Saved
They that claim saved by grace are sinning
like others. Are they saved?
The Bible says that you are saved by grace and those who are committing sins will die eternally. Then, if you are committing sins you are not saved. But preachers say even if you are committing sins you are saved. So, let us check the Bible versus the preachers.
When the Bible says “you are saved” it says that you are saved from committing sins, which means that you are delivered from committing sins. That is, you are no longer will commit sins. Since you do not commit sins anymore, God forgives the sins that you have committed in the past. Since you are free from committing sins, you are saved from the punishment for sins, which could have been eternal death.
The Bible teaches that you are saved while you stop committing sins. Since it is difficult to do, it became incorrect in religious politics since they fail to consider that grace is the power of God given to believers to overcome sins. Preachers do not preach messages that are politically incorrect. So, they twisted the meaning of grace and preach that you are saved while committing sins.
Christians believe in
salvation. However, many of those who preach salvation are not using the Bible as
the source. They use a few verses from the Bible and mix them with
other ideas and doctrines. This causes errors. The word of God warns about these teachers
who teach errors. "1Tim 1:6
From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; 7
Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say,
nor whereof they affirm. 2Pet 3:16
--- which they that are unlearned and unstable
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Let us study from the scripture about the grace of God, about the works that we don’t have to do for our salvation and about the works which are required for our salvation.
They usually preach salvation from these verses, Eph
2:5,8,9 & Titus 3:5.
Their teaching is as follows. "Eph 2:5
--- (by
grace ye are saved;)"
If you are a believer you are already saved from hell by the grace of God.
"Eph
2:8 ---by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God:" Your
salvation comes to you through your faith. 'Through faith'
means 'by strong belief'. Just believe without a doubt that you are saved by the grace of God, then
the Lord Jesus Christ will give you the salvation as a gift.
"Eph 2:9
Not
of works, lest
any man should boast.
By the above teaching, salvation is easy to obtain and heaven is guaranteed as we enjoy sin and the world. But this message is a deception of the devil. Satan deceives Christians by leading them to praise God with worship of flattery while they are living in disobedience and sin. "Matt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Christians who do not love the truth accept this teaching very readily. They are praising God for their freedom to enjoy the pleasures of sin and they worship God for their guaranteed salvation that is escape from hell.
Let me take their preaching in small sections and explain their mistakes one at a time.
They Say. "Eph 2:5 --- (by grace ye are saved;)" If you believe that Jesus has died for your sins then you are already saved from hell by the grace of God.
Truth Is. Above assumption is not true according to the Bible. In the above verse the word "saved," according to the Bible in its proper context, is the conversion from past ungodly life to present godly life and the word "grace" is the work of God done in the person for this change. But they ignorantly teach that "saved" is escape from hell and "grace" is an unmerited favor of God. But God will not do any favor at all to one person over the other. God is not an unrighteous person or politician. He will judge everybody equally and righteously. "Rom 2:5 ... the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;...10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. 12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law." Either with law or without law, God will punish every sinner whether he/she is a Jew, Gentile, Christian or Non-Christian. But Christians say that God will do favour to Christians and saves them as a politician favors his party members.
A person obeys God to receive salvation. God, knowing the person's heart, does the work of salvation in the person. Result is that the person walks in the ways of God from then on. If a person is not walking in the ways of God, then it is proof that God has not done his work or the work is not completed in the person and so the person is not saved.
"Rom 6:17
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but
ye have obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you." In the above scripture
we see, in the past,
they were servants of sin. God has given
his doctrine so that they may obey God and do
his righteousness. They obeyed the
doctrine of Jesus Christ with all their heart. Their obedience to
the doctrine delivered them
from their sin.
"Rom 6:18
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
"Eph
2:2 Wherein
in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in
the children of disobedience:
3 Among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others."
These believers had a sinful life and they shared their life with sinful friends
in the past. Now they do not commit sin.
"Eph
2:4
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he
loved us, 5 Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved)
As God has unites them with Jesus Christ, he raises them (their spirits of man) to be
seated with Jesus
Christ in heaven.
"Eph 2:6
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus:" Even though they are in the world, they are not of the world.
They are
no longer earthly people, but they
are heavenly people. As
their life is hid with Christ in God, they will set their affections on
heavenly things.
"Col 3:1
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3
For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Whatever is given to a person and has done in that person by God, in order to bring the conversion to the person from a sinful life to a sinless life, it is called grace. A person has to humble and to obey God with all sincerity in order to receive this grace. So, a person is saved by his own obedience and by the grace of God.
It is important to acknowledge that a person is not saved until he is converted from the sinful life. A believer of Jesus Christ will believe what Jesus Christ has commanded them to do and will obey them. Those who say that they are saved, confess that they are believers and will not obey the commandments of Jesus Christ, are not believers but they are deceivers.
They Say. "Eph 2:8 ---by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Your salvation comes to you through your faith. 'Through faith' means 'by strong belief'. Just believe without a doubt that you are saved by the grace of God and then the Lord Jesus Christ will give you the salvation as a gift.
Truth Is. In section 1, we saw that salvation is our conversion from our sinful past. This is the gift of God. We have to receive this gift through our faith. Generally, preachers assume that faith is our belief which will not doubt our salvation from hell that is the lake of fire. This faith is just the common sense faith, but it is not the faith of the Bible. Let us study what faith is and what hope, the fore runner of faith, is according to the Bible.
The hope of the true believers, who are the sons of God, is that when the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear to receive them, they will be changed and will be just like Him. "1John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
Faith is not strong will power. Faith is not positive confession.
"Heb 11:1 Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
C. Faith: True Faith Verses Dead Faith
The dead faith is
vain imagination or wishful thinking of the people. This faith
will neither purify the people as Jesus Christ is pure and it can not be
produced as an evidence of purity in their life. "1John
3:3 And
every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure.
False faith
is pertained to the things of
this world. It is strong will power and it is positive confession.
It is used for worldly pleasures and prosperity using the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ,
who was called as the Grace of God, who brought salvation, taught men how to become
pure, since he wants to purify his people for himself.
"Tit 2:11
... the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world:
13 Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
They Say. "Eph 2:9
Not
of works, lest
any man should boast.
Truth Is. If we are saved then we are the workmanship of God. If we are the workmanship of God, we are made new creatures of the Spirit. If we are made new by God, we will live a pure life, but not the life of sin. We saw in section 2, that we are saved by our obedience through our faith and by the grace of God. The Bible also says that God is doing a work of grace in us to save us so that we will walk in his righteousness. If someone does not walk in the pure righteousness of God then God has not done his work in the person. If God has not done his work then, the person is not saved.
God gives his grace to the humble people so that they may obey God for their
salvation. As they obey him, God also is doing a work in them to save them from
their sins. This work of God is the creative work to make the person a new
creature, which is of the Spirit. W
"Eph 2:10 For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus---" If God has created us in Jesus Christ, then we will be new creatures.
"2Cor 5:17 Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new."
If
"Eph 2:10 For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.
They Say.
Truth Is. As an attorney twists the words of a witness by picking only portions of a statement and will not allow him/her to tell the complete story, these preachers take the portions of a verse from the word of God and twist it to hide the truth.
They all preach the first portion of verse 5, but they will not mention the
portions before and after. Verse 4 and the first portion of 5 say: "
What
is the difference between the false preaching and the true preaching? In
the true preaching, the Lord Jesus Christ filled the believer with the
Holy Spirit abundantly and made him/her a just/righteous person. This believer
walks not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Most
Christians believe that God loves them unconditionally and God will save them
from hell no matter what they do. They believe that God forgives their past, present and future
sins. They are in the deception of Satan. (1) Past Sins. God forgives only the past sins
if the conditions are met.
"Rom 3:25 ---
to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, ---." (2)
Present Sins. God forgives present sins means that as
they are
committing the act of sin, (example: adultery or murder) God is forgiving them
simultaneously. It makes God a part of the sin. Is this not ridiculous? Which scripture they refer
to support this doctrine? (3) Future Sins. This is
to say that God forgave them even before they commit sin, which is to say that
God gave license to do sins. Then, is it okay for those Christians to do any shameful
sins as adultery
or violent sins as murder? Where in the word of God
it says that God forgives their future sins? Does God approve premeditated murder if
the murderer claims that he is born again? Unconditional
salvation is a lie and
Satan went into the garden of God and deceived Eve telling her that they will not die if they eat the forbidden fruit. Tactfully, Satan removed the fear of God from them. Eve believed Satan, ate the fruit and convinced Adam also to eat the fruit without realizing what she was doing. Thus, both have committed sin. "Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." They both were punished by God for their sin. Their spirit of men which were even covering them as their glory had left them as they ate the forbidden fruit and so they found themselves naked. They were spiritually dead at that point.
Even now Satan goes to churches of God and deceives the preachers. The message of Satan has not changed even today. His main strategy is to remove the fear of God from the people so that they could sin. He convinces the preachers that God will not eternally punish the congregation for disobedience against God. So, the preachers preach the message of Satan to the congregation, without realizing what they are doing.
Through false preachers Satan spreads his messages. "2Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;" Satan preaches cunning and deceiving messages to remove the fear of God, from the people of God. Satan convinces them that it is not possible to obey God. So he advises them to flatter God and to praise God instead of obeying God. The devil is doing it in a cunning and crafty way. "Matt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Since people want to believe, which is convenient for them rather than to believe the truth, even God will send them strong delusion so that they may believe a lie. " 2Thes 2:10 ---; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."
This topic is for the workers of the gospel. There are many true servants of the Lord who are doing the good works of righteousness that God has ordained them to do. They are doing very well. This caution is not for them.
But many workers are doing the work of the Lord for their own benefits in the world. These benefits could be fame, prestige, pride, luxury, comfort, profession, or anything else other than eternal life and eternal rewards. They should quit this work of the gospel for their own good. "2Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;" They pick up a few scripture verses and preach anything they want to preach without proper context. They blaspheme God and preach lies.
Some of these workers could have come to the work of the Lord with good intentions. But as the days went by they could have seen the fame, prestige, etc., and they could have backslid. God will not tolerate them. "Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." These verses are not referring to a new person trying to learn the things about salvation. This person already has the knowledge of the word and he is willfully sinning, perhaps willfully embracing a false doctrine in order to justify his own sin. "Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
The
Bible says that Jesus Christ will save his people from their sins but not
from the punishment for sins while they are committing sins.
"Matt 1:21
--- bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from
their sins.
God bless you.