Anyone who wants to learn something about the essence of Christian might find this helpful. For anyone who professes to follow Jesus, this is crucial.
I’ve heard people say if you believe in Jesus you can do whatever you want and still be saved. I’ve also heard people say that once you become a Christian, you cannot lose your salvation because it is by grace and not works. Is this true? Let’s first look at why it appears as if it doesn’t matter what we do once we believe in Jesus.
Once “we confess our sins [Jesus]… will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness” (1 John 1:9). There are countless verses about salvation being by grace alone. Most famously, “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith… not by works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). “We… know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ…. by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).
BUT - and it’s a very big – there is more to it. The idea that we can “accept Christ” and then do whatever we want is one of the most effective and devastating lies in Christianity both for Christians and those to whom we are ambassadors for Christ.
We can’t take some parts of the Bible and leave the rest. We have to look at the whole thing. Let’s start here. “Certain individuals… have secretly slipped in among you. They… pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:3-4).
James puts it very directly. “What good is it… if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?... Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead…” (2:14-17). “A person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (2:24). “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Romans 2:13).
We need to realize that in order to be “reconciled... [we must] continue in [our] faith, established and firm... in the gospel” (Colossians 1:22-23). If we are saved by faith, “we live by faith… we make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 2:7-9). “The righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:17, Habakuk 2:4). “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6) and “this is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 John 5:3). Jesus “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:9).
We cannot choose to live in sin and choose Jesus at the same time. “Eternal life… is in [God’s] son. (5:11). If we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus… purifies us from all sin (1:7).We… know him if we keep his commands (1 John 2:3). No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. (3:6). Anyone who… does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God (2 John 1:9).” Jesus himself said, “If you love me, keep my commands… The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them…and we will… make our home with them” (John 14:15-24).
Action is the evidence of salvation. We are saved by faith through grace, but it is clear that we must act on that faith. “In view of God’s mercy… do not conform to… this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). “Everyone who has this hope purifies himself” (1 John 3:3). We must “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) and“contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3-4). We are told to “Submit… to God” (James 4:7), to “throw off… sin” (Hebrews 12:1), and “be holy”(1 Thessalonians 4:7, 2 Timothy 1:9, 1 Peter 1:16, 2 Peter 3:11).
We are “implore[d] to be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 2:20). If reconciliation requires no action on our part, why are we implored (begged earnestly and desperately), to be reconciled to God? We must choose to be reconciled and live in reconciliation in order to be saved by grace.
But can we lose our salvation? The Bible is very clear on that.
“If we deliberately keep on sinning… no sacrifice for sins is left, but only… judgment and… raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” (Hebrews 10:26). “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).
“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who… reject the truth..., there will be wrath and anger... For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Romans 2:7, 13).
He will punish those who… do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be shut out from the presence of the Lord… we constantly pray… that... God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-12).
“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for. Anyone who does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God” (2 John 1:8-9). God makes us holy, but we must still “make every effort to be holy [because] without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
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