We read in (Ephesians 2:8-9)…..” For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” These are some of my favorite verses in the Bible. They are some of the most powerful in Scripture, They are verses that are quite freeing when it comes to salvation. If salvation is based on our performance, on what we do then it is not by grace. Oh, how we need grace, right? Our salvation is based on what Jesus Christ did. Our part is simply to receive the gift! To believe by faith the gospel of Jesus Christ. And notice, even our faith to believe on Him is a gift from Him.
(Romans 4:1-4)….. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was [b]accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
Salvation cannot be a free gift and also be something we must earn. Either we earn it, or it is a gift. It cannot be a mixture of the two. If you claim to give me a gift, but you ask me for any payment, no matter how small, then it is not a gift but something I am buying for a reduced price. And buying something on sale does not make it a gift. If there is any payment involved, by definition, it is not a gift. Aren’t you thankful that there was no charge levied against us in order to be saved. How could we possibly pay for such a priceless gift? (Romans 11:6)…..But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. Today, just as in Bible times, there are those who teach that being right with God can only be achieved by keeping their list of rules. But this is not the true teaching of the gospel. As a matter of fact, it is a false gospel as talked about in the first chapter of Galatians. We see in (Acts 15:5,10-11 )….. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”……. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
Also in (Romans 4:14-16)….. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
(Titus 3:5)….. not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…..
Those who present a plan of salvation based on your performance are not rightly dividing the Word. Yes, many Scriptures give instruction on what we are to do. But they are instructions for how to live, not how to be saved and enter the family of God. Will there be rewards and consequences for our actions? Yes! Scripture makes that clear. But our entrance into God’s family and our home in Heaven is not based on our performance, but on our faith in what Jesus performed. We should be very grateful that God’s plan was to save us from sin’s punishment and death. This is not based on your performance, if that was the case, you and I would be eternally lost before we finished this day. Give God praise today for His salvation that comes to us by His gift of grace, and through His gift of faith.