Saved By Grace?

Saved By Grace.....Not By Works!

 Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For it is by grace you have been saved,

through faith—and this is not from yourselves,

it is the gift of God — 9 not by works, so that

no one can boast.

James 2:14, 17

Faith and Deeds

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone claims to have faith but has no

deeds? Can such faith save them?

Claiming to have faith is only saying I have faith, it is NOT PROOF of real faith.

It is only a man professing to have faith. James is teaching one can say he has faith,

but there is nothing about his life that indicates it.

17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not

accompanied by action, is dead.

So which is it? Are we saved by grace alone

and not by works as the apostle Paul teaches,

or is it grace plus works as the apostle James

seems to be teaching?

James 2:20

You foolish person, do you want evidence that

faith without deeds is useless?

James certainly appears to contradict Paul’s teaching:

Galatians 3:24

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to

bring us unto Christ, that we might be

justified by faith.

Are James and Paul teaching a different gospel?

To the person who looks at it without spiritual

eyes, it will appear that way. But for we who

trust and know the absolute truth of scripture…..

we know…..there are no contradictions in

scripture and all scripture can and must be

reconciled together.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful

for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in

righteousness,17 so that the servant of God may

be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I have come to understand that Paul and James

do not contradict each other or teach a different

gospel. Their teachings can and must be

reconciled with no contradiction.

Here is how I came to reconcile their teachings

together. Paul is teaching the good news of

the gospel— salvation comes by faith alone

in Jesus Christ and it is a GIFT FROM GOD.

Ask yourself, can anyone earn a gift? If you

must earn your gift, it is not a gift…..you are

receiving your wages for working.

Paul says it is not so.

Romans 3:28

28 For we maintain that a person is justified by

faith apart from the works of the law.

Paul is evangelizing in his teaching on salvation;

James is not. James is speaking to saints and

instructing us on Christian living. His teaching

is: “YOU SAY you have faith so SHOW ME that

YOU DO have faith by your works….by your

actions, so that those who do not have faith

WILL SEE yours!

As followers of Christ, we do not have a halo

over our heads nor do we have a large “C” on

our foreheads allowing others to know we are

followers of Jesus Christ. The only way anyone

will see our faith in Christ is by our works.

James is not teaching we are saved by our faith

plus works. He is instructing us that our faith in

Christ does NO ONE (including ourselves) any

good unless our faith is also accompanied with

works. By my works I know my faith in Christ

is alive and active in me. By my works, I hope

and pray those who do not know Christ will see

my faith in Christ and come to desire what I

have and follow Him.

As for me, I will never ever try to work my way

into heaven again. I refuse.

It is impossible for me to earn it.

I choose rather to enter His rest.

Hebrews 4:10

10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests

from their works, just as God did from his.

I trust Jesus completely to save me. I enter His

rest. He is my only hope for my salvation.

John 6:28-29

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to

do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered,“ The work of God is this: to

believe in the one he has sent.”

Praise God…..It’s all about Jesus….by His

work on the cross……we are saved.

God loves you and so do I!

I Will Rest In You!