How I Read the Bible on Works and Salvation

The person who is justified before God only has to receive Jesus thru faith and be saved, but then they will be starting a lifelong journey to become more into more of the image of Christ!

 

My Salvation is my trust in Christ alone, not any trust in me!... Brother Glen

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

 

Framing this in terms of works leads to confusion in my view. Let's go back to the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. You must be born again. Simply believing on Jesus does not constitute a genuine salvation experience. The demons believe that He is the Son of God and fear Him. A true salvation experience is exactly what Jesus said. It is a born again experience meaning that it results in a visible change in a person, their habits and their motivations. This of course might be barely visible initially but as the saved person matures in the faith they begin to become more and more like Jesus. This is the process called Justification.

This person will fall back into sin but a truly saved individual will recognize their sin, repent of it and resume their personal relationship with Christ. This is good reason to doubt a person's relationship with the Lord if hey do not exhibit this kind of significant change. The 1833 New Hampshire Confession does a good job of describing this process:

XI. OF THE PERSEl'ERANCE OF SAINTS.

We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; [2119] that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from superficial professors; [2120] that a special Providence watches over their welfare; [2121] and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. [2122]

 

You may find this helpful: A Greater Righteousness
I think the gist of all this is that God justifies the ungodly, but He doesn't leave them that way. We strive to keep God's laws, not in order to be saved, but because we are saved. 'I will write My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people......for all shall know Me , from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their lawless deeds I will remember no more' (Hebrews 8:10-12).

 

I agree with Brother Martin to many of Gods people and I believe with the right intentions misapply this scripture... If its your own Salvation then you own the Salvation you have, or how can you work it?... You are not working to get it but working to receive the benefits and blessings from it, and the joy in the Lord in the procession of it... Brother Glen

Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 

Jesus was speaking to those under the law.

Jesus' commandment to believers is,

John 3:21-24 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 ¶ And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

 

Your position seems to be the same as the Anabaptist teaching and practice of discipleship, which I agree with.

 

I also have the greatest concern about the easy believerism that has spread in the SBC and other denominations. The concept of "accepting Christ" and then walking away to return to our sin is non-Biblical. Historically, in the SBC it started with a man named Herschel Hobbs who headed up the 1963 BF&M Committee and resulted in a new concept called "Eternal Security." Hobbs was opposed by Dale Moody who was fired from the SBS in 1984 for his objection. The 1925 BF&M statement contained a statement very much like the 1833 New Hampshire confession:

11. PERSEVERANCE
All real believers endure to the end. Their continuance in well-doing is the mark which distinguishes them from mere professors. A special Providence cares for them, and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

This statement was removed in the 1963 and later statements and easy believerism was preached from SBC pulpits. American Baptists did not make this change. This is a statement of faith from the American Baptist church I attended in NJ.

"We are all born with a free will and a sinful nature. Salvation and eternal life are granted freely in grace by God to all those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Rebirth is a change of heart by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin. The Believer’s response is repentance and faith. All true believers endure to the end. This is characterized by an abiding relationship with Christ and a desire to serve Him."

When I was growing up in a fairly large SBC in Louisville Eternal Security was being preached one Sunday. My mother leaned over to us and said: "That wasn't what I was taught when I was growing up in a SBC." And indeed it wasn't. My mother grew up in a small college town in central KY. Lottie Moon was a member of her church at one point.

Millions of people have been mislead by the unBiblical doctrine of Eternal Security. Supporters have even called those who oppose it as believers in a "heresy called Lordship Salvation."

 

Yes indeed! I really hate the expression "Once saved, always saved." There's a sense in which it is right, but the early (17th Century) Baptists spoke of the Perseverance of the Saints.' God's saints will persevere, but if you're not persevering over a longish period, what would make you think that you're a saint.