ARE WE SAVED BY WORKS, AND DO WE STAY SAVED BY WORKS?

By Ryan Hicks

Generally there are three false teachings given in response to the question, "Are we saved by works:"

1. No, it is God's grace alone. We do nothing at all to receive it. He just gives it to those He decides to save.
2. Yes, our works earn us God's grace. It is only the good things we do that can cause us to find favor with God.
3. No, it is our personal decision to be saved, but we do nothing to receive salvation.

1. This one is false because we do have to do something to be saved (Mark 16:15; John 3:16; Acts 2:21, 38; Romans 10:9-10; etc.). Also, God has decided that all should be saved (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 22:17), but only a few accept His decision and are saved (Matthew 7:14; 20:16; 22:14; Luke 13:23-30).
2. This one is false because the Bible makes it clear that works do not earn us God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), nor do they cause us to find favor with God (Isaiah 64:6; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13). Although, once we are saved they cause us to stay in His freely given favor.
3. This one is false because, as seen in the references given for #1, we do have to do something to be saved. Also, the truth that we have to make a personal decision proves that we have to do something. Thus, this one contradicts itself.

WHAT THE BIBLE DOES TEACH IS....

The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by grace with works accompanying. I know that most people will say, "What about Ephesians 2:8-9?" Well, let's look at those verses.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8   For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9   Not of works, lest any man should boast.

This clearly teaches that we are not saved by works. This is to say that we do not merit God's grace. It is not something earned or merited, and yet that does not mean nothing is done to receive salvation, rather that the things that are done to receive it do not merit the grace to be saved.

Romans 4:5
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

James said, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). While these Scriptures may seem contradictory, they really are teaching the same thing. We are saved by grace, and stay saved by obedience.

Let me explain the point by an illustration:

Let's say that you owe $10,000,000 and it is time for you to pay your debt. You go to the person that you owe the money to and tell him that you only have $1.00 and throw yourself at his mercy. After a few seconds of thinking the man takes your $1.00 and says, "ALRIGHT, DEBT PAID IN FULL!" You are now debt free and did not pay the debt off by yourself. Thus, you cannot claim that your works or money paid your debt off, because it was only due to the debtor's grace that you were made free of the debt owed.

The question is did you earn the debt being paid off simply because you paid $1.00, or was it the debtor's grace that made you debt-free? Obviously it was the man's grace.

This is similar to how we come to God. We have a huge debt of sin and have no way of be cleared of that debt by ourselves. So we repent of our sins (a work), believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (a work), and confess Jesus (a work). Yet, the truth that all of these things are works DOES NOT mean that we came even a thousand infinities close to earning our salvation, but it does mean that those works are what bring us to the point of throwing ourselves before the Lord begging for mercy! He then saves us, not because of our works, but because of His grace.

So even though we do works to get to the point of obtaining salvation, it is ultimately God's grace that saves us. Now can "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24)?

Some men say that if salvation is a free gift, then how can you do anything to receive it? This is like asking how we can do anything at all to receive any free gift. Do you have to hold the gift? Do you have to unwrap it? Do these works mean that you earned it? Of course not!

If someone gives you a brand new car and it is totally free, does this mean that you have to do nothing to maintain that free gift? Do you not have to fuel it and change the oil? Do you not have to keep it managed? Does any of this change the truth that it was a free gift? Of course not! What if you get tired of the car and get rid of it? Does that mean that you never had the free gift in the first place? Of course not!

Yet, men try to make the free gift of salvation into something totally different from a free gift. They act as if because something is free it means there are no obligations to receive and maintain the gift given. Just like that car would not last if it did not have the oil changed in it, neither will your salvation if you do not abide in Christ by living holy and bearing good fruit, and thus neglect so great a salvation (John 15:2, 6; Hebrews 2:1-4; 12:14).

Your failure to maintain and keep possession of the free gift of salvation does not change the truth that it was a free gift!

Once you possess salvation you must then meet the requirements to retain it. Failure to meet these requirements (which God empowers you to meet by the new birth, 2 Corinthians 5:17!) renders the salvation void and dead. Just like failure to keep that free car maintained would render your car void and dead.

The Bible makes it clear that you must keep God's New Testament commandments (John 14:15; 15:10; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 John 2:3-5; 5:2-3; 3 John 11; etc.), and not that God forces you to keep them or keeps them for you.

It is only when men desire to cast all blame for sin and wickedness on God that they start claiming that they cannot repent to be saved, because that would be works-salvation. The truth is that they are content with living in sin and refuse to be saved FROM their sins (Matthew 1:21), rather they want to be saved and REMAIN IN their sins! The Bible has harsh words for these people and says they are children of the devil (1 John 3:8-10)!

These same people will say things like, "If we could do it on our own then we wouldn't need Christ" in response to hearing the truth faith without works is dead and that the saved have good works following their salvation.

2 Corinthians 7:10
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

It is not that we can do it on our own, but that we have obligations to fulfill to be saved and stay saved. Christ empowers us to fulfill these obligations if we truly want to fulfill them. The main problem most people have is that they DO NOT want to fulfill their obligations in salvation, and are not even saved in the first place. Yet, when we repent of our sins we are born-again and become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then it is no longer us "doing it on our own," but it is Christ that liveth in us (Galatians 2:20).

For more study see:

Faith Alone?
The Eternal Security of the Believer