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Salvation Is Faith-based, Not By Works (May 24, 2023)

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…” (Titus 3:5). 

Before His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension Jesus warned His disciples that one of the signs pointing to His Second Coming will be the proliferation of false teachings aimed at deceiving mankind and leading him astray. One of the most dangerous and potentially destructive of these false doctrines today is the lie that we can get to heaven by doing good deeds. That myth is absolutely contradicted by God’s Word which clearly teaches that salvation and eternal life are gifts offered by the grace of God the Father exclusively through faith in His Son Jesus Christ and eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit that indwells the believer.

“But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord…” (Psalm 37:39).

We are all sinful by nature and deserve death, but Jesus suffered the indignity of the cross to pay our sin debt fully. Through His finished work at Calvary, Christ gave us the opportunity to be clothed in His righteousness by believing that He died to redeem us and rose to give us victory over spiritual death, the consequence of sin. Good works are commendable and are the evidence of our salvation, but they cannot save us. It has been said that we are saved for good works, not by them! There is nothing we can do to secure our salvation, but simply place our trust in Jesus and receive God’s grace that flows bountifully through Christ. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) 




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