Seems like this post is a long time coming. Thanks to Tom Foss for finally pushing me to deal with it en masse.
Let us go straight to the Word. The ultimate authority on salvation, and good and evil works.
1. All have sinned.
“There is none righteous no not one.” Romans 3:10
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23
2. We all deserve Death and Hell because of our sin against God.
“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.” Psalms 9:17
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Mat 10:28 This verse is here to show that hell will consume both body and soul.
3. The Way of Salvation is Through Jesus Christ alone.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Acts 4:12"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
(that name is Jesus and no other)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
4. Salvation comes through the grace of Jesus, by our belief in His power to save.
“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved , even as they.” Act 15:11
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Act 16:31
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”. Rom 10:9
Regarding why we are to do good things:
“For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
This means that you cannot get to heaven or find salvation by doing good. It is a working of grace, which is through your faith, and your faith is a gift of God.
” But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isa 64:6
ALL WE DO FADES, is worthless, anyway we fancy ourselves to be righteous is filthy except in this:
“For as by one man’s (ADAM) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (JESUS) shall many be made righteous.” Rom 5:19
Rom 5:19"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
(Parenthetical Caps added, by author, for clarity.) We are made righteous in Jesus, not by anything we do, we cannot possibly do anything righteous of our own power. In the Scriptures this is expressed in the following verses from Romans 8.
Rom 8:5
Rom 8:5"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit."
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”
Rom 8:6
Rom 8:6"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
“For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace.”
Rom 8:7
Rom 8:7"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
“Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
Rom 8:8
Rom 8:8"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God."
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Nothing we do without the Spirit if Jesus (the Holy Spirit) within us is pleasing to God. you receive the Holy Spirit when you choose to have faith in Jesus Christ. You choose Him, by that faith, when the Lord has called you and has given you that faith.
So why do those who are in Christ do good? Now that we are free from penalty why do we do good?
It is written: “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:23
John 14:23"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
and “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15John 14:15"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
So those who love Jesus will obey Him, because they love Him.
There is SO much more scripture on these topics, this is just a brief overview. Any one topic could be a post in and of itself. Perhaps one day I will write a series on it. For now, I pray that you will repent, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that you might spend eternity in heaven with Him.
Blessed is the Lord who reigns forever and ever. Blessed is the Savior who came and willingly died that we might have life eternally. Blessed be the lamb that was slain. Praise the Father who sent Him to die, Praise the Son who died willingly, Praise the Spirit who convicts us of sin, who abides within and empowers us to righteousness.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Mrs. Meg Logan