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Salvation: What must I do to be saved?

  • James Ward
  • Nov 19, 2017
  • 31 min read

What must I do to be saved? This is the most important question a person could ever ask.

I want to start by looking at Acts 16, where Luke is chronicling his travels with Paul and company. In this chapter we can clearly see God shaping history and moving people like chess pieces to accomplish His will. God decided where the gospel would go and where it wouldn't go. History was shaped by the events in Acts 16, with an amazing demonstration of God's sovereignty and wisdom. This Bible study is about salvation, and I want to talk about the people in this chapter who get saved, but let's start a little earlier since we're here, so we can see a glimpse of how God directed the apostles to go where He wanted them to go.

"6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

"11 So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days.13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us."

God forbade them from going east as they'd planned, and called them to go west instead. Think about that. They wanted to preach the gospel in Asia but God said no. He wouldn't let them do it because He wanted them to go west. It was not God's will that the gospel be preached in Asia yet. So they sailed to Macedonia where they just happened to meet a woman named Lydia who listened to Paul because "the Lord opened her heart".​ Notice it doesn't say Lydia opened her heart. It says the Lord opened her heart. God did the work, not Lydia. She became the first European convert, she and her entire household, and this is where the Christians stayed while they were in Macedonia. Then Luke records this:

"16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment."

"19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."

"22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks."

Okay, let's be honest here. If you were in their situation, what would you be thinking? How would you feel right now? You wanted to go to Asia, but God made you come here instead, and now you're locked up. Your possessions have been taken from you, you've been beaten, put in prison, and locked into stocks so you can't even move. It would be a natural reaction to think that you'd failed in some way, or maybe God was angry at you, or maybe you misunderstood Him somehow. It would be normal for doubts to be running through your mind as you sit completely helpless in this jail. Am I being punished? Why is God letting this happen to me? Did I do something wrong? But notice how these men handle the situation. They sing praises to the God who brought them to this situation.

"25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Now here's a man who was seconds from suicide. If his prisoners had escaped, the Romans would have killed him and they probably would not have done it quickly, so in his mind suicide was the best option. Imagine how he must have felt at that moment. His life was over. He's just about to kill himself and a voice yells for him to stop... the voice of a man who had been directed to this very place by God Himself. God made sure that the Christians would end up right here in this exact situation, in this jail, with this jailer as their guard, when an earthquake just happened to occur, so that all of the doors are opened and everyone's chains are unfastened, resulting in this jailer hitting the lowest point of his life, so that he would be in a position to hear the gospel and be saved.

The jailer must have been completely baffled when he saw them standing there. The doors were opened and their chains were released, but they didn't escape? What kind of men are these Christians? Then he asks the most important question he has ever asked in his life. “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

So then they told him in order to be saved, he needs to go to church every Sunday, and go to confession regularly, and take communion, and obey the Jewish law, and celebrate the special holy days, and obey the Sabbath, and pay ten percent of his money to his pastor, and speak in tongues, and abstain from certain foods, and do certain religious rituals... Oh wait a second, they didn't tell him any of those things?

"30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household."

His question was "What must I do to be saved?", and the answer was "Believe in the Lord Jesus".

So they tell him to believe in Jesus, then they preach the word, so he'll know what to believe about Jesus. They didn't just say "believe in Jesus", and then walk away leaving him to figure out what that means. If they had done that, he would just make up any Jesus he wanted to believe in. But it's important that we "believe in" the correct Jesus, the one who is actually real. And we have to believe the correct things about the correct Jesus. There are many false christs. We see this glaring fact when we look at the cults who clearly preach a different Jesus than the Jesus of the Bible. Throughout history lots of men have claimed to be Christ and led many people astray, and many false teachers have come and gone, teaching a false gospel with a false savior. Jesus warned that there would be false christs, and the apostles warned of false teachers sneaking in and teaching heresy. John called these people antichrists. (2 Corinthians 11:4, Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:23-24, Mark 13:6-22, Luke 21:8, 1 John 2:18-22, 1 John 4:3, 2 John 1:7, Jude 1:4, 2 Peter 2:1)

So they told the jailer to believe in Jesus, then they preached the word and explained the gospel, then he was baptised. They preached the word so the jailer would know exactly what to believe about Jesus. The preaching of the word is how people come to genuine faith. You can't know what to believe about Jesus unless you hear the word preached.

You can't believe the gospel until you've heard it.

"For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?" (Romans 10:13-14)

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

God sends preachers to preach the word, so that His people will hear it, so they will believe in Him, so they'll call on Him, so they'll be saved. But some people believe the gospel, and some people don't. Some people reject Jesus and His free gift of salvation. There are two kinds of people.

"A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?” (John 10:19-21)

"But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him." (John 10:26-31)

"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

(John 6:37-40)

Jesus didn't mention a list of rules and procedures. He said to believe in Him. Come to Him for your salvation. That's all. Call on Him to save you. That's faith. And if you're able to genuinely do that, it's because you've been given by the Father to the Son. But He is talking about coming to Him, not to a false christ. Coming to a false christ will not save anyone.

Believing in Jesus means you are always coming to Him, always looking to Him, always beholding Him, always abiding in Him. His sheep will hear His voice and they will come to Him. His children will hear the word preached, they will hear His voice, and they will follow Him. All of them will come to Him. Hearing, coming, following, beholding, calling, abiding, these are all actions that are part of believing. Faith is an action, not a feeling.

"Repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Repentance is also involved in biblical faith. To repent is to turn from one direction to another, to change your mind, to live for Christ instead of for yourself. Repentance is always attached to faith. There can't be one without the other. (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20, Romans 2:4)

"When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:18)

"Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21)

Imagine a sheep who is lost and doesn't know where the rest of the flock are. The Shepherd yells out "Come!", and the sheep hears the Shepherd's voice and recognizes Him, so it stops, turns around, and starts walking toward its Master. That's repentance. And that's what our faith is like. We were walking the wrong way, among dogs, goats, and pigs, but then we heard His voice, and we turned around toward Him, and now we are walking to Him. His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him.

Christian repentance is a lifestyle. It's faith in action. It's not something that you do once, it's something you do for the rest of your life. It's being a Christian. The sheep doesn't turn toward the Shepherd and then just stand still. It doesn't just look in His direction and acknowledge Him, but stay where it is. It turns and it comes. We turn away from ourselves and our desires, and we turn to Christ, and we come to Him. Repenting is part of believing, and it's just as much a gift from God as faith is. (John 6:44, Acts 5:31, Acts 11:18)

This idea of believing, coming, abiding, is so integral to the Christian relationship with Jesus, that He calls Himself the Bread of Life, and says that we must consume Him in order to have eternal life. This is what it means to truly believe in Jesus.

"27 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.”28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.

41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.

47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.

59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him."

"And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:8-9)

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1)

"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration 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." (Titus 3:5-7)

Romans 3:21 "But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

"27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." (Romans 3:21-31)

"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, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

But isn't faith something that you have to do? Is faith a work? How can we be saved completely by grace, without having to "do" anything, yet we have to "do" the believing. This question was the beginning of an incredibly important step in my Christian life. I used to lay awake at night wrestling with this. If salvation is truly by grace and not of works, how can we explain the necessity of faith? If I'm the one "doing" the faith, then believing is a work, right? Faith is an action, that's true. But you cannot perform that action unless you are enabled by God's grace to perform it. Remember how the Lord opened Lydia's heart so that she would hear the gospel? She didn't just wake up one morning and decide to believe in Jesus because of her own effort or her own intelligence or goodness. In other words, it wasn't her doing. God put a preacher in her life, and then He opened her heart so she would believe. He did all of the work, even the faith. He gives faith to people as a gift. Faith is not something that people produce within themselves. That would mean that people save themselves by their own efforts. You cannot do anything unless the ability is given to you by your Creator.

"John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven." (John 3:27)

"For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:44)

No one can come to Me

No one is able to come to Me

No one has the ability to come to Me

No one

Not anyone

No human being is able to come to Jesus

UNLESS...

Unless the Father who sent Me draws him

Unless the Father drags him

Unless the Father actively impels him

Unless the Father hauls Him

The word "draw" in John 6:44 is what a fisherman does when he has a net in the water and then he draws it into his boat. It's translated as draw, drag, haul, impel.

"And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish." (John 21:6)

"Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land" (John 21:11)

"They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place" (Act 21:30)

"Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?" (James 2:6)

No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them, drags them, hauls them, like a fish being pulled out of the water. This makes perfect sense because the Bible consistently describes humans as dead in their sins and unable to please God by doing anything good. God has to remove the heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). That's not something a sinner can do for himself, it's an act of God. We cannot produce faith in ourselves. The consistent biblical view of man is that we are all evil and unable to please God. We're rebels and we want nothing to do with God, so of course it would have to be Him making the first move. (Jeremiah 17:9, Micah 7:4, Mark 7:21-23, John 3:19, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 5:6, Romans 6:16-20, Ephesians 2:1, Ephesians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 2:14)

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him"

The point is, your faith is not your own work, it's God's work. You don't even get to take credit for believing. You don't get to take credit for any of it. No one in heaven will have anything to boast about. It's all about what God has done.

"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, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)

We're saved by grace, not by works, not by anything that we do, but our faith will always be accompanied by good works. Christians will always bear fruit. We were created for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. He saves us by His grace so that we can do good works. If a person is calling himself a Christian but has no good works, he's a fake.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away..." (John 15:1-2)

"They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." (1 John 2:19)

"1 'I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, 3 He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.'"

True Christians "abide in" Christ. We live with Him like a branch lives with its vine. We stay attached to Him. The branch does not live if it's not attached to the vine. The Gardener will cut it off and throw it in the fire. He takes care of the living branches, and prunes away the bad spots and the parts that have been damaged, so that it can flourish and produce even more good fruit for Him.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

"in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds" (Titus 2:7)

"so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10)

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

"For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’" (Matthew 25:35-40)

"Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:19-24)

I could go on, but I think the point has been made clearly. We are not saved by doing good works, but every Christian does good works. It is extremely common for people to put the cart before the horse when it comes to this. But as we've seen, even our faith and repentance are gifts given to us from God. We're saved by grace through faith, but we will produce good work.

"Salvation belongs to the Lord" (Psalm 3:8, Psalm 62:1)

If you understand that you're saved by grace through faith, and not by your good works, then by all means go ahead and make every effort to do good works. Do as much good work as you can, because God is glorified by it, and you will be rewarded in heaven for it. But do your good work in the name of Jesus, because you are saved by grace, not because you think your work will save you. The more you think your works are saving you, the further you are from salvation.

Some groups use the book of James to argue for salvation by works because he says "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone" (James 2:24). At this point it's worth taking a look at James chapter 2 because it is so commonly used as an argument against the biblical gospel of salvation by faith alone. The easiest explanation is that the book of James was written only to first century Jews and is not applicable to gentiles. James even says right in chapter 1 verse 1 that he is writing "to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad". That would not include gentiles. Some say it's completely irrelevant to us, some say that parts of James are for us and parts are not for us, and some say it's completely for us.

So let's go with the difficult explanation, that James is in full agreement with Paul and the other apostles, and that our error lies in the misunderstanding of his use of the word "justified". According to this view, James is teaching that faith is always accompanied by good works and it will never be without good works. James isn't disagreeing with Paul, he's in full agreement. Look how he uses Abraham as an example.

"14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.

18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

James is refuting the idea that a person can just say they have faith and not actually do anything faithful, without bearing any good fruit. That faith would not be real. But did James say anything about people being saved by God because of their works? He's saying that genuine faith will always produce good works, and that a sure sign of a false faith is when there are only words but no actions. If Abraham had merely claimed to believe God, but didn't actually leave his land and go where God told him to go, would Abraham's faith have been genuine? Of course not. But Abraham acted on his faith. He walked his faith. He proved his faith by doing the work. Would Abraham's faith have been real faith if He had not done what God told him to do? The evidence that his faith was real can be seen in his actions. The same is true with Rahab, and with anyone else.

So when James says that Abraham was justified by his works, he was not saying that Abraham's works initiated his salvation, as if he could act in faith without first having the faith. Abraham would not have done the works if he didn't first believe. And remember, it doesn't say that Abraham's works were credited to him as righteousness, it says his faith was credited to him as righteousness.

"Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6)

So we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by our works, but we will do good works because we have been saved by grace. God equips us with everything we need to "walk in" our good works. He draws us, He gives us faith, He gives us repentance, and then He gives us each individual gifts so that we can live our own unique Christian lives. There will be a change in the saved person. They believe, they come to Jesus, they do good works. They're a new person.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)

The good works come from us because we're saved, and because it's ultimately God's good works being done through us. He prepared them ahead of time so that we would do them!

"Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Now with all of this in mind, let's go back to the born-again jailer in Acts 16.

30 ..."Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household."

Look at the change in his behavior. "He took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds." This man's job as a jailer was so important to him that he was about to kill himself when he thought his prisoners had escaped. But not only has he allowed them out of confinement, he's taken them to his home and given them a party! What if his boss had come to the jail in the middle of the night to make sure the earthquake didn't do any damage, only to find that the jailer took the prisoners, washed and treated their wounds from when they were beaten, and then brought them to his home and threw a party with them? His punishment probably would have been even more severe than if they had merely escaped. But the jailer was no longer concerned with that. These men were no longer his prisoners, they were now his brothers in Christ. The jailer was a changed man. Good fruit was coming from him immediately.

Notice his baptism didn't cause him to believe, and it didn't cause him to be saved. He got baptised because he believed. The faith came first, then he did the works. Baptism is something Christians do after they come to faith. It's not something unbelievers do in order to become Christians.

But notice that verse 33 says he was baptised immediately. He didn't wait a few years until he thought the time was just right. He went immediately, in the middle of the night. The Lord has commanded us to be baptised. Baptism symbolizes death and resurrection, our unity with Christ, and it's a declaration of faith.

"Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)

Some groups use this verse to teach baptismal regeneration, the belief that baptism causes us to be saved or born again, that there is something salvific in baptism itself. This verse should be handled like any other verse that seems to contradict the rest of the Bible. It needs to be read in context of everything else the Bible says about that particular subject. We can't just take a single verse or phrase from its context, ignore the fact that there are other verses that also explain the subject, and then build our theology around it because we need to support an idea that we already had. We do not want to find ourselves in the position of reading our beliefs into the scripture and trying to conform scripture to our already existing religious traditions.

The Bible is clear that we are not saved by anything that we do. That includes baptism, but since we're commanded to do it, every Christian should do it. First comes faith, then comes baptism. I believe there are going to be a few Christians who are saved but are unable to get baptised for any number of reasons, but they're just as saved as someone who is baptised. There may even be some who are disobedient or just ignorant and will live their entire lives without being baptised. But this is a dangerous position to be in. A Christian should not want to willingly disobey the Lord. But the Bible is so clear that we cannot be saved by any kind of works, and we do hear about deathbed conversions, so it makes sense to see it this way. For a great example of simple salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, we can always look at the thief on the cross. He was converted by faith in Jesus and nothing else. He never got baptised, he never went to any church, he didn't perform any rituals. He had no understanding of any deep theology. He only knew that Jesus could save him, and all he did was ask to be saved.

"39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

The man believed in Jesus and asked for salvation, and Jesus tells Him plainly that he will go to paradise. All he had was faith in Jesus. This is a fundamental tenet of Christianity, that we are not saved by our works or deeds, but by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8)

That's the biblical gospel. That's Christianity.

This is the point where biblical Christianity differs from every other form of religion, and it's where we stand in opposition to any group who teaches a different gospel. This is important enough that the apostles consistently warned about false teachers and false gospels.

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:6-9)

This was so important to the apostles, they wouldn't let anyone add anything to the gospel at all. The Judaizers are a good example of this. They were teaching Christians that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved. They were trying to add works to the gospel of grace. Paul called them false brethren and false teachers. In Galatians chapter 5, Paul makes it perfectly clear, if you are trying to add something to the gospel, Christ is of no use to you. The entire book of Galatians is about the purity of the gospel, and not adding anything to it. It's about justification by faith, apart from works. Do not add works to your salvation. Do works because you're saved.

"By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight" (Romans 3:20)

"If righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” (Galatians 2:20-21)

Our faith is so simple that a child can understand it. You don't need to have a deep understanding of the technical details of theology in order to be saved, although you could dedicate your life to delving as deep as possible and never even come close to mastering it. You don't need to know anything about Hebrew or Greek to understand this gospel, but the study of the ancient languages holds immense rewards to anyone who wants to understand the depths of the words of scripture. You don't need to have large passages of the Bible memorized, but studying it regularly will be more rewarding than any earthly treasure in existence. We're not saved by our knowledge. We're not saved by our church. We're not saved by our traditions. We're not saved by being a good person. We're not saved by our creeds. We're not saved by our deeds. We are saved by God's grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is a gracious and merciful Savior, and He won't reject anyone who comes to Him in faith. If you hear His voice calling in your spirit, now is the time to turn to Him in faith. Now is the time to come to Him. No one is promised tomorrow, but you have been given today. You have been given the gift of the gospel. A preacher has preached the word and explained salvation to you. Now is your time to come to the Savior. He has promised with an unbreakable promise that anyone who comes to Him will be saved.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

"Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

Thanks for reading. God bless.

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