Must A Person "DO" Anything To Be Saved?

     To be consistent, those who advocate the erroneous doctrine of salvation by grace alone,
must deny that there is anything for a person to "do" in order to be saved. Those who teach
the doctrine of salvation by "grace alone," contend that a person is passive, not active, and
that anything that is "done" constitutes a "work" and they say, "We are not saved by works."

     One thing they fail to understand is this: there are different kinds of works, and one must
understand the difference in order to have a biblical concept of grace, faith, law, and works.
There are works of the law of Moses such as offering sacrifices, sabbath day observance,
and circumcision. No person can be saved by keeping the law of Moses. The law of Moses
has been removed. It is not binding on anyone. (Acts 15; Romans 3:21,27; 7:4; Galatians
3:23-25; 5:1-4). There are works of "merit" by which one seeks to "earn" or "deserve" the
right to salvation. No one can, by his own planning, earn or deserve salvation. It is a gift from
God and no one can boast. (Romans 4:2-8; Ephesians 2:5,8-9) There are also works of
obedience. These are the "works" that God himself has mandated or made necessary in
order for people to be saved. (Matthew 7:21-23; Hebrews 5:8-9) When a person complies
with God's conditions of pardon he is not attempting to save himself apart from God's grace,
nor is he trying to earn his salvation. He is by the grace of God, yielding to the commands of
the heavenly Master! A good question for the Calvinist is this: Can a person be saved without
submitting to the conditions that God has made necessary for salvation?

     On the day of Pentecost, the Jews who were cut in the heart by the apostles' words
asked, "Men, brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:36-37)  The  Holy  Spirit  who  was
revealing God's will through Peter and the rest of the apostles, did not respond to their
question by asking,"Do, what do you mean 'do?' There is nothing to 'do.' God has already
done it all. " Luke tells us, "And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be immersed every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ in order to receive the forgiveness of your sins, and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) The Holy Spirit, through Peter, told them
what to do. Therefore, a person must "DO" something in order to be saved!

     In Acts 16:30 Luke says the jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?" Paul did not say, "Do, what do you mean do? There is nothing to 'do.' God has
already done it all. " Paul told him, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you
and your household." (v. 31) Paul  did  not  tell him to "only believe," or "believe only."
Salvation by faith alone is  not  taught  in  the  New  Testament. It is found in the mental
corridors of denominational theologians who have discarded God's plan of salvation. Paul
told him to "believe in the Lord Jesus." To "believe in the Lord Jesus" involves accepting
all conditions God has made necessary for salvation from past sins, and this includes
immersion into Christ Jesus! After Paul and Silas  spoke  the  word  of  the  Lord  to him
and those in his house (v. 32), he was immersed at once, he  and  all  his  family! (v. 33) 
It  is  after  he  and his household heard the word and were immersed that Luke tells us,
"And he rejoiced that he had believed in the God." (v. 34) Yes, a person must "do"
something in order to be saved, and when he does it, he has not earned his salvation,
neither has he vitiated or nullified the grace of God. The Bible says "he has believed in the
God."

                                                                                                                        R. Daly

Copyright 2012

"Those Who Had Believed Through Grace"

     The word "grace" (Grk. charis), in connection with God's plan of redemption for
mankind, refers to favor, or God's acts of kindness in bestowing salvation on those
who willingly submit to the conditions God's has mandated. God's grace is not
earned, neither is it deserved. God extends his grace to sinners because he wants all
people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4) Paul told
Titus, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people." Without
grace there is no salvation. Paul told the brothers and sisters in Ephesus, "by grace
you have been saved." (Eph. 2:5) Every person who has ever been saved, was saved
by the grace and mercy of the loving God.

     Yet, there are many false notions about the grace of God. Most denominational
theologians, and many among the Lord's own people misrepresent scripture's
teaching about the grace of God.  There are those who say, "Since we are saved by
grace, and inasmuch as grace is God's part, there is nothing we can or should do.
Doing something involves 'works' and we are not saved by works." This is the old
Calvinistic concept popularized by the French reformer, John Calvin, in the 1500's.
The fact is: John Calvin was wrong then, and his religious puppets are wrong now.
The Bible does not teach that salvation by grace negates the acts of obedience with
which a person must comply before God will save them. The New Testament
clearly teaches that Christ is "the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him."
(Heb. 5:8-9; Mat. 7:21) Those who teach grace saves without a person rendering
full compliance to God's conditions, are guilty of not accepting all the Bible teaches
on the subject of salvation.

     Others  teach  the  concept  that  since  grace   is  extended to all people, those
who die in denominational error, and those who die as disobedient children of God,
may be received into heaven on the day of judgment. This doctrine is as smooth as
molasses, as sweet as honey, and as comforting as a summer breeze. But there is
a major problem with it; God's word teaches it is not true! Paul asked the Romans,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may increase? By no
means! How shall those of us who died to sin live in it any longer?" (Rom. 6:1-2)
Grace is not designed to give hope to anyone who dies in defiance of God and
his word. It provides a way out of sin, into the kingdom of God, and finally a way
into heaven when time is no more. Grace does this by teaching us how to live. "The
grace of God has appeared, teaching us..." (Titus 2:11-12)

     An interesting statement was made by Luke when he wrote about the work of
Apollos among the brothers and sisters in Achaia. He said Apollos "greatly helped
those who had believed through grace." (Acts 18:27) How had they "believed
through grace?" Everything that God had done (sending his unique Son to die on
the cross (Jno. 3:16); providing for the establishment of his congregation (Eph.
3:8-11); sending the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles in their work of preaching
the saving gospel (Jno. 16:13; Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:18,21); and giving
commands to be obeyed in order to have forgiveness of sins (Mat. 28:19; Acts 2:38;
Rom. 6:3-4) was an act of grace. When the people in Achaia obeyed the gospel of
God, the very grace that was manifested through all that God did was the means by
which they became believers, for it was the God of grace who saved them!

                                                                                                                   R. Daly

Copyright 2012