–BY GRACE OR BY WORKS-
I was saved “FREELY” by GOD’S GRACE! Must I now WORK to “STAY” SAVED?
Romans 3:20
[20]Therefore by the “deeds of the law” there shall “NO FLESH” be justified (from sin) in his sight…
*Apostle Paul tells us that “no flesh” (none of us) can be justified (made free from sin) by doing the righteous deeds of the law of (such as the moral deeds of the Ten Commandments or by doing any of the other deeds of the law such as being circumcised).
Galatians 3:21
[21] …for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily (truly) righteousness (being saved) should have been by the law.
*Apostle Paul is saying that if we could be saved by doing the righteous deeds of a righteous law, then salvation should come by doing of the law of Moses. Paul says it doesn’t!
*Apostle Paul is saying that the Law of Moses was never given to “justify us” from our sin and give us eternal life.
(Don’t freak out, stay with me for a minute)
Romans 3:24
[24]Being justified “”FREELY BY HIS GRACE”” through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:8-9
[8]For by “GRACE ARE YE SAVED” through faith; and that “NOT OF YOURSELVES”: IT IS THE “GIFT OF GOD”:
[9]”Not Of Works (Deeds)”, lest any man should boast.
Salvation:
a). By grace (mercy, kindness, undeserved favour)
b). Not of works (deeds)
c). Not of ourselves
d). It is the gift of God
Salvation comes “through faith” (believing) in what Christ did. By being tortured and dying on the cross for us! By taking the punishment we deserved for straying away from God. And us “believing it” with a genuine heart to please God!
Acts 15:7-9
[7] …the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
[8]And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
[9] …purifying their hearts by faith.
The reason we cannot be justified by doing the works (deeds) of the law is because salvation is “NOT OF OURSELVES”!!! It doesn’t come by doing righteous commandments or by the good deeds that we do!
If we try to be saved by doing good deeds, or by doing righteous commandments …that would be “of ourselves”.
We cannot be saved by our own attempts at being “righteous enough” to be saved!!!
As a matter fact, Apostle Paul tells us that, if we try to be “righteous enough” to be saved by doing good deeds or by the moral laws of the Ten Commandments, by any of the other laws such as circumcision, or by anything we do that we believe will make us righteous enough to be saved …we actually “FALL” from Grace!
Galatians 5:4
[4]Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; “YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE”.
Apostle Paul tells us that if we attempt to be made “righteous enough” by the being circumcised, obeying the Ten Commandments, or by any of the other laws of Moses …WE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE!
–Why can’t obeying the Ten Commandments save us?–
This is why:
Romans 3:10,12
[10]As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
[12] …there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
The Ten Commandments are righteous, but the “flesh man”, (the man or woman born of flesh) is not righteous and can never be righteous enough “OF THEMSELVES” to be saved! No matter how hard they try!
And in God’s eyes …not being “righteous enough” or “good enough” is the same thing as not being righteous or good at all!
–This is because we “ALSO” SIN!–
It’s because we have SIN mixed in with our efforts to be righteous!
And we begin sinning at a very early age.
Romans 3:23
[23]For “all have sinned”, and “come short” of the GLORY of God;
The GLORY of God is His absolute goodness, perfection and sinlessness.
And once the “flesh man” sins, the “flesh man” becomes “SHORT” of God’s PERFECTION AND SINLESSNESS …and that makes the “flesh man” SHORT of eternal life and SHORT of entering God’s heavenly kingdom!
In other words, the “flesh man” (men and women made of flesh) would have to live an “absolute” perfect and sinless life (from birth to death) to be able to enter God’s kingdom and have eternal life! That is why we must be “born again” as the “spirit man” (men and women “born again” of spirit)!
–John 3:6,7
[6]That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[7]Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again (of spirit).–
ALSO:
–Genesis 2:17
[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.
*Adam was created righteous in all his ways, but when Adam disobeyed God (sinned against God) he “DIED SPIRITUALLY” that day and the process of physical death came upon him. Because physical death comes by sin.
Romans 5:12
[12]Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…
Genesis 3:22,24
[22]And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
[24]So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
So God drove Adam (and Eve of course) out of the Garden of Eden and placed Cherubims (warrior angels) and a flaming sword that turned every way to keep Adam (and Eve) from being able to get to the Tree Of Life and live physically forever.
But not only was the Garden of Eden and the Tree Of Life taken from Adam and Eve. It was also taken from us!!! … because physical death and sin passed upon us because we all sin!!!
Romans 5:12
[12]Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 3:9
[9] …for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), that they are all “UNDER” sin…
Galatians 3:22
[22]But the scripture hath concluded all (all flesh) “UNDER” sin, that the promise (salvation) by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
All flesh (men and women who have not been born again) are imprisoned under sin and will be imprisoned in the lake of fire forever unless they become born again!
Now let’s go back to the original question:
–I was saved “FREELY” by GOD’S GRACE! Must I now WORK to “STAY” SAVED?–
Galatians 5:2
[2]Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Galatians 5:4
[4]Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified (saved) by the law; ye are FALLEN from GRACE.
Galatians 3:3
[3]Are ye so foolish? “having begun” in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Galatians 5:7
[7]Ye did run well; who “did hinder you” that ye should not obey the truth?
These Galatians had already received the FREE GIFT of the holy spirit! They were already saved!
They had “already begun” in the spirit and “did run well” in the spirit! But they were trying to be perfect and holy through the flesh by their own efforts by obeying a commandment of the law to be saved. They started trying to be saved “of themselves”!
They had already been saved!
But someone came along and told them they had to do a work (deed) from the law (be circumcised) to be saved!
There are those who teach that teach that the we “no longer” need to obey the ceremonial laws to be saved nor the civil laws that governs Israel as a nation.
But that we still need to obey the moral laws of Moses, namely, the Ten Commandments “to be saved”.
The Apostle Paul teaches that this is not true:
(Stay with me on this)
2 Corinthians 3:3
[3]Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Paul is saying that the Corinthians were the Epistle of Christ (the spiritual laws of God) that were written in the heart of Apostle Paul that he ministered to the hearts of the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8
[7]But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious… which glory was to be done away:
[8]How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
What was written in stone?
The Ten Commandments of course!
The Ten Commandments was the only part of the law that was actually written in stone.
Now that the New testament has come, the written law of the Old Testament (the letter) “written and engraven in stones (the Ten Commandments, was glorious…
Question: How much more is glory of the ministration of the spirit?
Answer: The ministration of the spirit is much more glorious!
Question: When did the ministration of the spirit start?
Answer: The ministration of the spirit started when Jesus sat down at the right hand of God!
Question: When did the ministration of the letter of the law, written and engraved in stone, end?
Answer: It ended at the outpouring of the spirit!
We are not under the law, but under Grace. The ministration of the spirit “is” the ministration of Grace!
2 Corinthians 3:6
[6] (God) Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit…
We are under the New Testament ; the New Covenant spoken by the Profit Jeremiah. We are now under the ministration of the spirit, we are no longer under the ministration of the letter, which includes the Ten Commandments as we see in verse 3, 7 and 8!
Romans 2:28-29
[28]For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
[29]But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of GodOur fleshy bodies cannot enter the kingdom of God. When Jesus gathers us in the air, we are changed. Holy Spirit engulfs our soul and our bodies become magnificent spiritual bodies like Jesus.
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