"Not Saved By Works"
The Bible teaches that the foundation of salvation is the grace of God. Grace is often defined as “the unmerited favor of God.” There is nothing one can do to earn grace or merit salvation from sin. The Scriptures teach that sinners are saved by “grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8), and that eternal life is a “gift” from God (Romans 6:23).
However, some interpret such verses to mean that there is “nothing” one must do to be saved, and that any “work” a man might attempt to do to be saved cancels out grace. Is this true? Does a sinner have to “do” anything to receive the forgiveness of sins?
It is interesting that those who preach the loudest that there is “nothing” one must do to be saved, frequently tell sinners what they must “do” to be saved. While preaching there is “nothing” one must do, many often say, “The only thing you have to ‘do’ is believe.” They might even continue by preaching that a sinner must “receive Jesus,” “believe on the Lord,” “call on the name of the Lord,” “trust the Lord as your personal Savior,” “say the Sinner’s Prayer,” “confess Jesus as Lord,” “repent and turn to Jesus” and/or other things one must “do.”
The inconsistency of such a doctrine is easily observed. Think about this statement: “You don’t have to do anything to be saved, the only thing you have to do is….” Now, regardless of what is said next, the speaker has contradicted himself. On the one hand, he has said that there is nothing one must do, but then he proceeds to tell his audience what sinners must “do”!
The confusion results from an attempt to avoid the command to be baptized. In the minds of some, it seems the only “work” is baptism. Some preachers do not recognize believing, repenting, confessing, saying the Sinner’s Prayer, receiving Jesus or a hundred other things as works. It seems, to them, that only “baptism” is a work.
The truth is that sinners must “do” something to be saved. Even those who insist there is nothing to “do” contradict themselves by telling sinners to believe. Jesus identified belief as a work: “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28-29). Notice that Jesus applied the term “work” to “believe.”
It is rather ironic that baptism is never even referred to in the Bible as a “work.” Yet, it seems that some are determined to label it a “work of man’s righteousness” and discard it from the plan of salvation.
Either a sinner must meet conditions to be saved or not. If a sinner must meet conditions—and essentially all agree that conditions must be met—then, it stands to reason that sinners must meet “all” conditions, including baptism. Let us be consistent! “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
