Is believing/faith a work ?
- Thread starter beloved57
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Nanja
Well-known member
beloved57
Amen to both parts !
An Eternal Inheritance, Salvation, was freely and discriminately given by God's Grace as a possession to all His Election of Grace Rom. 11:5-6 from Everlasting Eph. 1:4, 11; 2 Tim. 1:9 even while they were His enemies Rom. 5:10.
But if Salvation was based on merit, acts a person performs, i.e. his faith, repentance, etc., that would make God indebted to save them Rom. 4:4 based on works [ergon] they do.
Eph. 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Amen to both parts !
An Eternal Inheritance, Salvation, was freely and discriminately given by God's Grace as a possession to all His Election of Grace Rom. 11:5-6 from Everlasting Eph. 1:4, 11; 2 Tim. 1:9 even while they were His enemies Rom. 5:10.
But if Salvation was based on merit, acts a person performs, i.e. his faith, repentance, etc., that would make God indebted to save them Rom. 4:4 based on works [ergon] they do.
Eph. 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Nanja
Well-known member
True statement !
Eph. 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works [ergon], lest any man should boast.
G2041: ergon
1. business, employment, that which any one is occupied
a. that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking
2. any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind
an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opp. to that which is less than work
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G2041&t=KJV
beloved57
Well-known member
First and foremost to be Justified by Faith and it not be our work, it must be the subjective faith of Christ in His Suretyship obedience and faithfulness unto will of God for us that Justifies us before God, otherwise, justified by our own faith is nothing but being justified by our works, something done by us, which is flat out contrary to justification by grace.
If believing is a work, none would be saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:8-9 King James Version (KJV)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
beloved57
Well-known member
If faith that saves or justifies before God was of ourselves it would give occasion to boast, which is contrary to being saved by grace through faith Eph 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
genuineoriginal
New member
Therefore, the faith mentioned in Ephesians 2:8 cannot be the "works" spoken about in Ephesians 2:9, no matter how often you keep trying to say it is.
Nanja
Well-known member
Amen Brother ! Those Christ died for, God's Elect, are Justified freely Rom. 8:33 by His Grace Rom. 3:24 through His Suretyship engagement on their behalf Heb. 7:22, so they were already Justified from Everlasting before they do or perform anything. And the good work of Believing / Faith they do in time after being recipients of New Birth pleases God Gal 5:22; Rom. 8:9.
beloved57
Well-known member
False accusation
Aimiel
Well-known member
Exactly. It says 'that' not of yourselves after grace and after faith, not between them. Both the grace and the faith are gifts from God, which leaves out ALL boasting of works. The grace which we're given to be saved is from God, the faith we use to believe in Christ is from God and the ability to rely upon that faith as the years go by and we are confronted with bigger and harder challenges to that faith (which causes us to flex our faith muscles and exercise them and make them stronger) is also from God. He has the ability to keep those who believe in Him believing in Him even when confronted with HUGE challenges, including torture and execution for believing in Him. What a MIGHTY God we serve!!! :thumb:
Nanja
Well-known member
So true, man's religion teaches that a spiritually dead person has the power to affect his justification before God, by exerting his own act faith / believing in the flesh Rom. 8:8; Is. 64:6.
However, Scripture declares that one's Justification / Salvation is by the Working of God's Power Eph. 1:19 !
Nanja
Well-known member
Yes, because it exalts the pride and self-righteousness of the sinner; insisting that his own cooperation is essential to his justification, which denies the Power of Christ's Blood alone to Justify all those it was shed for, which is Blasphemy !
beloved57
Well-known member
Amen Sister. I am so glad God has raised you up and given a heart of understanding.
Nanja
Well-known member
Amen Brother, we Praise Him for giving us Spiritual Power and Understanding, a New Heart Ezek. 36:26 to Live according to His Will 2 Thes. 2:13; to please Him alone, [and not men], by His Spiritual Power Working in us Eph. 3:7 !
genuineoriginal
New member
Gotquestions.org
Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. We are saved “not because of righteous things we had done” (Titus 3:5). “Not by works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). This means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6).
The Bible is just as clear that salvation is conditional; God does not save everyone. The one condition for salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. Nearly 200 times in the New Testament, faith (or belief) is declared to be the sole condition for salvation (John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
One day, some people asked Jesus what they could do to please God: “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus immediately points them to faith: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). So, the question is about God’s requirements (plural), and Jesus’ answer is that God’s requirement (singular) is that you believe in Him.
Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to Romans 11:6, “works” of any kind destroys grace—the idea is that a worker earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since salvation is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work. Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it would destroy grace. (See also Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work he performed.)
Suppose someone anonymously sent you a check for $1,000,000. The money is yours if you want it, but you still must endorse the check. In no way can signing your name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. You can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or your own business savvy. No, the million dollars was simply a gift, and signing your name was the only way to receive it. Similarly, exercising faith is the only way to receive the generous gift of God, and faith cannot be considered a work worthy of the gift.
True faith cannot be considered a work because true faith involves a cessation of our works in the flesh. True faith has as its object Jesus and His work on our behalf (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4:10).
To take this a step further, true faith cannot be considered a work because even faith is a gift from God, not something we produce on our own. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Praise the Lord for His power to save and for His grace to make salvation a reality!
Our salvation depends solely upon Jesus Christ. He is our substitute, taking sin’s penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21); He is our Savior from sin (John 1:29); He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The work necessary to provide salvation was fully accomplished by Jesus Himself, who lived a perfect life, took God’s judgment for sin, and rose again from the dead (Hebrews 10:12).
The Bible is quite clear that our own works do not help merit salvation. We are saved “not because of righteous things we had done” (Titus 3:5). “Not by works” (Ephesians 2:9). “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). This means that offering sacrifices, keeping the commandments, going to church, being baptized, and other good deeds are incapable of saving anyone. No matter how “good” we are, we can never measure up to God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23; Matthew 19:17; Isaiah 64:6).
The Bible is just as clear that salvation is conditional; God does not save everyone. The one condition for salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. Nearly 200 times in the New Testament, faith (or belief) is declared to be the sole condition for salvation (John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
One day, some people asked Jesus what they could do to please God: “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus immediately points them to faith: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29). So, the question is about God’s requirements (plural), and Jesus’ answer is that God’s requirement (singular) is that you believe in Him.
Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to Romans 11:6, “works” of any kind destroys grace—the idea is that a worker earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since salvation is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work. Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it would destroy grace. (See also Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work he performed.)
Suppose someone anonymously sent you a check for $1,000,000. The money is yours if you want it, but you still must endorse the check. In no way can signing your name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. You can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or your own business savvy. No, the million dollars was simply a gift, and signing your name was the only way to receive it. Similarly, exercising faith is the only way to receive the generous gift of God, and faith cannot be considered a work worthy of the gift.
True faith cannot be considered a work because true faith involves a cessation of our works in the flesh. True faith has as its object Jesus and His work on our behalf (Matthew 11:28-29; Hebrews 4:10).
To take this a step further, true faith cannot be considered a work because even faith is a gift from God, not something we produce on our own. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Praise the Lord for His power to save and for His grace to make salvation a reality!
beloved57
Well-known member
This is a good example of making faith/believing by the sinner a meritorious work for salvation.
Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk
How so? The last paragraph in the "got questions" states:
This is a Calvinist position. Bright Raven is by no means a Calvinist, but the answer he quoted fits well with Calvinism.
Without faith one cannot be saved, but faith comes only by the gracious gift of God so that no one can boast.