For it is by grace you are saved, through the blood of Jesus Christ. When God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world, He sent Him to die as a ransom for all of us, so that we who believe may have eternal life. God did not send His Son to earth with an arm load of job applications to see what works we were worthy of so that we might be saved. As it is states in...Ephesians 2:8-9 "it is a gift...not by works. You cannot work your way to heaven, though once you have accepted Jesus Christ sa Savior, God wnats you to spread the Good News, to work on His behalf.
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10... Here in Ephesians 2:10 it states that this is what God wants us to do...to do good works. Since we are God's workmanship He wants all Christians to do good works. This is what God had in plan for us, to do good works not for salvation but beacuse it is pleasing to Him. Never get confused that you can work your way into heaven; it is only through the saving grace which is a gift from God through His Son Jesus Christ and only through Jesus Christ that you are saved.
Who can get to heaven on their own merit? No one. There is no distinction between anyone for all have sinned.
Let's read Romans 3:21-24 for a clearer understanding.
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
As it states there is no defference and this righteousness is justified freely by His grace. This righteousness of salvation is a free gift from God to all who believe. But you must first repent of your sins, ask God for forgiveness, and accept Jesus Christ as Savior. The sinner who believes in Christ receives God's gift of righteousness, which enables God to pronounce him righteous.
In Romans Paul quotes from the Psalms what David spoke of the blessedness of righteousness that God credits to man which is apart from works...7"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Romans 4:7-8 Even here in these verses David also knew the righteousness of God apart from works. And speaking of working, as I have stated this is what God wants us to do. It says in...Romans 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. We as Christians are obligated to do good works for the Lord. As you can see in Romans 4:4 his wages for work are not credited to him as a gift. Wages have nothing to do with grace but with what is due.
During the beginning of the persecution of the early church Peter and John were preaching in Jerusalem. At this time the temple guard and the Sadducess seized Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day. They were seized because of healing a cripple and in proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. The next day Peter and John were brought before the high priest and the high priest's family. They asked Peter and John, "By what power or what name did you do this?".....Here is what they said.....
Acts 4:8-12
8Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed, 11He is `the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Ever since the beginning of the early church slvation through Jesus Christ was being preahed and taught. As it say in Romans 4:12b for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Notice the part that says which we must be saved. Very simply put there is only one way which we must be saved and that is through Jesus Christ. And throughout the ages this same salvation has been taught to those whom will believe. Some people are so convinced that you must work your way to heaven. Now what about those whose bodies have been crippled form birth or due to some other reason, and the only thing functioning is there brain and they have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. Are tehy to be told..."Oh I'm sorry, but you must work your way to get into heaven."...Ironic, isn't it, but this is what some people believe. And this same belief is not true.
When God sent His only Son into the world, He was giving everyone a chance who believes to have a way to get into heaven and that is through His Son Jesus Christ.
Let us break this verse down for a clearer understanding of what it means: For God so loved the world...God loved who? The world, that is everyone living, every human being. that He gave His one and only Son,...His Son is Jesus Christ, and God gave His Son as a ransom for us, to buy us back from sin. that whoever believes in Him...whoever believes, that is anyone, any human who chooses to believe; it doesn't ay, "those few" or "that group of people only," it says whoever. shall not perish but have eternal life...Those who believe will not die (spiritually) but have eternal life with Christ in heaven when they physically die. And how is this made possible? By believing in Jesus Christ.
By your verbal confession that "Jesus is Lord," and that you truly believe in your heart that God did indeed raise Him from the dead, you will have salvation. Also, anyone that confesses that "Jesus is Lord," affirms His deity. Romans 10:10 says...For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. These are simultaneous actions: one inward (heart) and the other outward (mouth). We believe in our heart and we confess with our mouths. This is a true act of faith when one comes unto the Lord, first with a repentant heart, and then confess with our mouths. Anyone can say, "Oh I believe that Jesus is Lord, and I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead." But with out faith and really believing in what you are saying is nothing more than lip service. Some people will actually go through these motions with nothing more in mind to think they will have salvation then go right back to their old behaviors. With God, this doesn't work, for it also says in 2 Corinthians 5:17...Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. Another words, if there is no change in the old behavior, you are not saved, because you never believed in the first place. Sorry, but God is not in the buisness of selling fire insurance. Now, don't get me wrong, once we are saved we must still go before God through Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness for any new sins that we commit, and we must do this with a repentant heart.
1 John 1:9 couldn't have said it any better. Confess means "to say the same thing about sin that God does." Forgiveness and fellowship within the family of God is restored when we confess. When we sin our fellowship is broken with the family of God; but not forever; as long as we come to God through Jesus Chrsit with a repentant heart and we ask for forgiveness we will be restored to the family of God. John writing to the Christians also said in...1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you as that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the righteous One. Jesus Christ is our defender in the court room of God and is righteous and therefore effective. There is no other way and no other person who can go before God on our behalf except Jesus Christ, for He alone is the Righteous One. Another example of salvation through grace can be found in...Romans 5:20-21 20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sinned reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteouness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Again, here it says eternal life is through Jesus Christ, for grace reigns through righteousness which is found in Jesus christ. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, His grace abounds in us, for it is by grace through faith that we have been saved, and not by our works.
Now this salvation through grace that I ahve been speaking about is that of Jesus Christ dying on the cross. If Christ had not died on the cross and risen from the dead then this grace would be for nothing. For it was by the grace of God that He sent His Son to die for our sins, to shed His blood as an atonement for our sins. Without this perfect blood sacrifice that God required we would be doomed. On must believe that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross so that we who do believe and we repent, confess our sins and turn from them and ask Jesus to come into our lives as Savior we will be saved.
Before we were saved we were dead in our sins. And without the grace of salvation we would be doomed to an eternity in hell. Coming unto Jesus Christ we will find salvation and eternal life; a new life that we can and will spend with Jesus Christ for all eternity in heaven. Yes, you too can have this salvation by believing, repenting and confessing your sins, and asking the Lord Jesus to come into your life.
We will end this study with Ephesians 2:1-9
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you use to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - for it is by grace you ahve been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seted us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
So believe wht the word of God says on salvation and you will be saved. Repent. Believe in your heart. Confess with your mouth. have faith and by His grace you shall be saved.
