Having An Intelligent Faith Is to Know That Salvation Is Not Gained by Good Works, by Sammie Madison

On may ask the question - how can anyone tell whether an individual is Biblically saved or not based upon such a brief encounterance with that individual? My reply to you would be that it is not as difficult as it may seem to reach such a conclusion if one knows what the Bible has to say about biblical salvation.

Before we take a look at what the Bible has to say about what Biblical salvation is based upon, let us examine first what Biblical salvation cannot be

Contrary to what many people believe, who in most cases, do not possess an intelligent faith, Biblical salvation is not based upon good works, nor good moral conduct, but rests entirely upon one's faith in the grace of God to save him. The thief who died on the cross alongside Jesus Christ is a good illustration of how the grace of God is bestowed upon a lost and dying sinner who was perishing in his sins. The thief, nailed helplessly to the cross, realized that within his own abilities, he could not save himself. Unlike Jesus, he was serving a just punishment for the crime he had committed. Also, unlike Jesus, he did not have power at his disposal to come down from the cross if he so desired. No one took the life of Jesus. Jesus had power to lay down his life and to pick it up, but he chose to commit himself to the cross for our sins. (John 10:17-18)

The dying thief, realizing his inability to save himself from the horror and terror of his awful sins, knew he needed a savior - someone to save him from himself, someone to save him from the terrible consequences that await him after his death upon the cross. The thief knew within himself he did not need justice served to him - that he was getting, but what he needed in the eleventh hour of his life was someone who would show him mercy and grace at a time such as this,

The thief knew that the only hope of being saved throughout all eternity was for him to trust in the sovereign grace of Jesus Christ. This he did by casting himself upon the mercy of Christ by asking Jesus to remember him when he enters into his kingdom (Luke 23:42). Upon his request, the Lord Jesus immediately reached out to him and imputed to him the grace of God.

What a marvelous demonstration of the grace of God who looks beyond our faults and sees our need. Oh, the Grace of God!

The grace of God is God's unmerited favor which he freely bestows upon whomsoever he wills. God's grace - his loving-kindness cannot be earned; neither is it merited by anyone's righteous acts, but it is freely given to all whom God is pleased to have it. Therefore, any work or effort rendered to obtain salvation is futile in the eyes of God. Thus, any attempt on the part of unregenerated man to perform good works or deeds to merit his salvation is totally a disgust and an abomination to the Lord.

The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 64:6 had this to say about depraved man who would offer his good works to a holy and righteous God as a means of deserving salvation - "...all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..."

The New Testament saint, Apostle Paul, preached to the Galatian church that any attempt to present good works as a means to achieve salvation is merely to frustrate the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). According to Apostle Paul, our salvation rests entirely upon the mercy and grace of God to save us, and is not based upon any works of our own be they good works or bad works. Salvation is a gift of God. No one could attest to this truth anymore than Apostle Paul who had declared himself on one hand to have been a Pharisee who adhered to the keeping of the Jewish morals and religious laws in the stricter sense (Phil. 3:4-6).

However, on the other hand, Apostle Paul had declared himself to be chief among sinners who once had a mission to persecute Christians. He was on a mission then on the Damascus road when the sovereign grace of God struck him off his horse - not to kill him, but to gloriously save him. Oh, the grace of God that still saves wretched sinners even today while we are running contrary to the will of God.

The Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry served this notice upon all those who had in mind using good works and some other means of entering the Kingdom of Heaven other than by the Grace of God. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door (Christ) into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1).

My friend, only the grace of God - God's loving-kindness - God's free gift can truly equip one for entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. Are you today relishing in God's grace or perishing in your good works?

Talk to the average church member about how he became a Christian and more than likely you will hear him give you a resume of all his outstanding works; chances are, you will hear him say something that is mentioned here in this context: I am a good husband or wife (whatever the case); I do not run around on my mate; I try to bring up my children the right way; I am a good neighbor; I don't bother anyone, and I attend to my own business.

However, if it still appears that you are still not convinced his salvation experience is a valid one, then, he would begin to inundate you with religious services he has performed in his church such as: I was brought up in the church; I sing in the choir in my church; I am a Sunday School teacher; I am a member of the Usher Board; I am on the Missionary Board; I was baptized at an early age; I go to church practically every Sunday.

The person who is ignorant of what Biblical salvation is all about does not know that the very argument he uses to support his Christian experience is the very reason that the Bible gives for a person who is not Biblically saved.

I suppose that one of the most frequently used passages in the Bible that soul winners and Christian workers alike use in witnessing to individuals and winning the lost to Jesus is the scripture found in Ephesians 2:8 - 9. "For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Notice that in these verses, we are told that we are "saved" through God's grace (loving-kindness) imputed to us exercising our faith in God.

Let us examine these scriptures for further enlightenment.

Now when I am inquiring of someone concerning his salvation experience and that person begins to relate to me all about how he was saved through his noble works and lofty deed, I know that such a person is not only Biblically ignorant, but he is also Biblically unsaved. Anyone who is an heir of the grace of God certainly would not be declaring his position on how he has earned his salvation when the Bible teaches that salvation is a gift.

Ironically, the person who claims good works as a means of deserving his salvation does not know that he is serving an indictment upon himself as not being truly saved and one who has not been born into the family of God. Thus, this person is still lost in his sins and, furthermore, has been deceived in his thinking to embrace a false salvation.

Biblical salvation as it is presented in the Bible is a gift bestowed upon us by God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God's son. It is not a transformation that takes place by working for it nor by trying to earn it by our own merits, but simply by putting our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ who proclaimed from the cross some 2,000 years ago - "It is finished." (John 19:30) My friend, you don;t have to work for it; you just have to accept what Christ has already done.

Salvation as a gift, has already been purchased and paid for through the shed blood of our savior. Although it is a free gift to all who would dare to receive it, it cost God His only Son as a payment for our sins - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Won't you trust Him today as Savior and Lord by standing on the phrase "nothing to the cross I bring, simply to the cross I cling. Grace, Grace, God's marvelous Grace!