The Bible plainly declares, and most professing Christians pay lip service to the fact, that the eternal salvation of sinners is by grace, not works. The following is a sampling of verses which plainly state that God saves by grace, not by works of man.
Act 15:11 – But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Rom 3:24 – Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Eph 1:6-7 – To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 2:5 – Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Tit 2:11 – For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Grace is “favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession.” Simply put, grace is unmerited, unearned favor from God. No man has a right to God’s grace, and God is under no obligation to extend grace to any man. Grace is not given to any man due to a concession (the action of conceding, yielding, or granting anything asked or required) on God’s part as a response to something a sinner does. Grace that is earned is no grace at all, by definition. Conditional grace, in the context of eternal salvation, is an oxymoron.
Most professing Christians will agree with these statements, but then contradict them without realizing it, for they believe that a sinner is saved by the grace of God when he accepts Jesus as his personal Savior, believes the gospel, prays a prayer asking Jesus to come into his heart, etc. But all these things are conditions which a sinner has to meet in order to be saved by the grace of God.
In that scheme of salvation, God gives requirements (acceptance of Christ, faith in Christ, prayer for salvation, etc.) to sinners which they must fulfill to be recipients of His grace. In such a system, if a sinner fulfilled the conditions which God stipulated, the Lord would then be obliged to save that man by grace. If God did not extend grace to him, He would fail to keep His word. But as we have already seen per the definition of the word, grace is “favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession.” If there is any condition attached to grace (including faith), it ceases to be grace. As will be shown in the chapter on Total Depravity, there is no condition that a fallen sinner could possibly meet to receive salvation from God, which is why salvation must be by grace.
All soteriological (salvation) systems can be reduced to two fundamental categories: grace or works. As has been demonstrated in the previous pages, the Bible clearly teaches that eternal salvation is by grace. By definition, grace excludes works, which the Bible attests to time and again.
Rom 11:5-6 – Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Eph 2:8-9 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
2Ti 1:9 – Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
Tit 3:4-7 – But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Rom 9:11, 16 – (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Gal 2:16 – Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
As has already been shown, most professing Christians in theory claim to agree that salvation is by grace, but in practice attach conditions to it which makes it no grace at all. In like manner, most professing Christians pay lip service to the idea that salvation is “not of works,” but in actuality believe that salvation is only not of most works. Work is defined as “something that is or was done; what a person does or did; an act, deed, proceeding, business.” If a thing is done, it is a work. Things such as keeping sacraments, attending church, partaking of communion, being baptized, giving to the church or the poor, praying, fasting, serving others, and loving our neighbor are all things which men do, and are therefore works by definition. In that salvation is “not of works,” it cannot be acquired by any of these things or anything else a man does.
