Salvation by Grace vs. Works

[LearningToLetGo]

I accept that man cannot earn God's salvation through works. Instead, man's salvation is a gift that God bestows upon those who accept His son Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But how is accepting Jesus not the ultimate "work?" 

[Unfailing Presence]

7 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said:

I accept that man cannot earn God's salvation through works. Instead, man's salvation is a gift that God bestows upon those who accept His son Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But how is accepting Jesus not the ultimate "work?" 

"works " as the bible refers to them   are things seen of men . 

This is where Jesus said  " they have their reward " .

That " reward " being the congratulations of men .

Accepting Jesus is the most private intimate thing a person can do , it is done within the heart . 

Many people who publicly make a " work " saying they accept Jesus have no part with Him . No other human can ever be 100 % sure of another human's relationship with Jesus . 

[enoob57]

I think if people just looked at the big picture-> that which is decided is by that which 'IS' not made (or created)... so looking to created things for everlasting is a fools venture and The True everlasting must come from that which 'IS' everlasting... 
 

John 8:58-59

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
KJV

nothing can give what it does not have

2 Peter 3:10-14

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
KJV

Therefore the manipulation of things that pass away can only yield of the passing away and the eternity goes on... So what manner of people should we be > those < who are 'In Christ alone' and have no other confidence for eternal life...

[LearningToLetGo]

 

5 hours ago, Cletus said:

Accepting Jesus is not a work at all.

 

29 minutes ago, maryjayne said:

because it is not something we can earn, or make happen, or get by our own means.

I think this is where I get confused. Is accepting Jesus something that we can rightly do on our own or does Jesus first call to us, thus preparing our way to accept Him? Another way of asking this is do individuals first chose Jesus and thus receive the Grace of God, or does Jesus first chose individuals who then feel called to Jesus to receive the Grace of God?

[LearningToLetGo]

3 hours ago, Cletus said:

learningtoletgo,  I can not tell by your profile, but are you saved?  is there a moment of your life when you can say God came into your heart, or you accepted Jesus as your savior?

Is there is a moment when God came into my life? Yes! It was profound, humbling, terrifying, loving, and utterly awesome.

Do I love Jesus? Yes, dearly.

Do I call myself Christian? No, I never have used that word to describe myself.

Am I saved? Honestly, I don't know. I just don't know...

[Marilyn C]

Just now, LearningToLetGo said:

Is there is a moment when God came into my life? Yes! It was profound, humbling, terrifying, loving, and utterly awesome.

Do I love Jesus? Yes, dearly.

Do I call myself Christian? No, I never have used that word to describe myself.

Am I saved? Honestly, I don't know. I just don't know...

Hi LearningToLetGo,

Wonderful to hear of your love for Jesus and your experience with God. Now as you, (& we as believers) continue following and learning to trust, (life long process) then it is the Lord who will keep us to the end of our lives

`Now unto Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,....` (Jude 24)

It is to the Lord we look, and not to ourselves to keep ourselves. And that is a whole great topic to look into.

regards, Marilyn.  

 

[LearningToLetGo]

I'm reminded of Mark 10:21. And Jesus, looking at him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (ESV)

In this parable the young man is me. Although I am no longer young and don't have material wealth, I have acquired a great deal of intellectual and emotional possessions. I'm finding it difficult to let go. The irony is that I know this about myself, but that doesn't seem to change anything.

[Your closest friendnt]

21 hours ago, Cletus said:

Accepting Jesus is not a work at all.

salvation by works seeks to justify self as good enough, works by faith seeks to do good because of the faith.  example:

Luke 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luke 18:12  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luke 18:13  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luke 18:14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

by Accepting Jesus we are acknowledging we are not good enough and we need a savior.  we agree with God that we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 

The Israelites in the within the law of Moses they were saved through their obedience to the law of Moses. 

That also included their good works, as instructed by the law of Moses. 

To understand with clarity what they were saved from through their obedience and their good works, which included not to practice iniquity,  we have to take a good look what happens to them if they disobeyed the law of Moses and abide in iniquity, 

We can see from the multiple examples what happened to them because of their disobedience and their iniquity. 

So it is easy to understand that through their obedience to the law of Moses they were saved from those things that befell upon those who disobey the law of Moses. 

And also through their obedience and their good works they invide the blessings of their Lord and their God. 

Who had said " I will repaid your obedience with blessings.....

That time the people of God were all in one place. 

In the new testiment of Jesus Christ, the people of God  are all over the earth and subjected to various goverments , and other elements. 

And some suffer prosecution, 

Today with faith in Jesus Christ we are saved from Hell through faith in him. 

And we are saved from the elements of this world because of our obedience to his word and our desire to know what is his will for us and how to live , which is diferent for everyone because we are at diferent stages of growth and maturity and come from diferent backgrounds, as Paul said to the Jews believers, leave the Gentile believers alone, they have come to faith from a world not known to you. 

They were born and exposed in a different enviroment than your selfs, leave them to Jesus.  

[Marilyn C]

3 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said:

I'm reminded of Mark 10:21. And Jesus, looking at him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (ESV)

In this parable the young man is me. Although I am no longer young and don't have material wealth, I have acquired a great deal of intellectual and emotional possessions. I'm finding it difficult to let go. The irony is that I know this about myself, but that doesn't seem to change anything.

Hi LearningToLetGo,

Thank you for being so honest, and even more so with yourself. We all have areas of `letting go.` And this is the work of the Holy Spirit throughout our lives. Only he knows what a tangle our inner selves are. And only He knows how to untangle, to work through `letting go` some things and repenting of other things.

Now I would suggest you to bro, that you only work on the area that is highlighted to you. Something will be highlighted to you to think about, and ask for help to let go or repent of. Once you work through that with God`s help you can then move on to the next highlighted area. As you/we progress we get quicker at recognising an area highlighted and quicker at letting go &/or repenting.

praying, Marilyn.

[Heybro]

Learningtoletgo, firstly, welcome to Worthy!  There is a hymn written a long time ago, nevertheless, it is true to this day. 

When you walk with the Lord, in the light of His love

What glory He sheds on our way

When we do His good will, He abides with us still

Never fear, only trust and obey.

ch. Trust and obey, for there's no other way

TO be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

The world would have you believe that "seeing is believing," but as Jesus said to Thomas, who doubted Jesus' resurrection, " believing is seeing," and that, my friend, is the place where you need to get to! In order to "let go and let God," you need to look again at the words of the hymn above, it is AS SIMPLE as that. Hoping that helps, God bless you on your journey.