SALVATION : BY WORKS OR BY FAITH?
Hmmmm. Hi guys. Christmas is in the air and I believe we are all excited (I am too), not just because of the rice and the chicken but because of the significance of Christmas( The Christ in the Christmas)
Over 2,000 years ago, this very special being came into the world in a very unorthodox way and that marked the beginning of a new era in the entire world. For me, that's literally the best Christmas present of all times...
Getting down to the topic of the day, Salvation, is it by works or by faith?
This is one subject that has aroused a lot of controversy and debate among believers and otherwise.
But first of, what does it mean to be saved?
According to the Dictionary, to be saved means to be rescued from possible harm or injury.
From the above definition, I can paint a scenario. Imagine there's a heavy storm and a ship sinking,can the ship rescue itself? An external force has to intervene to rescue the ship.
Hence, first point to note is we cannot save ourselves by our works. 'Works' in this context implies 'keeping the law' because our righteousness are like filthy rags before God. We cannot work out our salvation.
Trying to work out your salvation by your own power or limited wisdom will only keep you in bondage to that law. This is why many believe Christianity is for only those that are strong or "holy holy" people. Trust me, Christians can be the weakest set of people. The only thing that makes the difference in them is that they have admitted that they need help as they can't make it on their own and have consequently, submitted to a superior force. Just like a sinking ship cannot save itself, believers are set of people that have admitted that they cannot help themselves and have found help and strength in Christ Jesus. Thus, dear friend, if you attempt to save yourself by works or by your doing, you will end up in a shipwreck.
Salvation is not about doing but becoming.
Salvation in its essence means believing in Jesus as the only son of God and the moment you believe, you BECOME a son of God yourself. John 1:12
Before Christ came into this world, sin was rampant and yes, there was the law which required the people to WORK out their salvation but were they saved? NO. the law only brought about consciousness of sin and kept the people in some sort of mental bondage. (This is why some still believe Christianity is boring). Sin ate deep into the hearts of men and there was a partition between man and God.
Jesus Christ came as an appeal to reconciliation.
The son of God became the son of man , He came as a sacrifice for atonement through the shedding of His blood. You see, just at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly - Romans 5:6
Just as sin came into the world by one man and condemned all of us to death, Jesus Christ died to bring an end to the law and brought justification by faith through grace.
Hence, the end of the law is faith.
If you still think Christianity is all about trying to be holier than the person next to you or by keeping the 10 commandments, you are still getting it wrong!
Romans 3: 20 - Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather through the law, we become conscious of our sin.
And if you are out there and you think you cannot be saved because you cannot keep God's commandments, you are just the type God loves the most. All you need do is believe wholeheartedly in Jesus and His righteousness becomes your righteousness.
In plain English, God is not asking you to do anything, all the doing ended over 2,000 years ago when God decided to watch His only begotten son bleed in pain that you and I might be saved. So we are not under the law but under grace, Jesus washed away ALL our sins and drank the full cup of God's wrath now we can cry "Abba Father!"
So my darling, God is not angry with you. There's nothing you can do now or later that will ever makes him angry with you because Jesus soaked up all his wrath, fury and anger.
If you think God will punish or reject you because of your sin, then you are saying your sin is greater than Jesus the son of God who died for that very sin. Impossible!
I know many of us actually want to do good and live right for God but we find it very difficult. Even Paul, despite how righteous he was, attested to this fact.
In Romans 7 : 14, Paul said "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do
He went further to state in Verse 22, "For in my inner being I delight in God's law but I see another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
You see! No one is actually exempted. Although we want to do good, evil is right there within us due to the adamic nature.
But take the first step, accept that someone paid for the life that you are living. Accept Jesus as your Savior and redeemer, the One who saved you from sin and death and gave you grace and Eternal life. Once you accept Christ, the Holy Spirit takes over. The Holy Spirit is the one that does all the work in you while you gradually BECOME a full fledged Son of God.
Righteousness is of the heart by the Spirit not by the law. The new law of God requires faith not works.
I hope someone somewhere has been blessed by this. I will encourage us all to read the entire book of Romans in the Bible if we really want to learn about Salvation and how it works. The book of Romans says it allAll I have written above , you can find it there. Just in case, you are out there and you are saying "you know what? Enough of the struggling, I want to personally encounter this Jesus", it's really simple. Say this prayer :
Lord Jesus, I thank you for your unconditional love, I thank you for loving me even before I understood what love meant. I know I'm unworthy. I accept you this day as my Lord and Savior. From now henceforth, take over my heart,my deeds, my thoughts, my will and my life. Thank you Father!
If you have any questions or concerns, please leave it in the comment box or send a mail to officialpurplenigmers@gmail.com.
I love you all so much. God bless you abundantly and Merry Christmas!
Hmmmm. Hi guys. Christmas is in the air and I believe we are all excited (I am too), not just because of the rice and the chicken but because of the significance of Christmas( The Christ in the Christmas)
Over 2,000 years ago, this very special being came into the world in a very unorthodox way and that marked the beginning of a new era in the entire world. For me, that's literally the best Christmas present of all times...
Getting down to the topic of the day, Salvation, is it by works or by faith?
This is one subject that has aroused a lot of controversy and debate among believers and otherwise.
But first of, what does it mean to be saved?
According to the Dictionary, to be saved means to be rescued from possible harm or injury.
From the above definition, I can paint a scenario. Imagine there's a heavy storm and a ship sinking,can the ship rescue itself? An external force has to intervene to rescue the ship.
Hence, first point to note is we cannot save ourselves by our works. 'Works' in this context implies 'keeping the law' because our righteousness are like filthy rags before God. We cannot work out our salvation.
Trying to work out your salvation by your own power or limited wisdom will only keep you in bondage to that law. This is why many believe Christianity is for only those that are strong or "holy holy" people. Trust me, Christians can be the weakest set of people. The only thing that makes the difference in them is that they have admitted that they need help as they can't make it on their own and have consequently, submitted to a superior force. Just like a sinking ship cannot save itself, believers are set of people that have admitted that they cannot help themselves and have found help and strength in Christ Jesus. Thus, dear friend, if you attempt to save yourself by works or by your doing, you will end up in a shipwreck.
Salvation is not about doing but becoming.
Salvation in its essence means believing in Jesus as the only son of God and the moment you believe, you BECOME a son of God yourself. John 1:12
Before Christ came into this world, sin was rampant and yes, there was the law which required the people to WORK out their salvation but were they saved? NO. the law only brought about consciousness of sin and kept the people in some sort of mental bondage. (This is why some still believe Christianity is boring). Sin ate deep into the hearts of men and there was a partition between man and God.
Jesus Christ came as an appeal to reconciliation.
The son of God became the son of man , He came as a sacrifice for atonement through the shedding of His blood. You see, just at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly - Romans 5:6
Just as sin came into the world by one man and condemned all of us to death, Jesus Christ died to bring an end to the law and brought justification by faith through grace.
Hence, the end of the law is faith.
If you still think Christianity is all about trying to be holier than the person next to you or by keeping the 10 commandments, you are still getting it wrong!
Romans 3: 20 - Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather through the law, we become conscious of our sin.
And if you are out there and you think you cannot be saved because you cannot keep God's commandments, you are just the type God loves the most. All you need do is believe wholeheartedly in Jesus and His righteousness becomes your righteousness.
In plain English, God is not asking you to do anything, all the doing ended over 2,000 years ago when God decided to watch His only begotten son bleed in pain that you and I might be saved. So we are not under the law but under grace, Jesus washed away ALL our sins and drank the full cup of God's wrath now we can cry "Abba Father!"
So my darling, God is not angry with you. There's nothing you can do now or later that will ever makes him angry with you because Jesus soaked up all his wrath, fury and anger.
If you think God will punish or reject you because of your sin, then you are saying your sin is greater than Jesus the son of God who died for that very sin. Impossible!
I know many of us actually want to do good and live right for God but we find it very difficult. Even Paul, despite how righteous he was, attested to this fact.
In Romans 7 : 14, Paul said "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do but what I hate I do
He went further to state in Verse 22, "For in my inner being I delight in God's law but I see another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
You see! No one is actually exempted. Although we want to do good, evil is right there within us due to the adamic nature.
But take the first step, accept that someone paid for the life that you are living. Accept Jesus as your Savior and redeemer, the One who saved you from sin and death and gave you grace and Eternal life. Once you accept Christ, the Holy Spirit takes over. The Holy Spirit is the one that does all the work in you while you gradually BECOME a full fledged Son of God.
Righteousness is of the heart by the Spirit not by the law. The new law of God requires faith not works.
I hope someone somewhere has been blessed by this. I will encourage us all to read the entire book of Romans in the Bible if we really want to learn about Salvation and how it works. The book of Romans says it allAll I have written above , you can find it there. Just in case, you are out there and you are saying "you know what? Enough of the struggling, I want to personally encounter this Jesus", it's really simple. Say this prayer :
Lord Jesus, I thank you for your unconditional love, I thank you for loving me even before I understood what love meant. I know I'm unworthy. I accept you this day as my Lord and Savior. From now henceforth, take over my heart,my deeds, my thoughts, my will and my life. Thank you Father!
If you have any questions or concerns, please leave it in the comment box or send a mail to officialpurplenigmers@gmail.com.
I love you all so much. God bless you abundantly and Merry Christmas!
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