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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
There are two ways to look at this question"from a practical point of view and a biblical point of view. First, from practical point of view, let's assume that a person does contribute something to...
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ROSEMARY LUTCAVAGE
When I was younger I was NEVER totally secure in my salvation. I always ended up giving up because I, of course, believed I didn't really get saved because I still wanted to wear shorts, makeup & swim on the beach (no mix swimming)! I prayed & prayed that God would reveal the truth to me of the true gospel of Jesus Christ & asked how I could know that I KNOW I am secure for all eternity because believe me, I knew if any of it depended on me, I was just not going to " make it there" Though God answered me in many ways there is one thing that I vividly recall just popping into my head. Question: what did I ever do to become a sinner? Absolutely nothing! I was born that way having inherited it from Adam & Eve. When I confessed I am a sinner & can only be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ I was reborn of the Spirit with an incorruptible seed. If by Adams sin only, I was born a sinner, then how much more, being reborn of the Spirit am I now righteous in Christ Jesus? My salvation is SOLEY based on Jesus' finished work at the cross! All my righteousness is as filthy rags, so it is only by Jesus' righteousness that I can come before God as sinless. The Father sees the blood of His precious Son covering me & I am declared righteous because I inherited Jesus' righteousness when I accepted Him as my Savior! I stand in awe of this kind of love from a perfect Holy, Righteous, Almighty, & Loving God. I no longer have to wonder when grace is no longer sufficient, it's always MORE THAN efficient. I believe I'm correct in saying that this is found in Romans Chapter 5:12-21, where Adam is contrasted with Christ. God's Word cannot contradict itself, so where it appears to there must be another context or meaning to that Scripture. God Bless you all & look up because we are very soon going up, there's no doubt in my mind about that!
Jennifer Rothnie
Supporter
Salvation is, in essence, deliverance. We are delivered from sin and death, we are delivered unto righteousness and eternal life. It was God who planned this salvation, and God who accomplished this salvation through Christ. It is God who revealed this salvation to man through Christ, offered salvation through faith in Christ, and God who fulfills all the promises this salvation brings. What then, of man? We can do no work to earn salvation, nor would we have recognized our need without God revealing it to us! We contribute nothing to our deliverance, however, to receive it we must have an abiding faith. Faith is no action or dead work of man, but our belief in response to the gospel. It is our acknowledgment of our sin, our belief that Jesus has come as Messiah to save us, our dying with Christ to self and rising with Christ to put on His righteousness. God set the plan of salvation up in such a way that we do need to do 'the work that God requires' and believe in Jesus Christ. (John 6:28-29) Only those who believe in Jesus will receive eternal life (John 1:25, John 3:16) All of fallen humanity needs saved, but we can't achieve this or even help with it ourselves. We can only have faith, recognizing the need for rescue by acknowledging our sin and crying out to Jesus, accepting His rescue rather than rejecting it. Again, it is Christ who 'accomplishes' salvation, without the aid of man, according to the plan of salvation which God put in place before time began. (I Pet 1:20, Eph 1:4) This is why Christ is the lamb slain 'from the foundation of the world'. (Rev 13:8) God offers mercy and pardon; forgiveness of our sins through Christ. God gives grace; drawing all men to Christ through His death that they could hear the word, have faith, be reconciled, and become a new Creation through faith in Christ. (John 12:32, II Cor 5:17-19, Rom 10:7, etc.) Salvation, by grace and through faith, is a gift of God. [https://ebible.com/questions/15669-what-does-it-mean-that-it-is-by-grace-we-have-been-saved-through-faith-and-that-this-is-not-of-ourselves-but-is-the-gift-of-god] Faith, itself, is the persuasion that something is true, based off secondary evidences and assurances; in this case, the persuasion that Jesus really is the Messiah, that He died for us, and that He will return and we will be resurrected. It is important to note that faith is not a dead work of man, nor does faith itself change the truth of something. For example, were one to have faith he could jump off a cliff and fly, gravity would show him wrong. Or, if one were to disbelieve the ocean existed, that would not make the ocean disappear. Faith contributes nothing to the truth of a matter. Faith, then, does not create salvation or contribute to our salvation. [https://ebible.com/questions/7882-is-salvation-created-by-faith-or-is-faith-created-by-salvation Jesus delivering us.] However, we must have faith to receive salvation. https://ebible.com/answers/22568 [Is human will capable of choosing or rejecting Jesus] We also must have abiding faith to continue in the deliverance which Jesus gives us. [https://ebible.com/questions/678-what-does-it-mean-that-jesus-is-the-author-and-perfecter-of-our-faith#answer-20250] For an analogy of how this works, imagine a stranger offers you an unexpected present or a check for $10,000. You did nothing to earn this gift or money, no work or act of character. They simply offered. While you must accept the gift or endorse the check to cash it, you in no way contribute to the gift either by earning it or paying for part of it. Now, imagine this analogy one step further. You actually have an unpayable debt that the stranger offers to cover. You didn't just not contribute anything to the gift, but had a huge penalty on your account! In the same way, we must have faith in Christ, putting off our sinful nature and rising with Christ into new life as adopted children of God. (Col 2:11-13, etc.)
Vin Smith
The poorly translated verse--Philippians 2:12-- has prevented many a Christian from the soul comfort that Jesus would have us possess. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This is not work in the sense of works that gain "salvation points" coming from an erroneous view of man's contribution to redemption; this is the work that it will take to endure the obstacles that will be thrown up in the path of believers. The entire context of Paul's letter to the Phillipians warns of the persecution that they will suffer. Testifying for Christ has not always been the relatively safe thing it is today in America. Often, lives were on the line. Believers would have to work through this. Phillipians 1:28-29 is quite clear: "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake. "For by Grace are ye Saved through Faith; and that not of Yourselves: It is the Gift of God." Eph. 2:8
Mark Vestal
No. If you could add to what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross on your behalf then you would be trusting in your own self-righteousness and not submitting to the righteousness of God (Romans 10:3). God made it clear that salvation is the free unmerited gift and NOTHING of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). You are rejecting a free gift when you attempt to pay for it, which is when we would go into debt with God (Romans 4:4-5). Please consider the following analogy to better explain: Let's say we're in school and are presented with one final exam for graduation. It is a most difficult exam, and a score of 100% is required. The teacher is VERY gracious however, and states that we can take the exam on our own, or we can accept the grade of someone else in the classroom of our choosing. I decide to accept the results of someone whom I believe is smarter than myself. I have faith that he will pass the exam on my behalf. I submit that I am not capable of passing the test on my own, and there is nothing that I can do that will assist him and his perfect score. The teacher states that any attempt made by me to add to his work will cause an automatic failure. It is his performance that matters now and nothing of myself. Just as the teacher is in the above analogy, God is so gracious to us by offering His free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished on the cross on our behalf. There is nothing throughout our entire lives that we can do or could have done that would add to Christ's finished cross-work for us when it comes to salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ was perfect for us, did all the work for us, took the punishment on the cross that we deserve, was buried but rose from the grave the 3rd day for our justification: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"
Daniel Veler
The question is do we contribute anything to our own salvation? Many have not understood this question. Salvation has to be a gift from God that it might be by grace. God sent his Son to redeem us from the death of sin that is upon all men. For God has concluded that we are under sin that it may be by his grace that we are saved from. It is written in Roman 3:9: What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. After we have come into God’s righteousness through His Son we receive the grace he has offered. The apostle also wrote we are saved by grace and not by works. Ephesians 2: 5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved). What God’s grace does is recreates us in his image. This is being born again. We are in Christ created in the image of the Father and his Son. How is this accomplished? By receiving his Holy Spirit in our heart. We are born again with his Spirit and the fruits of his Spirit he puts in us. The Father puts in us Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. The Father puts within us the very characteristics of himself that we may walk in his righteousness. He puts his love, his joy, his peace, his faith. Just to mention a few. The apostle also wrote that once receiving the Holy Spirit we should walk in the Spirit. These are the gifts you just read. What happens a lot of times we grieve the Holy Spirit when we walk contrary to his fruits. The apostle also wrote if a person says they love God and has hatred towards his brothers is lying because they has not the love of God in him. 1 John 4: 17: Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also. Grace is a gift for trusting in Christ. The Galatians had somewhat of a problem when they were in God’s Grace. Like many today that tried to justify theirselves under the law again. Paul rebuked them for what they were doing. He tells them this. Galatians 3: 1: O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? This is what happens even today. Many believe that once they’re saved they must do more. All the Father expects of a person is to walk in the Spirit he has put within you. If you walk in his Spirit you fulfill his righteousness. Some believe this give us a license to sin. It doesn’t. God has created us in his image and the love he puts in our heart will cause us to love him and seek to do his will. There are two commands that God requires. That is for what you have received from him remain in you and that you walk in his Love. Love fulfills all things.
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