Saved by grace? What does that mean? What is grace. "The unmerited favor of God." Okay. But what is the favor? To save us "in" our sin? Or to save us "from" our sin?

Paul wrote that "grace" is for "obedience." Rom 1:5. And that "grace" makes it possible for us to "serve God acceptably." Heb 12:28. Grace therefore according to these biblical defintions is the power of God which enables us to trust and obey. And what a favor, eh?

I also like what Paul wrote in Gal 5:6 - Faith works by love. He also wrote - Love is the fulfillment of the law. Rom 13:10. To separate love and law is to destroy grace. "Obedience [leads] unto righteousness." Rom 6:16. All of which is fruit bearing.

Eph 2:8-10 reminds us that we are not saved because "of" our works, but rather we are saved "unto" good works. Jesus is the root of our salvation and good works are the fruit of our salvation.

Although none of us can work our way to heaven not one of us will be there if we do not allow heaven to work its way in us.

Mike

Faith without works is dead.

That is true! Faith without works (of love) is a dead faith. The question is who did the good works? I my self, or Christ in me.

I my self can not do good things; when I want to do good, evil is present with me.

So, the works is done by Christ in me, it is fruit of the Spirit.

But if I have faith and the fruit of the Spirit should be there, meanwhile I still love the flesh and live to satisfy it, my faith will die, and I too will die the second death because I choose to live for self. I choose the death as the wages of serving self (wage of “sin” or the principle of self love) instead of choosing life (eternal) by serving God.

Faith in Christ will be manifested in good deeds (a life for God) as the fruit of the Spirit. But if the manifestation is still the deeds of the flesh, it means that the believer did not endure in his choice to live for God and his mind or his will still choose to serve the flesh.

As living for self is our nature, even though our mind might delight is the law of God, then when we believe in Christ and have faith in Him, the only way not to produce deeds of the flesh which is our nature, is by building up our mind and choose not to serve the flesh but to live for God. Just then can God do His willing and His doing in us and through us, good deeds as fruit of the Spirit is then manifested.

We are a free being, created with liberty to exercise our will, God can’t force us to do His will. But since to live for self is our nature, without God doing anything for us, all of us will be lost even though all is saved by Christ works of redemption. So, God put His Spirit in us (a gift) “to reprove us of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment” (John 16:8). He gave us the ability to understand His word, and to receive faith. It is all depend to our choice! Do we really want heaven and eternal life or do we love more the world and the love for the flesh. When we choose life, then the way to have it is by faith (which is fruit of the Spirit) and a choice to live for God, remain in our choice and endure to the end. God will do the rest to keep us saved. We are saved by His grace and remain saved by His grace too.

In His love

James S.