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CHAPTER TWOWHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?"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. For we are His workmanship..." -Ephesians 2:8-10. "...Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone... I will shew thee my faith by my works... by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone" -James 2:17-24. In this section of chapters we are going to look at some Scriptures relating to salvation. There are many different views that men hold regarding this subject, however there is only one true Biblical faith (Eph.4:5). As we have shown, in the previous chapter, any given doctrine is only Scriptural if it can be defined entirely by Scripture, and does not compromise, or contradict other Scriptures. The above two scriptures have been chosen to head this chapter because to some they seem to be contradictory. It is the aim of this section of chapters two thru seven to bring out the scriptures that show that these two verses are not contradictory, but complimentary- each qualifying the other. Question # 2.1 - What does a person need to be saved from? "...All haved sinned, and come short of the glory of God" -Romans 3:23. "...If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die..." -Romans 8:13. "For the wages of sin is death..." -Romans 6:23. "...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin" -John 8:34. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness" -Romans 6:16. Question # 2.2 - Is there any hope of being saved from our sins? "...Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins" -Matthew 1:20-21. "...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" -1 John 3:8. Question # 2.3 - Can a person be saved and continue to sin? "...Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" -1 Corinthians 6:9-10. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" -Galatians 5:19. "...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" -John 1:29. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many..." -Heb.9:28. "And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin... Whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him" -1 John 3:5-6. "For we are His workmanship, created in Jesus Christ unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" -Ephesians 2:10. Question # 2.4 - What must we do to be saved from our sins? "...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house..." -Acts 16:30-31. "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" -John 3:16. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" -Romans 10:10. Question # 2.5 - But- WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN BY "BELIEVE"? Are all those who believe Jesus is the Son of God, and confess Him to be Christ, saved? "...The devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" -James 2:19-20. "...An unclean devil...cried out with a loud voice, Saying... Jesus of Nazareth... I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him..." -Luke 4:33-34 & 41. "For...God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell..." -2 Peter 2:4. "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains..." -Jude 6. Quote # 2.1 - (from a tract called "The Four Spiritual Laws")-
Question # 2.7 - Does the Bible say we receive Christ, and are born again, by our own will, or by the power of God? "...As many as received Him... them that believe on His name ...were born, not... of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" -John 1:12-13. "Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth..." -James 1:18. (See also 1 Peter 1:3,23) Question # 2.8 - Does the Bible say that we accept him, or does God choose and accept us? "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain..." -John 15:16. "...0 God...blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causeth to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts..." -Psalm 65:1,4. "...He hath chosen us... that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love... according to...His will... He hath made us accepted..." -Ephesians 1:4-6. "...God hath...chosen you to salvation through sanctification ...and belief...by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" -2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. "No man can come to me, except the Father...draw him..." -John 6:44. "...God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him" -Acts 10:34-35. "...We labour that...we may be accepted of Him" -2 Corinth. 5:9. "For many are called, but few are chosen" -Matthew 22:14. "O ye seed...ye children...His chosen ones" -1 Chronicles 16:13. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His inheritance" -Psalm 33:12. "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" -2 Timothy 2:4. "...Ye are a chosen generation... that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness..." -1 Peter 2:9. "...For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful" -Revelation 17:14. FACT- No one in the Bible was ever told to "accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and they could be saved". FACT- No one in the Bible was ever told that Jesus came into their life the very moment they invited him in. "...CHOOSE you this day WHOM YE WILL SERVE; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" -Joshua 24:15. "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments...that thou mayest live..." -Deuteronomy 30:15-16. "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them... is like...a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and...the flood...could not shake it... But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house...and...it fell; and the ruin of that house was great" -Luke 6:46-49. "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" -Galatians 3:6-7. "...Faith was reckoned to Abraham... the father of all them that believe... who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham" -Romans 4:9,11,12. "...If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham" -John 8:39. "By faith Abraham...obeyed... by faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac..." -Hebrews 11:8,17. "...The angel of the Lord... said... now I know that thou fearest God... because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son" -Genesis 22:11-16. "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone... Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" -James 2:13-22. "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went" -Hebrews 11:8. "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" -James 2:24. "...Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen... By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice... By faith Enoch was translated... for before his translation... he pleased God... By faith Noah... prepared an ark to the saving of his house ... And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of... Who through faith... wrought righteousness..." -Hebrews 11:1-40. "And so, after he (Abraham) had patiently endured, he obtained the promise" -Hebrews 6:15. "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God" -James 2:23. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" -John 15:14. "...I am the way, the truth, and the life..." -John 14:6. "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done..." -John 13:15. "...Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost... was led by the Spirit..." -Luke 4:1. "...If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" -Romans 8:13-14. "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" -Galatians 2:17-18. Question # 2.11 - Abraham is our Biblical example of faith. Was he asked to just "accept the Lord as his personal savior" and then told he had already received his promise by faith (even though he had actually received nothing)? Or was he expected to believe that God was leading him to the place where he would receive the promise? And what of us, is salvation not a promise we should be reaching for? "...Ourselves also, which have... the Spirit, even we ourselves...waiting for... the redemption... are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." -Romans 8:23-25. (Have you stopped hoping for something promised you by God's word because someone besides God has told you that you've already received it?) "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" -Philippians 3:13-14. Question # 2.12 - What can we learn about some things that Abraham did not do? 1. Did Abraham declare he had already received what God had promised, before he actually received what God had promised?- "For... God made promise to Abraham... saying... I will bless thee, and... I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise" -Hebrews 6:13-15. "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise... Now the just shall live by faith...We are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe unto the saving of the soul" -Hebrews 10:36,39. 2. Could or did Abraham do nothing to ensure his promise from God?- "By faith Abraham- -When he was called- obeyed (v.8) -Sojourned in a strange country (v.9) -He was tried (v.17) -Offered up Isaac (v.17) -Died in faith (v.13)- not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off" -Hebrews 11:8-17 Question # 2.13 - What can we learn from Abraham's errors? GALATIANS 4:22-30- "...Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh... (Remember- those who teach that you "accept the Lord as your savior" teach also that you receive Christ "as an act of the will". Contradictory to the scripture which says- "Not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God", i.e.- promise) "...But he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory (parable or symbolic representation)-
Now notice the example the apostles set for us- "(Jesus) saith unto them... Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven..." -Matthew 16:15-18. "...Many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God" -John 6:66-69. Question # 2.14 - Was it sufficient for Peter and the disciples to "just believe" in order to be saved, and enter into the kingdom of heaven? Obviously, those who teach that all that is needed to be saved is to "just believe" must answer yes. Question # 2.15 - But what does the Bible teach? Does the Bible say they were yet unconverted even after they confessed Christ? "...Came the disciples unto Jesus... And (Jesus) said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted... ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" -Matthew 18:1-3. "And the Lord said, Simon... when thou art (future tense) converted, strengthen the brethren" -Luke 22:31-32. Question # 2.16 - And what of the examples set by those the apostles converted? Was Simon the sorcerer "saved" the moment he believed? "...Simon (the sorcerer) himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs... And when Simon saw ... the Holy Ghost... given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power... But Peter said unto him... Thou hast no part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God... For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity" -Acts 8:13, 18-22. Question # 2.17 - Was salvation "finished" in the Philippian jailer by his believing in the Lord Jesus Christ? "...They caught Paul and Silas... And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison... At midnight Paul and Silas prayed... and all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison... fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be (future tense) saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night... and was baptized he and all his straightway" -Acts 16:19-33. Question # 2.18 - Examine the above passage carefully, and ask yourself honestly- -Did the apostles ever tell him his salvation was, or would be obtained (past tense) the moment he believed, or was that promise left in the future tense? -Is it clear by this passage that his belief need only be confessed once for all time, or that it was to be practiced continually? -What exactly was the "word of the Lord" that compelled him and all his house to be baptized in the middle of the night? Question # 2.19 - Will those who believe in God, but don't put their belief into action, be saved? "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers... drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things ...Neither be ye idolaters... Neither let us commit fornication ... Neither let us tempt Christ... Neither murmur ye, as some of them...and were destroyed... Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition... Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" -1 Corinthians 10:1-12. "I will therefore put you in remembrance... how that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not" -Jude 5. "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil... Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin... In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother..." -1 John 3:4-10. "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: and His commandments are not grievous" -1 John 5:2-3. "Ye shall know them by their fruits... Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" -Matthew 7:16, 21-23. Question # 2.20 - When we say that belief must be put into action, is it our own works, or God working in and through us that will become evident? "Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us" -Isaiah 26:12. "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household... Blessed is that servant, whom his lord...shall find so doing" -Matthew 24:45-46. "...By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" -1 Corinthians 15:10. "...The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance..." -Romans 2:4. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit... For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" -Romans 8:1-4,13-14. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" -Titus 2:11-12. John 3:16-21- "...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...He that believeth in Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already ... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light... But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God". Ephesians 2:8-10- "...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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them". Romans 10:9-10,13,16- "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart... thou shalt be (note: future tense) saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved... But they have not all obeyed the gospel..." Question # 2.22 - What, then, is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how is it obeyed? That is the subject of our next chapter! End of Chapter Two. Please Continue with Chapter Three. Tom Raddatz
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