"Works Salvation"

[Jim]

The fact that salvation is by the grace of God and not by man’s works is a conclusion justly and explicitly drawn from Scripture. The question, therefore, is: Does salvation by faith contradict salvation by grace? Does salvation by faith imply, in some subtle way, salvation by works. Scripture itself provides a clear answer: “By faith” is not “by works” but is “by grace.”

I am not sure what you intend there in that post. However, salvation is by the grace of God and not by man's works OF THE LAW. That does not preclude man's doing something, such as believing in God. God's grace does not preclude God's setting conditions for His grace.

 

[Rowan]

I am not sure what you intend there in that post. However, salvation is by the grace of God and not by man's works OF THE LAW. That does not preclude man's doing something, such as believing in God. God's grace does not preclude God's setting conditions for His grace.

Traditional works (circumcision, dietary laws, sacrifices) originate in human effort attempting to meet God’s standards. In contrast, belief is God-centered from origin to outcome. As Jesus later states, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Faith itself is a divine gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) so that no boasting remains. Thus John 6:29 shifts the focus from merit-earning labor to Spirit-wrought dependence.

The “work” required—belief—centers on a living Christ. Multiple independent lines of historical evidence verify the resurrection: enemy admission of the empty tomb, early proclamation in Jerusalem, transformation of skeptics like James and Paul, and willingness of eyewitnesses to face martyrdom. Faith, therefore, anchors in objective reality, not wishful thinking.

 

[Doug Brents]

The fact that salvation is by the grace of God and not by man’s works is a conclusion justly and explicitly drawn from Scripture. The question, therefore, is: Does salvation by faith contradict salvation by grace? Does salvation by faith imply, in some subtle way, salvation by works. Scripture itself provides a clear answer: “By faith” is not “by works” but is “by grace.”

May I pose a couple of questions for you from the OT, to help you clarify your understanding of grace, faith, and works.
Think back to, or go and reread, the stories of the widow who gave her last cake of bread to the prophet, and of the widow who poured oil from her jar to save the son who was going to be sold to pay her late husband's debts, and of the destruction of the walls of Jericho (there are many more stories like this, but these will get us started).

In each of these stories, was the result (eating from the same bit of flour and oil for the rest of the famine, selling the additional oil to pay the debts, the fall of the walls of Jericho) caused by the grace of God? or by the works of man (or woman)?

In each of these stories, was there a conditional action that the person/people involved were required to perform for the grace of God to bring about the result?

In each of these stories, did the action performed by the person/people involved "earn", "merit", or "deserve" the resulting grace?

There you have the basis for understanding faith, grace, and works.
When God promises something (salvation, sustenance, redemption of debt, conquering the Land, etc.), He almost always places a condition upon the receipt of that gift (grace). If the condition is met, then the grace is received. If the condition is not met, then the grace is not received.

 

[Jim]

Traditional works (circumcision, dietary laws, sacrifices) originate in human effort attempting to meet God’s standards. In contrast, belief is God-centered from origin to outcome. As Jesus later states, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Faith itself is a divine gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) so that no boasting remains. Thus John 6:29 shifts the focus from merit-earning labor to Spirit-wrought dependence.

The “work” required—belief—centers on a living Christ. Multiple independent lines of historical evidence verify the resurrection: enemy admission of the empty tomb, early proclamation in Jerusalem, transformation of skeptics like James and Paul, and willingness of eyewitnesses to face martyrdom. Faith, therefore, anchors in objective reality, not wishful thinking.

No, faith is not a gift. And Ephesians 2:8-9 says no such thing. It can take a lot of hard work to study, comprehend and understand the word about Christ, from which faith comes (Rom 10:17).

 

[Doug Brents]

Traditional works (circumcision, dietary laws, sacrifices) originate in human effort attempting to meet God’s standards.

If that were true, then man would have been the one who wrote the Law. But the Law came from God, not man.

In contrast, belief is God-centered from origin to outcome. As Jesus later states, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). Faith itself is a divine gift (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Faith is not the gift in Eph 2:8-9. Salvation is the gift. Faith is the conduit through which salvation comes to us.

so that no boasting remains. Thus John 6:29 shifts the focus from merit-earning labor to Spirit-wrought dependence.

The “work” required—belief—centers on a living Christ. Multiple independent lines of historical evidence verify the resurrection: enemy admission of the empty tomb, early proclamation in Jerusalem, transformation of skeptics like James and Paul, and willingness of eyewitnesses to face martyrdom. Faith, therefore, anchors in objective reality, not wishful thinking.

Certainly our belief centers upon Christ. But what does "belief" mean? Is it simply a mental exercise? Something that only takes place within your head? Intellectual assent?
No, each and every place where "belief" is mentioned in reference to salvation, the Greek word is "pistis" (or a derivative thereof) which means "faith". And faith is the actions we take in response to intellectual assent (James 2:14-26). Without action, the "faith" you think you have is dead, worthless, ineffective, and meaningless. A dead faith cannot bring life to you from God.

 

[brightfame52]

Does salvation by faith contradict salvation by grace?

Actually it doesnt, both equate to salvation by Christ

Does salvation by faith imply, in some subtle way, salvation by works

Yes when Faith is presented to be a condition the person must have or perform before God saves you.

Scripture itself provides a clear answer: “By faith” is not “by works” but is “by grace.”

Yes when faith isnt a imposed condition, but a product of Grace attending Salvation.

 

[Angelo]

Paul warned us about: “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know” 1 Corinthians 8:1–2

When we make knowledge an end in itself, it undermines the very purpose for which it was intended. “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” 1 Timothy 1:5

Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:35

 

[Rowan]

The key lies in recognizing that salvation is initiated by God's grace and sustained through the believer's faithful response.

Salvation is by grace through faith, not by works of the law Ephesians 2:8-9. The law serves as a guide but cannot save Romans 3:20

Most Christian denominations agree that salvation is a gift from God, received through faith in Jesus Christ, not by adherence to the law Galatians 2:16

The law reveals sin but does not provide salvation Romans 7:7. It points to the need for a savior Galatians 3:24

Salvation is credited by faith, not by keeping the law Romans 4:5. Works are a result of salvation, not the means to it James 2:26

Under the New Covenant, salvation is through Christ’s sacrifice, not law-keeping Hebrews 10:10. The law is fulfilled in Christ Matthew 5:17

Believers are called to obey God’s commands out of gratitude for salvation, not to earn it Titus 2:11-12

 

[Seabass]

Simple -

1) Ignorantly believing that you can EARN your salvation, and forgiveness/cleansing from SIN by performing what you think are "Good works" that will impress God with what you think is your "personal righteousness".

2) There isn't any. Anything to the contrary is nothing but "THEOLOGY", which is like noses - everybody's got one.

3) Nope - it was obedience through FAITH on God's Word. Bottom line Salvation is BY FAITH in the SIN OFFERING performed by Jesus on the cross. (Isa 53:10). Faith IS Heb 11:1. The only SOURCE of Faith is Rom 10:17. Biblical FAITH wil of its intrinsic nature result in actual GOOD WORKS which are the RESULT OF, and not the Cause of Salvathin / being Born Again of the Holy SPirit.

--so obedience to God's will is not a work of merit done to earn salvation....meaning all works are not the same, Therefore those that make references to "works salvation" need to identify what type of work they are referencing.

--the cause of Noah's salvation was a combination of God's grace and Noah's obedience, for without either salvation would have been impossible for Noah.