____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ January 17, 1993 ____________________________________________________ Does Being Saved By Grace Eliminate Works of Every Kind? by Tom Edwards Many people today have the misconceived notion that salvation by grace rules out any type of work one must do in order to be forgiven of sin. This false idea would be correct IF salvation were by ``grace only,'' but it is not. Paul shows that it is by ``grace through faith'' (Eph. 2:8,9), and James teaches that ``faith without works is dead'' (Jms. 2:26). As we consider this, let us first realize that God does not give faith today miraculously. Rather, it is obtained through a natural means of hearing His word in the written revelation (Rom. 10:17; Rom. 1:16). To deny that this involves effort is what the ``no-works-of-any-kind'' person must do. I mentioned this to the brethren just last Sunday evening during the worship service and told them that if you don't think hearing the word of God is a work, I'll just keep preaching till midnight--until you change your mind. I speak of this because some people feel that baptism is a ```work of righteousness' and since we are not saved by works, then that means that baptism is irrelevant to one's salvation.'' First of all, is baptism the only thing which we could categorize as being a work of righteousness? Is not everything which the Lord commands us to do in order to become a Christian and in order to live as one, a work of righteousness? Surely, if it's what God has commanded, then we could not say it is a work of UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. Nor could we say that something that God commands us to do is not a WORK of righteousness. Though in a negative command, such as don't steal or don't commit adultery, one obeys God's command by NOT DOING; one cannot obey a positive command of God, such as believe and be baptized, by NOT DOING--rather, this is something he MUST DO. Secondly, if baptism is irrelevant to salvation, why did Peter say that ``Baptism...now saves you....'' (1 Pet. 3:21)? And why did Jesus put it before one could be saved in Mark 16:16? And why did the Lord put it before the ``new birth'' in John 3:3-5? And why did Paul put it before one could ``walk in newness of life'' in Romans 6:3,4? And why did Ananias put it before one's sins could be washed away in Acts 22:16? And why did Peter couple it with repentance and put them both before one could obtain the ``remission of sins'' in Acts 2:38? And why did Paul show that one can't be in Christ without having first been baptized in Galatians 3:26,27? On and on, as we read the New Testament passages about baptism, it is clearly seen as being part of the plan of God for one to have sins forgiven and to, thus, become a Christian. It would certainly be great if everyone could realize what the Bible has to say about baptism so we wouldn't have to spend as much time as we do speaking about it. But, unfortunately, there are so many today who even after having heard well-worded and scripture-packed explanations of it, will still reject it. I believe that this is primarily due to the misconceptions that they have been taught concerning a salvation by ``faith only'' or ``grace only.'' Recently, I heard of a man who while using Acts 2:38 to teach a woman of the need to ``repent and be baptized'' in order to become a Christian, the woman responded by saying, ``You can't get baptism out of that passage.'' To this, the man then said something to the following effect: ``You're right. You can't get baptism out of there--it's there to stay!'' Yes, as long as time shall last, water baptism will remain as part of God's plan for saving man. Though we are not saved by any type of work in a meritorious sense, this does not eliminate the need to have to DO certain things. The important reoccurring question that we read throughout the book of Acts (though worded a little differently in its various locations) is, ``What must I DO to be saved?'' Not once were they told, ``You don't have to DO anything because God has already done it for you.'' Rather, they were told to believe (Mark 16:16), to repent (Acts 2:38), to confess their faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10), to be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; 1 Pet. 3:21) in order to have their sins washed away and become Christians. And they were also told to remain faithful until death (Rev. 2:10; Heb. 10:35-39) in order to eventually arrive in heaven and not fall away and lose their souls. Jesus spoke about believing being a work in John 6:29, and if we think this is only giving a mere mental assent toward His deity then we don't fully understand what it means to ``believe in Jesus.'' Jesus tells us personally--and through His apostles--of God's plan of salvation that I just mentioned in the above paragraph. How can one say he truly believes in the Lord if he doesn't accept what Jesus taught one must do to be saved? Remember, it was the Lord Himself who said, ``And why do you call Me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?'' (Luke 6:14). This passage alone shows that salvation is on more of a basis than merely being able to confess Christ as Lord. To truly confess Jesus as one's Lord, which means ``ruler,'' that person must accept the rules the Lord stipulates. I've never heard a ``no-works-of-any-kind'' person teach that one shouldn't read the Bible to acquire faith because that is a work--though it certainly is. And if we are lacking in faith, we have no one to blame but ourselves because God has provided us with the source, the Scriptures. Paul preached that people ''...should repent and turn to God, PERFORMING DEEDS appropriate to repentance'' (Acts 26:20). I can almost hear someone now say, though, ``Well, these are deeds one is to perform after repentance--not before.'' Is Bible repentance only a mere change of mind or is it a change of mind that must be coupled with a change of action? Certainly the gunman after having shot down the first innocent bystander and having a change of heart as a consequence that such is definitely wrong will not be any less guilty when he pulls the trigger to murder the next person--though his heart tells him it is wrong. Bible repentance consists of not only a sorrow for sin, but also a turning from sin and a turning to God by one's faith and obedience to the word of the Lord. We cannot turn to the Lord merely on the basis of our own scheme, but it must be the way God's word has instructed us. By far, acquiring a genuine faith through the Scriptures that will give us the proper convictions and sorrow for sin that leads to repentance, will involve much more effort on our part than merely being dunked for a few short seconds into the watery grave of baptism. If I were to ask you which is really more of a work, believing and repenting or being baptized? What were your answer be? Don't allow others to intimidate you from doing what God has commanded you to do. Realize that there are things that MUST BE DONE, but also realize that even after having done these things, you have not earned your salvation meritoriously--nor could you ever (Luke 17:10). As we consider the title to this lesson and look for the answer in God's word, the New Testament shows that salvation by God's grace does not eliminate the need to first do certain things--whether we call these things ``deeds,'' ``obedient action,'' ``works,'' ``faith in action,'' or ``efforts on our part.'' I know many people don't like the idea of one being saved by one's own efforts, but I can't be saved by your efforts, and if I don't make some of my own in complying with the gospel, I never will be saved. What does God's grace have to say about itself in regard to this matter? Let's listen: ``For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,'' (Titus 2:11,12). Clearly, God's grace is not a passive thing; rather, it demands that we DO what is right and DON'T DO what is wrong. How can one expect to be saved by the grace of God when he fails to meet the conditions which that grace stipulates? Obviously, there are certain ``works'' we must do if we want to be saved by grace. ___________________________________________ "For certain men who condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord" (Jude 4, NIV). ___________________________________________ "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father" (John 10:17,18). "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (Jn. 10:11). ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________