Part 1

The Scriptures teach us that neither our own meritorious works nor works of the Law will earn us entrance into heaven...

Ephesians 2:7-9 That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through the faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Salvation is clearly the gift of God's grace, as it is not from us. Paul is not claiming that "faith" is not of ourselves, clearly we must believe and have personal faith... he is explaining that the "gift of God" is not of ourselves. The "gift" is because of God's grace and our "obedience to the faith". There is something we must obey to be saved. Yet, there are many people who claim that requiring obedience for salvation is the same as working our way into heaven on our own merit. When Paul refers to works in this passage, notice the type of works he classifies. He clearly points out that we cannot gain God’s grace by works that we can boast about, “lest any man should boast.” He does not exclude works altogether, but rather works of our own merit and works of the Jewish Law is what he is excluding. It is impossible for Paul to be excluding every type of work, because salvation in itself is a “work of God”.

Can we somehow claim that hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, and baptism are works of ourselves? No, not according to the Bible…

John 6:27-29 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Jesus clearly said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." We must "believe in Him" which is "the work of God". While it is a work of God, WE must do it. The commandments we are required to obey in order to be saved are works of faith, or the works of God.

Now think about Noah... he and his family had to build this massive boat… no doubt a lot of manual labor, but did they work their way into heaven? No, they did a work out of faith, or a work of God…

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Consider Romans 10:17... So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Then 2 Corinthians 5:7... For we walk by faith, not by sight:

We learn how Noah heard God (“being warned of God”)…

and he obeyed (“moved with fear” and “prepared an ark”) upon “hearing” those words ("the word of God")…

and ("by faith, not by sight") because he could not see these things (“things not seen as yet”) of which God was warning him.

He had faith that what God was telling him was true… he “believed” God and he “obeyed” God.

God TOLD Noah and his family WHAT THEY HAD TO DO TO BE SAVED, just like God tells us in the Scriptures that there is something we must do to be saved. Had Noah not built the ark, would he and his family have been saved? Obviously not! If we do not OBEY what God has commanded us to do, will we be saved? The answer is obvious!

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Part 2

"Believing" includes trusting in Jesus to guide us in the way of salvation. Jesus tells us that “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16a) However, many people believe baptism is a work of ourselves and to require this of salvation is to somehow earn our way into heaven. But what do the scriptures say…

Titus 3:5-7 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of generation and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The apostle Paul tells us that God saved us, "not on the basis of deeds", which are works of our own righteousness, but He saved us "according to His mercy". And how did He save us? "...by the washing of generation and renewing by the Holy Spirit".

Now let's compare what Paul wrote with what Jesus said during His ministry…

John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

The word "washing" is from the Greek word "baptizo", which is also translated as "baptism". The word "generation" or "regeneration" is from the Greek word "paliggenesia", which is translated as "new birth" or "born again". The "washing of generation" is "baptism"… there is little argument among scholars about this translation. Notice how Jesus explains being "born again" as the same as being "born of water and the Spirit"… while the inspired apostle Paul affirms what Jesus taught when he explains being “born again” as the "washing of generation and renewing by the Holy Spirit".

We compared what Paul wrote vs. what Jesus wrote... let's now compare how Paul again affirms what he previously wrote. When Paul wrote to Titus he explained... Titus 3:5(a) “He saved us, not out of works of righteousness that we did,” Then he wrote to the Philippians …

Philippians 3:9 And be found in Him, not having my righteousness which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is from God based upon the faith.

Paul explains how we are found "in Him" (in Christ). To Titus he wrote "not out of works of righteousness that we did". To the Philippians he wrote "not having my righteous which is of the Law". Paul affirms twice how the works we do for salvation are not of ourselves. Then Paul tells us how the works we do are... "through the faith of Christ"... and "the righteousness which is from God based upon the faith."

Clearly "believing" and “baptism” are not works of ourselves whereas we earn our way into heaven. Both are "works of God" and according to His mercy. These works of God that we are commanded to obey are how we are "justified by His grace". (Romans 3:24 and Titus 3:7).

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Part 3

We have confirmed that "believing" and “baptism” are not works of ourselves whereas we earn our way into heaven. Both are "works of God" and according to His mercy. These works of God that we are commanded to obey are how we are "justified by His grace". (Romans 3:24 and Titus 3:7). We also considered Ephesians 2:7-9 and how it is misused and misinterpreted by the majority. Let us now consider Ephesians 2:9-10 and how this passage is also misinterpreted by the majority…

Ephesians 2:9-10 Not of works, so that no one might boast; For we are his workmanship; Created in Christ Jesus on the basis of good works which God foreordained that we should walk in them.

The majority of Bible translators will substitute the words “for” or “unto” in the place of “on the basis of” implying that we are “created in Christ Jesus” to do good works. While this statement is true, as Paul verifies for us in Romans 7:4, it is not the point of Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 2:10. This poor translation is due to doctrinal bias by those who do not believe we have to obey any commands of God to be saved… particularly those who claim baptism is not required for salvation.

The manuscripts use the Greek word "epi" which actually means "upon" or "on" or "by", and the word "upon" is appropriately phrased as "on the basis of" or even "as a result of". Many people will interpret this Greek word "epi" to mean "in the direction of", "toward", "resulting in", “for” or "unto". The problem with this is there is already a Greek word for "resulting in" and "unto" and that Greek word is "eis". It is used quite frequently in the Bible.

Now let's see how we could paraphrase the difference between the two word meanings using Ephesians 2:10…

Translated incorrectly... "Created in Christ Jesus resulting in good works"…

Translated correctly..."Created in Christ Jesus on the basis of good works"…

The latter translation is based on the manuscripts and would be the correct translation. Using the correct translation we further affirm we are saved on the basis of these good works... which are the "works of God". What Paul is communicating here in this passage is that the works that save us are not works from us, works whereby we earn our way into heaven, works that we can boast of or brag about, or works of the Law…

Romans 3:27-28 Where is the boasting then? It is eliminated. Through what law? The Law of works? No! But through the law of faith. For we conclude that a person is justified by faith without works of the Law.

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that no person is justified out of works of the Law, but through the faith of Jesus Christ, we too have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not out of works of the Law.

These "good works" are “faith, repentance, confession, and baptism (immersion) and are works of God's righteousness, works of faith. God foreordained these specific works that are to be done by everyone that will come to Him through Jesus Christ. Christ is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. (Hebrews 5:9)

If we could somehow misinterpret Ephesians 2:7-10 to mean that we do not have to obey these works that Jesus taught and commanded, and the apostles taught and preached... then there are some serious contradictions in the Bible. Even Paul would be contradicting his own words because he preached and taught obeying the gospel, which is obedience to the faith, and includes hearing, believing, repentance, confessing, and baptism... as well as faithfulness and perseverance. We clearly know the Bible does not contradict itself.

The works unto salvation are not a matter of boasting and merit, but are simply the obvious submissive responses of a humble believer desiring to be recreated by God in Christ. We must obey the "works of God" to be saved.

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Dear Webshepherd,

In response to your 3-part article -WORKS OF GOD” – I would like us to do a further examination of some of the things you said:

In Part 1 you stated:

Salvation is clearly the gift of God's grace, as it is not from us. Paul is not claiming that "faith" is not of ourselves, clearly we must believe and have personal faith... he is explaining that the "gift of God" is not of ourselves. The "gift" is because of God's grace and our "obedience to the faith". There is something we must obey to be saved. Yet, there are many people who claim that requiring obedience for salvation is the same as working our way into heaven on our own merit.

= WE MUST ADD OBEDIENCE

Then you added:
Can we somehow claim that hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, and baptism are works of ourselves? No, not according to the Bible…

= WE ADD NOTHING

In a subsequent section of Part 1 you stated:

Jesus clearly said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." We must "believe in Him" which is "the work of God". While it is a work of God, WE must do it.

= WE MUST ADD OUR “DOING IT”

After reading through the three parts, I feel compelled to ask for some simple points of clarification:
1. Do we add something or nothing to the “work of God” in order for us to be saved?
2. Is God’s love in saving us conditional upon our obedience or is it absolutely unconditional?
3. In the matter of our salvation, do we simply have a responsive part or a crucial (make-or-break) conditional part to play?
4. Should we or should we not believe that God’s grace is irresistible such that, His elect (that is if you think He has elected to save) would eventually be drawn by His irresistible grace and power onto salvation?

The other point throughout your article about “God working” in our salvation also needs further clarification.
1. Should we see “God’s working” simply as His pragmatic reaction to events of this life; or as His incremental revelation to us of His eternally ordained, enacted and guaranteed progression and outcome of things by virtue of His sovereign, moral and immutable will?
2. Does God simply react to human choices, actions, etc.; or does He effectually order and permit these according to His sovereign will and power?

It is clear that your article raised more points than ordinarily meet the eye. I would love to read your answers to these requested points of clarification.

Your brother in Christ,
Felix

Hi Felix... I'll be happy to address as many of those as I possibly can, although some appear somewhat confusing.

Let's start with the first one and address one at a time and go from there.

You ask, "Do we add something or nothing to the "work of God" in order for us to be saved?"

Let's look at what the scriptures say, not what I say:

John 6:27-29 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Jesus clearly said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." We must "believe in Him" which is "the work of God". While it is a work of God, WE must do it. The commandments we are required to obey in order to be saved are works of faith, or the works of God.

I'm not sure how much clearer that can me. Yes, we must do something... we must do the work of God.

Consider the following:

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Clearly in order for "he" (Jesus) to be the author of our salvation we must do something... "obey him". What will happen to those who do not obey the gospel?

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

We cannot merely be hearers... we must be doers of His Word:

Matthew 7:24-27 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.

James 1:21-23 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:


Clearly there are things we must do... we must do, we must obey what Jesus commands, we must do, we must obey what God commands. This does not mean we are adding anything to the requirements of salvation.

You may be wrestling somewhat with the scriptures and trying to make them contradict each other.

Does this answer your first question?

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Dear Brother Sonnie,

My question remains somewhat unanswered. Nevertheless, I thank you for taking the time.

Let me put it this way: Are you saying that we must work in order to be saved; or that we must work because we have been saved”? This is very important for us to understand with regards to the purity and sincerity of our gratitude to God for our salvation. “Our working”, in the first instance is a conditional requirement. Whereas “our working” in the second instance is a confirming reality.

You are correct. I am “…wrestling with the apparent contradiction” regarding what you understand the real connection to be between our doing the work of God and our salvation. This contradiction is perhaps in my understanding of what you have written and not from the point of view that the Bible contradicts itself. I know you do agree that the Bible does not contradict itself.

So let us look again at the Scriptures that you quoted:

John 6:27-29 "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

Jesus clearly said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He has sent." We must "believe in Him" which is "the work of God". While it is a work of God, WE must do it. The commandments we are required to obey in order to be saved are works of faith, or the works of God.

Does this mean a reciprocal arrangement – meaning we have to do His work in exchange for our salvation (i.e. before we can be saved); or does it simply mean a confirming reality – if we are God’s children (already saved by Him) we would do His work?

Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Clearly in order for "he" (Jesus) to be the author of our salvation we must do something... "obey him". What will happen to those who do not obey the gospel?

Does this mean that if we do not obey Him, He would not author of our salvation; or does it simply mean that our predisposition and ability to obey Him is because He has authored our salvation?

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

I am not clear why you cited this passage but it does say: “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” How do we come to know God? Can we truly know God without already being His through and in Christ? Can we be truly be His and not obey Him? This passage appears to be speaking of the punishment to those who are not God’s children; and not about working to earn the right to be God’s children.

Now to the remainder of your response:

We cannot merely be hearers... we must be doers of His Word:

Matthew 7:24-27 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.

James 1:21-23 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:


Clearly there are things we must do... we must do, we must obey what Jesus commands, we must do, we must obey what God commands. This does not mean we are adding anything to the requirements of salvation.

This is all true if understood correctly in light of my recurring question: Does this mean that “…we must be doers of God’s Word” in order to be saved; or is it that “…we must be doers of God’s Word because we are saved”?

My point is this, and you also said it in your article: Our doing the work of God, our obedience, our believing, etc. etc., are not conditional requirements in order for us to be saved; they are in fact the confirming realities that we are saved “

…and that not of yourselves, {it is} the gift of God… Eph 2:8.

The consistent understanding and response to this truth with utmost gratitude to God requires that we do not presuppose that the commandments that we must obey or the works of God that we must do are conditional requirements in order for us to be saved.

… And there are the other questions for which I remain eager to hear your response. Do let this be at your convenience. You also mentioned that some of the questions are confusing. Please let me know which ones these are and I shall gladly re-phrase them.

Sincerely,

Your brother in Christ
Felix

Okay... let me ask you a few questions so I can get a better understanding of your beliefs...

Do you believe the Bible teaches we must believe in order to be saved or that we believe because we are saved? What scripture do you site to support your belief?

I never said anywhere in my article that our doing the works of God, our obedience, our believing, etc. etc., are not conditional requirements in order for us to be saved. I actually agree with the Bible that they are conditional requirements. Jesus said those who believe and are baptized will be saved... not those that are saved will believe and be baptized... (Mark 16:16) Jesus said believing is a work of God, but we must do it. Those who do not believe are condemned, are they not? Therefore, we must do something in order to be saved, not we do it because we are saved. However, I do agree that because we are saved we will do good works... faith without works is useless... dead... (See James).


This contradicts what the Bible says. Do you have scripture to support this opinion?

What happens if we do not do the works of God and what happens if we do not obey God? Do we remain saved?


Exactly... it speaks of the punishment of those who are not God's children... obviously, because they are punished. But why are they not God's children? Because they "know not God" and "they obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". Had they obeyed the gospel, they would have been saved and they would have known God. Obeying the gospel involves doing the works of God. We must obey the gospel... the death, burial and resurrection... see Romans 6:3ff

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

Dear Brother Sonnie,

Yes! I believe the Bible teaches that we are only able to believe because we have been saved.

As for the specific Scripture passages that teach this, let's start with - Ephesians 2:1.

We are dead in sin and can be made alive only by God. He quickens us according to His sovereign discretion and power. God does not make us alive upon our granting Him the permission to do so. He makes us alive and makes us believe onto salvation at His will

It is not at all odd that the Bible presents the need for people to “believe onto salvation”.

Four usual misconceptions are to blame for the confused understanding of the phrase: “believe …and you shall be saved”. First, believing is seen as a conditional requirement instead of a confirming reality. Secondly, salvation is narrowly defined as eternal salvation only to the neglect of the immediately needed rescue from sin and its consequences in the present life. Thirdly, the commands of God are erroneously believed to be conditional requirements or contractual responsibilities instead of what they actually are – commands that must be obeyed but only through divine enabling. Fourthly, it is assumed that we can effectively stop God from fulfilling His sovereign and moral desire if we refuse to hold up our end of some presumed bargain. God’s grace is not conditional upon our choices. God is never placed under any contractual obligation once a person fulfils some presumed covenant responsibilities.

To say that we must believe (not choose to believe) to be saved makes even more sense with this understanding. We simply cannot be saved if we have not been endowed to believe. Before we can live the reality of our pre-destination, we must first be drawn into believing it. To believe we must be saved and to be saved we must believe. This is not a paradox or a tongue twister. It is simply the order of things because God is in charge of ensuring our salvation: After God elected and guaranteed our eternal salvation from before creation, we do become saved in this life. This is how it goes according to the Scriptures:

1. God, the Holy Spirit, gives us a new life. That is, we are saved. This is our regeneration.

2. This new life (our regeneration) from God imparts to us the spiritual consciousness and ability to believe that we indeed have it (the new life). True regeneration is never without an awakening unto believing God and belief without regeneration is an illusion.

3. After our true regeneration from God, to be “saved” simply means to be responsive to our salvation. This is the practical living of our new life in this world. It is an inevitable response to God’s effectual regeneration. To do this, we must first believe that we indeed have the new life. This belief comes with the regeneration that is wrought in us by the Holy Spirit.

It is far more comforting than otherwise to know that God is the active initiator and we are simply the quickened recipients in the matter of our salvation. Nothing produces a greater sense of security than the knowledge that our ability to believe God comes from God himself.

Then we also have the Biblical teaching on our regeneration. A point in time comes when the elect of God receive a spiritual re-birth - (Ezekiel 36:26; John 1:13; 3:1-8; Ephesians 1:9,10,12,13,17-19; 2:4&5; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:3; I John 2:20&27). This is regeneration. We have no part in causing our regeneration - John 3:7 & 8. We may learn to recognize and appreciate it; but it does not depend on our deliberate choice or actions.

Regeneration comes not so subtly upon us. The power of the Holy Spirit is unmistakable as He convicts, convinces, converts and consecrates us. We are changed from old to new - II Corinthians 5:17. We do know when we have been born again. This takes place in God’s time and according to His pre-determined plan for each person. We are delivered from our prior godlessness. We are driven onto our knees as we acknowledge and repent of our sins.

Thankfully, God does not abandon us to this state of wretchedness as we realize the enormity of our sinfulness. He soon leads us to know His assurance. Our faith is strengthened as we learn the extent of God’s grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” - Ephesians 2: 8 & 9: (NASB).

Your Brother in Christ
Felix

Your opinions would imply we are robots.... pre-destination... clearly not taught in the Bible. If this is the case, then why are you even here? Why do you care? Why even read the Bible? It matters not. There would really be no reason for us to spend time or labor in instructing the sinner with regard to his duty either to God or man.

You are still basically babbling Felix... with no scriptural support for your opinions. To get where you are trying to go, you'll have to twist, mangle and malign a host of scripture or otherwise ignore the Bible.

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie

I have moved the remainder of this discussion to the appropriate forum... Calvinism.

__________________
In Christ,
brother Sonnie