GOD'S WORLD OF GOOD AND EVIL

GRACE, FAITH AND WORKS

In the days of Jesus’ ministry, it was the belief of the Jews that salvation was brought about by works, eating certain foods, saying set prayers, reading the scriptures on the Sabbath and giving blood sacrifice at the temple. Then Jesus came to fulfill the laws of the commandments given to Moses and gave his followers new laws and instruction on how to worship the Father and to accept His Son Jesus Christ for their salvation. The Lord set up his church through his apostles who held the priesthood of God. Paul, an apostle of the Lord, wrote wonderful sermons to the many churches that gives to us insight and instructions on what to believe and how to live a Christian life. There was only one faith, one baptism and one church of Jesus Christ.

However, today there are many churches that worship Jesus Christ, but they are divided because of their interpretations of the bible and Paul’s messages, some still believing in salvation of works by attending ceremonies and following traditions. Many churches teach the doctrines of instant salvation by just confessing Jesus. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, least any man should boast.”  (Eph. 2:8) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13)  There are people in the world who believe they can live any kind of life they choose and in the end, on their deathbeds, confess that they believe in Jesus and expect to be saved. They ignore the rest of the teachings of the gospel, relying only on the promise of a few scripture passages. 

Let’s start our study by defining several words that people of the world stumble over and misinterpret. The word salvation or saved: saved from what?  The general belief is saved from death, hell and the devil. They will go to heaven with all the saints and holy servants of the Lord; after all they are just as good as everyone else. There is a misconception that there are two places we go after death, “Heaven or Hell.”  However Paul, said, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago…such an one was caught up to the third heaven.” (2 Cor. 12:2)  It is only logical to conclude that if there is a third heaven, then there must be a first and second heaven or degrees in heaven. To receive the highest degree or third heaven one must be obedient to all of the gospel principles. Man cannot be saved in ignorance, so lets examine the principles of grace, faith and works.

Since, as Paul says, all men sin, then no man can be justified, or restored to a proper relationship with God, by works alone. Some intervening power must bridge the gap. Jesus Christ provided that power. He lived the law perfectly, had no sin and therefore never alienated or separated himself from God. In addition, he sacrificed himself so that he could pay the debt of sin with his own holiness for all men who would come unto him. His grace becomes the source of our justification with God. Of course there is a big difference between you, I and the Lord. We have no life in ourselves, for no power has been given to us, to lay down our lives and take them again. That is beyond our power, and so, being subject to death, and being sinners – for we are all transgressors of the law to some extent, no matter how good we have tried to be – we are therefore unable in and of ourselves to receive redemption from our sins by any act of our own.

This is the grace that Paul was teaching. Therefore, it is by the grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved. And had He not come into the world, and laid down His life that He might take it again, or as He said in another place, to give us life that we may have it more abundantly, we would still be subject to death and be in our sins. So it is easy to understand that we must accept the mission of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we may be saved. We must believe that it is through His grace that we are saved, that He performed for us that labor which we were unable to perform for ourselves, and did for us those things which were essential to our salvation, which were beyond our own power; and also that we are under the obligation and the necessity of performing the labors that are required of us as set forth in the commandments known as the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first requirements and works are: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Repentance of all sins, Baptism for the remission of sins so we can be clean; “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) And the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, these ordinances must be performed by one who is commissioned and who holds the authority and priesthood from God.

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”  (Rom 4:4) Paul’s suggestion here is that if a man were justified by the works of the law, then he would have reason to glory, for then the reward he received from the Father would be a debt owed for services rendered and not a gift of grace. But, of course, this was not the case. No man could earn salvation on his own.  This concept shattered the Jewish belief that somehow one could earn God’s pleasure and eternal glory through obedience to the laws. In this connection, it is interesting to note that even the very terminology the Lord uses makes it clear that nothing man could have done himself would have earned for him the kingdom of heaven. While there is no suggestion that the gift is given unconditionally, that it is a gift is always clear. But there are conditions. What price must we pay for this precious gift? Its not conformity to the Mosaic standards of the Jews, not compliance with the ordinances and performances of pagan Christianity and dead laws, but it is the price of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith that includes within itself enduring works of righteousness, which faith cannot so much as exist unless and until you conform your lives to the gospel standards. Dose salvation come, then, by works?  No, not by works alone, nor by the more perfect works of the gospel itself. Salvation comes through Christ’s atonement, through the ransom he paid, the sacrifices he made; without this no good works on the part of men could redeem them from temporal death, (which redemption is resurrection) or redeem them from spiritual death (which redemption is being in the presence of an eternal God in the third heaven).

By the grace of God we are saved from death and we will live forever. However, what reward we receive will depend upon the j