When it comes to salvation, the bible has much to say, but the information is scattered over many different books in the New Testament. One of the worst things you can possibly do is to read one book out of context, and arrive at untrue ideas. This is especially true with specific verses without the lens of the entirety of scripture. The best practice is to test scripture with scripture, and so that is exactly what we will be doing.
Perhaps the most enlightening books in the bible regarding salvation are John and Romans. Let us begin in Romans 3. It is written:
“none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12)
While this might be the darkest segment of verses in the bible, it should not be taken out of context. We must keep reading. From these verses we should understand that all humans have sinned, and that all have fallen short of the perfect standard that is God. One might argue that they have done good in their life, that they have visited the sick with a nice warm bowl of soup. Certainly that is good, right? Well, yes. That is a good thing to do, but it is not a justification for sin. In fact, we see that no one is without sin, even the most righteous men in Jesus’ time:
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to [Jesus], “Teacher this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” . . . [Jesus] said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” . . . but when they heard this, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him” (John 8:3-8)
This passage makes it exceptionally clear that all have fallen short of perfect—all have sinned at some point, even the most righteous upkeepers of the law. This is supported by Romans, where we see all have fallen short. But there’s more to it. Let us keep reading.
“For there is no distinction: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is Jesus Christ, whom God has put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:22-25)
The good news is that Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins. By faith in Him, as our Lord and Savior, we too will partake in His perfection. It is explained best by the following: “Jesus lived the life that we should have lived and yet died the death that we deserve” It makes sense. If God is truly loving, then He would provide a way for us to get out of sin, misery, and death of the soul. Truly, this is a gift. And yet, it make us even more aware of the magnitude of our sin. If we needed the literal Son of God, God in human flesh, to be the sacrifice for our sins, then our sin must have been truly horrible. Even the smallest sins are cosmic in magnitude. Offenses toward God who created the world are offenses toward the Him who is perfect and least deserving of disobedience.
This is truly good news, the best news in fact. For if Jesus was not the Son of God and did not die for our sins, we are doomed. The bible makes it abundantly clear that we are not good people. Reading the bible without the context of Jesus is perhaps the most depressing pastime. Thankfully, this is not the case, and our response to this free gift should be one of gratitude.
All of this being said, we know that faith saves us, and that our works and labors could never justify our misdeeds. However, this raises many questions: What if someone stops believing? What if we still sin after being saved? How can we still sin if we are saved? Well, let us turn back to scripture.
“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:10-11)
Peter is writing to those who are saved, as is evident in the first sentence. He implores them to live in the spirit, avoiding sin. If Jesus truly is your Lord and Savior, you would be obedient to Him your whole life. Say, for instance, that you do get into a massive amount of debt, and your friend bails you out, and says he won’t require you to pay it back. A free gift, you might say. While you would not need to pay him back, you would be thankful, and probably treat him like your best friend, and love him to death. Or at least, this would be the appropriate response. Perhaps you buy him an extra nice Christmas present. Doing so would not pay him back for the massive amount of money he freely gave you, but it would indeed display him as important in your life. Doing so also would not pay off your debt, as it has already been paid in full.
In the same way, Jesus sacrifice does just that: pay your debt in full. If you truly take Him as your Lord and Savior, you would be thankful, and probably shape your life around what he wants. However, being thankful, and putting Him first in your life does not save you, His work on the cross saves you (get the parallel?), and it has all been paid in full.
Peter addresses early Christians again in his second letter: “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. . . Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall”
This is the proper response to being saved. To summarize, we ought to pursue these good deeds and proper way of living in gratitude of our salvation. Seeing growth in these areas is a very strong indicator that someone is saved. It should be noted that these responses of gratitude DO NOT SAVE YOU. The works do not save you, but they do indicate that you have already been saved. On the other hand, a lack of works shows that you have not been saved. It is written:
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, that I will show you my faith by my works. . . Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”
The works by themselves do not save you, as is made abundantly clear in other areas of scripture. But those who do not move away from a sinful lifestyle should be viewed under heavy suspicion. The saving work of Christ is transformative, in both mind and body. We ought to worship Him with our minds and body, in what we say, think, and do. Otherwise, we are nominal believers in Christ, trying to serve two masters: God and ourselves.
One might also ask: What if I do good works and I’m not a believer in Christ?
This is a very good question, and the answer lies in the book of John where Jesus explicitly says,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
Simply put, you need Jesus for salvation, there are no two ways about it. In fact, it is infinitely more important that you believe, rather than have lived a “good” life, as is evident in the book of Luke during the crucifixion of Christ:
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And indeed justly, for we are receiving our due rewards of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into my kingdom.’ And He said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise’ ” (Luke 23:39-43)
This criminal is dying the most wretched death of the age. Crucifixion was reserved for those who had done someone awful, and was one of the most shameful ways to die. It was also a multi-day process in some cases. Crucifixion actually killed most people by suffocation, with a slow collapse of the lungs. Needless to say, this criminal had done something worth dying for. However, seeing Jesus for who He is and confessing it was sufficient for his salvation. This should be comforting to us. If even someone as low as this criminal could attain eternal life with God, we should also be encouraged that we too will receive this beautiful gift if we believe in Christ.
With this in mind, some might ask: what if my friend who is also a Christian is doing more good than I? Does that mean he/she is more saved than I am?
This, too, is a good question. We see in scripture that there are different levels of righteousness, with some being more righteous than others. However, righteousness should NOT be misconstrued with being sinless. It is made clear in scripture than none are sinless, and yet many individuals have been referenced as righteous, like Noah and Abraham in the Old Testament. Jesus quantifies this, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)
The Pharisees and scribes were Jewish leaders at the time who made rigorous practice of the law, trying to observe every little piece of the Mosaic Law given by Moses hundreds of years prior. Yet, one would still need to be more righteous than this to attain eternal life in heaven. Luckily, we have Jesus who was perfectly righteous, and so we are not bound by righteousness of the law, but rather the righteousness of faith. This is truly good news! Let’s get back to the question, though. It is best answered by a passage also from the book of Matthew:
Hear then the parable of the sower: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:18-23)
We can see that different people bear different amounts of fruit, and that’s okay. Some might be more talented in some areas than others, and as a result might mobilize more people for the good of the world. These are all results of the seeds being planted, or faith being sown in us, followers of Christ. It will mostly likely look different for different people, and there is nothing wrong with that. This passage also supports good works naturally stemming from faith, as mentioned elsewhere in scripture. We should not compare ourselves to others, as this is a form of idolatry: putting the opinion and measure of achievement relative to other humans. Rather, we should turn our eyes to Jesus, and try to be more like Him. Doing so is an act of faith—affirming that He is indeed perfect and striving to act more like Him is a great way of displaying Holy Spirit-driven desires. Once saved by Christ, this should be a primary focus in life!
Lastly, some ask: What if I sin, then what? What happens if I sin after I am saved, but I also believe and try my best to follow Christ? The answer to this is found in John, and it is very comforting. Jesus says,
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1)
For believers in Christ, this tells us that we will not be judged for our transgressions, even after being saved. The world is full of sin, and God, who knows all, understands that we will continue to fail. You must understand that Christ died over 2000 years ago, and yet His sacrifice still applies to your sins in the 21st century. It will still apply to sins committed hundreds of years from now. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). This is the good news! However, it is proper to acknowledge these sins to others and bring them to light, so that they might be rid from your life. If Jesus is Lord in our life, it follows that we will be sorry for such misdeeds, turn to Him in our shortcomings, and look to community for support.
Whew, that was a lot. I’m glad that you’ve read this far! I hope that these words have encouraged you, and have helped you to understand what being a follower of Jesus is truly about. The word of God should leave you with hope and confidence, as it “Good News” for a reason! With Christ we have hope, and eternal life with He who loves us most.
Good News Worth Sharing 