Salvation, Works and "The Gift"
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Christ is not said to have received salvation,but to be salvation itself.
John Calvin
This bible study didn’t end up the way it started…it grew and became what it is through the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Quote: When we begin our walk with God we are as we are, but through this process we grow and mature in Christ.....We start out one way, and are transform into another
Many people have said that we are saved by grace and not by anything else…to include Baptism....
What is being said is: salvation by grace through faith in Christ…not of yourselves: It is the gift of God.
While everything in that statement is true, the true revelation is in the understanding of these words.
We know that Jesus Christ is the only way through which we must be saved
Grace: Unmerited favor
Meaning grace that God has shown us..not because we deserved it or because of anything we did, but rather because he loved us and counted us worthy to be shown his kindness and being given the opportunity to be reconciled.
It is the favor of God towards us to become the “sons of God”
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
So we see that those that where given the power are those that received him and those that believed on his name.
The question remains.... How did he give them this power
The word “power” means: Authority: We have been given the power and authority through the Holy Spirit being made available through Jesus Christ to overcome this world.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Ye shall receive Authority…Power
Just as Jesus said that “all power is given unto me”…he was speaking about the Holy spirit....the Holy Spirit was given to him without measure or limitation.
there is only one name that carries the authority through the spirit…that is Jesus.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
The bible says that God commendeth us, or showed and demonstrated his love towards us through Jesus Christ.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The thief on the cross:
Luke 23....Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom......what did Jesus say? this day you shall be with me in paradise.
The man first repented and acknowledged Jesus Christ as “Lord” the almighty God and messiah who was to come.
This was possible because of the old testament law....there was in deed the shedding of blood even though the Holy Spirit was not yet given but the sacrifice was.
Although we know through scripture that the Son of Man had the power to forgive sins on earth....
When Christ died and rose again a new dispensation was ushered in...
That through his blood that no other sacrifice had to be made....he was the final authority
Salvation is … bringing back to normal, the Creator-creature relation.
A. W. Tozer
The book of Ephesians talks about the “Helmet of Salvation”...
This helmet of Salvation is referring to our hope
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
So the “Helmet of Salvation” is our hope of glory.
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
So we see that the hope of glory is “Christ in you”.....How is Christ in us?
Very simply, through his Holy Spirit which leads us to the answer.... Salvation is our hope of Glory..the actual spirit of God dwelling in us and through us.
In this new dispensation....the Holy Spirit was given to us as our gift from God that would be our strength and our resurrection power in the end.
Commend simply means: To represent as worthy of notice, regard, or kindness; to speak in favor of; to recommend.
So God had grace on us because he counted us as worthy of notice or worthy of regard and kindness.
God counted us worthy because we are his creation created in his image and set apart from all other living things, we where the only beings that where literally created by the hand of God.
Grace from “Merriam Websters dictionary” unmerited divine assistance (assistance actually means; the act of helping or assisting someone or the help supplied..as in “Aid” (the ability)given to humans for their regeneration (spiritual renewal or revival) or sanctification (To regenerate means: spiritually reborn or converted; restored to a better, higher, or more worthy state)
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
So far we have this more accurate meaning of Grace:
Grace is the divine assistance or ability and direction given us for regeneration which is spiritual renewal or revival in that we are given the opportunity to become spiritually reborn or converted thus being restored to God through Christ and thus given his Spirit to accomplish the task before us and to be our resurrection power.
The question must be asked… How do we secure that favor of God
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Grace through FAITH:
So what is “Faith”
something that is believed especially with strong conviction
especially : a system of religious beliefs
To believe in something is to be in full trust, obedience and adherence to the requirements and stipulations of the thing believed in.
To believe something is to understand it as being true and right.
So in definition to believe something is:
allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
fidelity to one's promises
Fidelity:
the quality or state of being faithful
accuracy in details : exactness
the bible tells us that God is not the author of confusion meaning everything is done properly meaning on purpose and with exactness
So to have faith is: to believe unto obedience and in doing so showing allegiance to or loyalty to something with fidelity, as in being fully faithful to it to the point of exactness
The bible says that all things are given by inspiration of God....meaning God letting us know precisely and accurately through his spirit.
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Jesus Christ was the perfect and flawless lamb of God....therefor this sacrifice had all authority to be the atonement for the sin of mankind once and for all.
Within this atonement, Jesus Christ had all power and authority to reconcile all mankind to God allowing the spirit of God to take residence within us and giving us the power of resurrection
The way of obedience is the way of life, because Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
In other words, there is no salvation, no eternal life, without obedience!
Faith produces obedience. By our obedience we walk on the way, step by step.
God has given the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. (Acts 5:32.) Only by this Spirit do we receive light and power to walk on the way of life.
Through this obedience we are born again and in turn able to receive the Holy Spirit which is the gift of God.
In John chapter 4 we see that the gift of God is mentioned by the Greek word dorea.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
In other words, Jesus is saying that this gift is the living water....the very spirit of God given through Jesus Christ.
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Bible commentators observe that the phrase the gift of God appears only once in the Gospels, here in John 4:10. However, the word (dōrea in Greek) occurs four times in Acts, each time referring to “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17). The gift of God that Jesus speaks of in John 4:10 is the living water of eternal life that flows to believers through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
So in such a powerful way.... the bible refers to “the gift of God” as being none other than the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
This gift is indeed a gift that cannot be purchased with money (Acts 8:20)
As we read earlier in Eph 2:8, We are saved through the gift of God and that not of ourselves
A little later, in John 7:37–39 it says this:
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
In this Jesus spoke further about the promised gift of God:
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
Anyone who believes in me may come and drink!
Any one that is thirsty may drink from the wells of Salvation that is: May receive of God the gift of eternal life which is the Holy Spirit of God.
For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’” (verses 37–38, NLT). Then John explained: “When he said ‘living water,’ he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory” (verse 39, NLT).
The gift of God is salvation in Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit.
It is a gift because we can’t earn it, nor do we deserve it neither is it of ourselves but is yet, given through obedience through the born again experience. (Ephesians 2:8–9). The gift of God is a new life sourced and supplied by the Holy Spirit.
The spirit of God that is given, that reconciles us back to God, that power in the end to be resurrected from the grave or through rapture of the church that will propel us into glory with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
So we see that the Holy Ghost is given to those who are in obedience to God....
Without the spirit of God, we have no chance.
Without the spirit of God (or the gift of God) we are none of his.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
And so we ask: What did Paul receive grace and apostleship to bring about?
By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
We have received grace and apostleship (or a mission and purpose) unto obedience of the faith.
So then Faith and Obedience go hand in hand....you can’t really have one without the other.
Which brings us to our next point....What is works?
They make the claim that baptism is an act of works and therefor cannot be considered as necessary
This is a bit of a contradiction to their statement of “Grace through Faith in Christ”
Since Faith and obedience go hand in hand…
Baptism is a commandment that we must obey and therefor is not a work of evil but rather, a work of righteousness through obedience.
which brings into clear focus this scripture:
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
The commentary making the statement about baptism.....this scripture.
Baptism is the natural course of faith and obedience to the word and is the application of the blood (the cleansing and the redemption)
This is why the scripture says it the way that it does....without Belief or obedience…why would a person be baptized?
The word says, not by works of righteousness that we have done meaning: not by our own righteousness but rather according to the righteousness of God through obedience to his word.
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
by the washing of regeneration which is through baptism, and renewing of the Holy Ghost which is through the infilling of the spirit.
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
The bible tells us that this type of works is absolutely necessary in that faith without works is dead being alone.
This means that without good works or works of righteousness (Obedience)..not our righteousness but his…our faith is dead…meaning we don’t have any faith and are not in obedience to God.
Works is indeed the outward sign of Obedience
The point must be made that we are appointed unto good works…in that being the outward sign of an inward change.
but the Holy Ghost is not given by any works that we have done or in any way by anything within ourselves (it is the gift of God)
We must establish that the bible talks about both, works of evil and works of righteousness.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
This is saying that Cain was acting in his own righteousness of evil meaning, in his own way and not God’s way or in the right way.
Because his works where evil....His heart was evil as well.
Whereas Abel was acting in a truly righteous way....as in God’s way unto obedience.
Therefor, because Abel’s works where righteous, it was an indication that his heart was righteous as well
From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Obedience Leads to Works
Who could ask for anything clearer or more straightforward than James’ blessed words concerning obedience? They are crystal clear!
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.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
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?
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
This scripture so precisely points out that through faith we pursue God and that faith alone cannot save us without what is needful (without the Holy Spirit)
As well as the fact that works is an outward representation of what is in our hearts and that faith without works is dead....obedience will show forth the abundance of our hearts.
Surely nobody has the slightest doubt about what this means? Without obedience, it is useless, absolutely useless!
You can think what you want, say what you want and believe what you want — obedience is what counts!
No salvation without it. No further progress without obedience. Not a single step further on the way of life without obedience.
God gives grace, but for what purpose? Precisely for this one reason: obedience!
Irrespective of what you say or do, irrespective of what stage you are at, know this: the only thing that counts in the end is obedience to the faith.
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
We can strongly see that genuine faith, by definition, includes a pattern of obedience.
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 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?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Again, through obedience we set ourselves upon the solid rock of Christ..
The only firm foundation which will allow this house to stand.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
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.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We are saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation through the Holy Spirit.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But 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.
Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
In this, Paul is pointing out that we are saved by the gospel which is, in his words “That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures”
Death: Repentance
Burial: water baptism
Resurrection: Infilling of the Holy Ghost