. The sinner needs to say in their prayer, "I choose to obey You and Your Word for the rest of my life." Why is this so important? Because as in my story above, grace and obedience must work together. Jesus cannot be your Saviour, if you have not given Him complete control of your heart and life. In the Bible, giving Christ control of your life is called making Him your Lord and Master. The demons may believe in Jesus as the Son of God, but they will not OBEY Him - and that is the key.
15 comments:
WOW ! Thank you for sharing such a personal story! And the"Complete Truth of Gods Word" that we don't seem to hear in very many churchs' in todays world.
God Bless you girl !!
Ricky
So what you are saying is that once I accept the gift of salvation and make Him master of my life, the good works I do after that are what assures my salvation? If I break the law again then I lose my salvation?
Let me share, not what I'm saying - but what God says in James 2:20,24 "...faith without works (obedience) is dead." That's about as clear as it can get! In verse 24 it says "...a man is justfied (saved) by works (obedience) and not by faith only." In one of my earlier postings, I wrote about this being a matter of our hearts. Too many Christians today are saying, "I don't want to" and "I don't have to".
If we're truly saved by God's grace, we're not going to WANT to break His laws - if we want to break them, then that's a serious sign something is wrong. If we do break one of them, our HEARTS should convict us, so we WANT to immediately repent and be obedient to Him and His laws again. God isn't going to force us to go to Heaven just because we've prayed "the sinner's prayer", but now care nothing about Him or His laws. He gives us a free will to choose to obey or not to obey.
Rightly said. If I am genuinely saved by God's grace, I will normally not want to sin. Unfortunately I will sin anyway because of the conflict between my sinful nature, which remains, and my new nature, which is according to the Spirit. While I will one day be made perfect, as it is, I remain in the flesh and constantly battle my old nature. But God is faithful, and as John says, when I confess my sins, He is just to forgive me.
That said, the works referenced in James 2 are not obedience to a written code (i.e. the entirety of God’s law which cannot be biblically split apart) they are love motivated good works. Works like the fruit of the Spirit and the kind deeds mentioned by Jesus in his teaching about the sheep and the goats in Matt. 25. Not lying never put clothes on my naked neighbor. Not murdering my lonely widow neighbor never made her feel cared for. Likewise, my keeping a Sabbath never comforts a criminal in prison. I could keep the so called 10 commandments all day everyday and never be obedient to Christ’s oft repeated new command (John 13, 15 etc.) to love each other. If we love Him, we will keep His command to love each other. This is done through service motivated by the love characterized in 1 Corinthians 13.
The Pharisees were masters at obeying the law, but Jesus dismantled their law keeping as wickedness. He described them as hypocrites and whitewashed tombs. They never missed a Sabbath day (any of them, not just the seventh day) and it was still worthless. The righteousness that a genuine believer relies on is imparted to him by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice and character and is sealed forever by the Spirit. He can neither add to it nor take anything from it. Paul, in Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace through faith, not from ourselves, but the gift of God and not by works, so that no one can boast. If I’m saved by grace through faith, but have to maintain it by following the law, then I can boast that I kept my salvation by my obedience. It simply doesn’t work that way. I get no credit whatsoever for my salvation. Besides that, it is impossible to obey the law. If you break any of it, you are guilty of breaking it all (James 2:10). Again, God teaches us through Paul in Galatians 2:15-16 that “man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we [Jewish believers], too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” Further, in verses 19-21 God tells us through Paul that “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Again, in Galatians 3:1-4 God teaches us through Paul that since we began our journey with Christ by receiving the Spirit by believing rather than observing the law, it is foolish to try to follow Christ through human effort and observing the law.
Continued in next post…
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” Romans 8:1. God is crystal clear in the scriptures that salvation is by grace through faith alone and that genuine faith produces good works. These works are not rote obedience to the entirety of God’s law given through Moses and the prophets, but the works of love through the Spirit. Obedience to the so called 10 commandments merely means that I have refrained from hating God and my neighbor in those ways, not that I have done anything to demonstrate my love to them in the way that Jesus and the apostles taught and demonstrated.
The law was given to condemn, not to produce righteousness. Constantly focusing on obeying it completely misses the correction Christ gave and will inevitably lead to constructing systems of rules meant to keep us on the "right" path, but we will always fail and we will fail more often while we keep our focus on God's condemning schoolmaster rather than on our loving, freeing Savior. Our future reward is based entirely on how we use our freedom to love God and others and nothing whatsoever on whether we keep the old commands. Will we have many love motivated works which will withstand the test of fire or will we barely make it through the flames (1 Cor. 3:10-15)?
Christ gives us freedom from the law to love him and to fail, to move mountains and to stumble, always knowing that we are no longer condemned and that there is nothing that can separate us from His love…even ourselves.
I did a review of James 2 and found that it does reference obedience to God's Ten Commandment law (as well as "good works"). In James 2:8,10, 11 - it refers to the "royal law", committing adultery and murder, and stating if we break one of these Ten Commandments, we're guilty of breaking them all. In actuality, we ARE showing love to our neighbor when we don't murder their parents and leave them orphans, or steal from them and leave them without a car, or commit adultery with their spouse, etc.
You are "half right" when making the statement that "the law was given to condemn". If you are a "law-keeper", it does not condemn you. In fact, that is exactly what Romans 8:1 is referring to. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh (law-breakers), but according to the Spirit (law-keepers). However, what about the opposite of this verse? If you are in Christ Jesus and walk after the flesh (law-breakers), but not after the Spirit (law-keepers) - then it sounds like there is condemnation for you! Here's an analogy: I'm a U.S. citizen, and the U.S. has many laws. I would think it strange if someone told me "it is impossible for you to obey the law" or "do you know that the law condemns you?" So why do we say it when it comes to God's law? Also, none of our laws in the U.S. condemn us as long as we're being "law-keepers". We have total freedom as long as we stay obedient to the laws. In fact, as a "law-keeper", I don't have to "constantly focus on obeying it" as you stated. I come to a red light and stop without even thinking about it. However, "law-breakers" seem to have a problem in that area. Romans 8 goes through quite a lengthy contrast between the "law-breakers" and "law-keepers".
After saying all of this, I totally agree with you that we don't stop with the Ten Commandments when it comes to our obedience to the Lord. The "good works" such as giving food to the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the orphans and widows are all things we are told to do as part of "loving our neighbor as ourselves" - so we need to be obedient to them as well. However, in Matt. 7:21-23 there were many who were doing "good works" in Jesus' Name and He will declare to them in the last day that "I never knew you". Why? Because they "practice lawlessness"
which means the breaking of God's laws (sin). I John 5:2 & 3 says "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." This states what I said earlier in this comment, that by not murdering someone's parents is keeping the command to "not murder" - and it shows love to others because we are showing our love to God by being obedient to Him.
In summary, in order to "be saved" - we must "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ". That is a commandment which requires our obedience. If we obey, we are saved. It also says we need to "Repent". That is a commandment which requires our obedience. "Repent" means "go and sin no more" - become a "law-keeper" instead of a "law-breaker".
If it was grace alone that saved us, then everyone in the world would be saved. We have to obey His commands to "Believe" and "Repent" in order to access His grace. That is obedience and grace working together for our salvation.
I believe that we should take a much higher view of the love Jesus spoke of. Through His words and His actions, He has and continues to demonstrate that the love He is referring to when He says “love your neighbor as yourself” is so much more than merely forgoing a sin you would otherwise commit. The love Jesus demonstrates is a deliberative action which seeks to enhance the life of another rather than merely avoiding doing him harm. This kind of love is self-sacrificing. It causes us to pray for our enemies, not just stop killing them. It causes us to treat someone we are attracted to with care and respect, not simply avoid our base impulse to fulfill a lustful desire.
Now, having looked back at the rest of the posts here, I now think I see what is going on. It comes down to two basic issues, what do we do with the Sabbath day and are we saved once forever or do we have to maintain our salvation like a 1975 Ford Pinto.
First, let me clear up what appears to be either a misrepresentation on my part, or a misunderstanding on your part. When God declares us free from the law, He is not giving us a license to sin, Paul says as much. Being free means that we are free from the "commands and regulations" which make the law a burden, we are not free from upholding the moral principals which transcend the law. As Paul states in Romans 5 sin existed for thousands of years before the law was even introduced through Moses.
That said, it is improper to try to cleave the law into parts. Some, in order to make a case for their own interpretation, will separate the 10 commandments from the rest of God's law given through Moses and the Prophets. Jesus never did this and neither did any of the rest of the New Testament writers. The law is the law is the law. No piecemeal approach can be taken if we are to have a hope of understanding what it is that is written for our benefit.
What about the 10 commandments? Do they even represent all of the possible sins a person can commit? Are they intended to? Do they even need to? Where in the 10 commandments does it tell me not to poach animals? Does that fall under don't murder? Where in the 10 commandments does it tell me not be a glutton or a drunkard or a lazy bum? These are elsewhere described as sins, but they are not represented in the 10 commandments. What about greed? What about lust? I think Jesus points it out with succinct clarity when He says that if I lust after a women, I am guilty of adultery. What about gossip? I'm not necessarily lying when I tell something to someone that I shouldn't, but it is still sinful even though it doesn't say so in the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments, along with the rest of the law, were given as signposts to sin. As Paul points out in Romans 3:20, "no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin"
We are by no means free from the moral implications that the law. No one has ever been free to commit a murder or lie in a business transaction, even before the law was given. However, everyone who has placed their faith in the final work of Jesus Christ on the cross is free from every last prescription given in the law on how to uphold the moral principles of God. As God says in Ephesians 2, Christ "abolished in his flesh the law and its commandments and regulations" while He creates for Himself a single, unified people. It is only by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within me that I am even able to do anything worthwhile in the sight of God.
This brings me to the problem of the Sabbath day. It is argued here that since it is in the 10 commandments, it is a hard and fast law to be kept.
- In Exodus 31:16, God states that "The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for generations to come as a lasting covenant."
- In Leviticus 25:2 the Lord says "When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD."
- Exodus 31:14 says that "Anyone who desecrates it [the Sabbath] must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people."
- Ezekiel 44:24 says "...They are to keep my laws and my decrees for all my appointed feasts, and they are to keep my Sabbaths holy."
What about all this?
First, "The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath." I am not an Israelite in the sense that it references it here.
Second, it was to be a "lasting covenant." That's what it says, but so was physical circumcision. In Genesis 17:10 God says "This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you." By the same standard we impose the obligation to observe the Sabbath, which was a "sign of a lasting covenant", we should also oblige every male among us to be physically circumcised. But God, through Paul, rails against this obligation time and again while at the same time railing against the idea of a continued mandate to the rest of the obligations of the law. In Galatians he even goes so far as to say that he wished that those who were laying that yoke upon the newly converted gentiles would slip with their knives and mutilate themselves.
A question, did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and everyone prior to Moses sin by not keeping the Sabbath? That is, if it is a matter of morality and sin.
Another point that is often made is that Jesus, Paul and the other Apostles kept the Sabbath. So they did. And they also kept all the rest of the laws, commands, regulations, New Moons and feasts. They didn't eat unclean foods. They practiced offering sacrifices (at least until Jesus was crucified). And the list goes on.
Where in the New Testament do we have a reiteration of keeping the Sabbath if it is to be kept in a legalistically? We were given again the moral principals found in each of the rest of the 10 commandments, in addition to others, but strangely not number 4. The primary way that it is mentioned at all is as a temporal frame of reference. The only other mention, other than to say don't worry about it, is in Hebrews, which is using the concept of a Sabbath rest and comparing it to our eternal rest.
What about the Sabbaths other than the seventh day Sabbath? What about the New Moon festivals and feasts mandated by God? Do we continue to execute those who do not observe the Sabbath from Friday evening at sunset to Saturday evening at sunset? What about those who live in way up in Alaska where the sun doesn’t set for part of the year? Do they get off for awhile during the Summer or was this rule really intended for a time for people that lived in Palestine?
Colossians 2:14-17 says "having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." I for one, refuse to have my freedom that Christ paid so dearly to secure encroached upon by rules and regulations that stand opposed to me.
Finally, on to the problem of being insecure in ones salvation. This has been argued and reargued since soon after Christ ascended to the Father. I doubt that I can convince you that you have nothing to fear, but I will give it a quick shot.
First, I agree with you. "Easy believism" is a cancer in the Western church. We have been sold a bill of goods that intellectual ascent equals genuine saving faith. It simply is not true. We are required to obey the commands to repent and place our trust in the work of Christ on the cross, not in anything that we can do, in order to be saved. Anyone who says they have done this and whose lives haven't changed with fruit that lasts should consider whether their conversion was genuine.
If I am truly saved, then my salvation is secured by God, not by me. I will still sin, and anyone who says that they don't is a liar, but the blood of Jesus and the grace of God are more than sufficient to provide for my righteousness. If I fall completely away, then I never was saved. John says in 1 John 2:19 speaking of some who had fallen away that "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
I also contend that if it were possible for someone to lose their salvation, it would be the result of one sin. I say this because that is how many it took for someone to be lost to begin with, why would it take more after they were saved? Where is the biblical justification for that and how many sins would be too much?
In addition, if it were possible to fall away from genuine faith, then it could never be regained once lost. Hebrews 6:4-6 states that "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." When this is read in context and using the hermeneutic of letting the whole of scripture guide the interpretation, we can understand this to be a hypothetical given by the author to make the point that if it were possible to fall away, you can get it back.
Much more could be and has been said regarding this highly debated topic. I don't think it is terribly profitable to rehash it all here.
To all who have accepted the free gift of salvation, embrace the freedom God has given you from the law. Live a life filled with holiness and good deeds motivated by love and empowered by His Spirit in the name of Christ. Do not give fear a foothold. God's faithfulness is what keeps you saved and pushes you forward. Love others with reckless abandon and don't put up walls of judgment. Let mercy reign.
I, first of all, want to thank you for taking the time to leave the comments you have on this post. They have really helped me to do some more "digging" into God's Word - and that is ALWAYS a GOOD thing.
I really think, for the most part, that you and I are in basic agreement. We do need to realize, though, that God did separate the Ten Commandments from the rest of the law of Moses when He wrote them on stone and placed them in the Ark - then placed "The Law of Moses" OUTSIDE of the Ark. To shorten this, refer to my post on July 9"Sabbath Day: God's Law or Moses' Law." So, in Ephesians 2 when "Christ abolished IN HIS FLESH the law and its commandments and regulations" - that obviously is referring to the ceremonial laws (contained in the Book of Moses) of sacrificing lambs for sin offerings. This would also include the New Moon feasts and festivals as well as the other sabbath days which were part of these feasts and festivals (mentioned in your 2nd comment), but NOT the Seventh Day Sabbath.
The Seventh Day Sabbath was given to all mankind as shown in Genesis 2:2-3, and also in Exodus 20:8 where we are told to "Remember the Sabbath Day". If the Sabbath Day had not been in effect before the Ten Commandment Law was given, then why would God tell us to "remember" something that did not exist?
I do have to make a comment on how those in Alaska can keep the Sabbath when the sun never sets - well, the 7th day still exists there as here. In fact, there is a Seventh Day Baptist Church in Alaska - so guess they got that one figured out. :)
You asked in your 2nd comment,
"Where in the New Testament do we have a reiteration of keeping the Sabbath...?" In Revelation 11:19 it states: "Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail." The ark contains The Ten Commandment Law of God. If you look at the two previous verses, you will find that this is in the context of God's judgment and wrath on the unsaved - and God's judgment and reward of His prophets and saints. As I said in one of my earlier posts, you cannot have sentencing by a judge in a court of law without the law being present! Obviously, when we have our day in court - standing before the Almighty God - we will be looking at those Ten Commandments written in stone. Yes, as believers we won't be sentenced to death because Christ will step forward and declare that He has paid our penalty - but do we really want to see that sadness on His face that we didn't love Him enough to obey His commands, after all He did for us on the cross? At that point, we will be rewarded according to our obedience or disobedience of His commandments.
Regarding your 3rd comment, I have only a couple of things to say. Ray Comfort in "The Way of the Master" states there are 5 fruits of a true convert: "The Fruit of Repentance, the fruit of thankfulness, the fruit of good works, the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of righteousness." The "fruit of righteousness" is being a "law-keeper" (living by the Spirit) and not a "law-breaker" (living by the flesh).
Your last paragraph of your 3rd comment was very good! You stated, "Live a life filled with holiness and good deeds motivated by love and empowered by His Spirit in the Name of Christ." Holiness, of course, refers to "Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Good deeds, refers to "Loving your neighbor as yourself". And, of course, all of it is motivated by "Love". So, basically we are to live a life obeying these two great commands on which all the Ten Commandments hang. (Matt. 22:40)
I just want to make note that the comments that I have deleted were my own as somehow when I post my own comment - it has been posting it twice, and this time 3 times.
I was just reviewing the comment above regarding "holiness". When it comes to the Sabbath Day, that is THE key!! It's important we remember that it was God Who dictated to mankind in Genesis to set aside the 7th day as a "Holy" day. Nowhere in His Word do we find where He told us we had His permission to call any other day of the week "holy" or that He has repealed that commandment! If we are to live in holiness as the above person stated, it means we keep holy what God has commanded us to keep holy!
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