Can We Earn Our Salvation?

Religion promotes adhering to a “To-Do list”. It promotes a “works-based” platform. In other words, it promotes the idea of “we have to earn our salvation”, or earn God’s favor. This contradicts what the Bible promotes. The Bible is all about faith. Paul explains this concept in-depth in the book of Romans. Specifically, here in Chapter 4, he talks about Abraham being made right with God by faith. God declared him righteous before he was circumcised. According to Paul, the law ALWAYS brings punishment to those who try to obey it. That must mean it’s impossible to keep. Why would God create a standard in which human beings can’t keep? To prove a point. And that is that our faith in Him is what we need to be made right with Him. Our faith in Jesus; His perfect life lived, death, and resurrection, atoned for our sins. God is the One Who was capable of fulfilling the Law. And thus, by trusting His actions in completing the task, we can be made right with Him. Going back to the statement above about the law, if we can’t keep the law, then how can we be made right with God? Simply by not having a law to keep. Jesus fulfilled the law by keeping it, and thus by putting our faith in His accomplishment, eliminates the necessity to try to keep it ourselves. He thus eliminated our need to try. So we have no law to break, because of our faith in Him. Our works don’t earn anything, they show our allegiance to God. They show our gratitude towards God for our salvation. They show our honor towards Him for eliminating the burden of trying to keep the law. Our new way of life has no law, for what limit can be placed on loving God? Gentleness, kindness, love, patience, and respect (to name a few) have no law, for they are the attributes of God. The more we display these character qualities, the more it pleases God. You can’t brag about these things, you can only be more of them, and they bring their own rewards. Have you ever heard anyone arguing that they are more loving,more patient, more kind, more gentle, or more respectful than others? Even if you did, I bet the conversation was more upbeat and the outcome was favorable to both sides. When God touches you with the transforming power of His Grace, trying to earn anything falls by the wayside. You know you can’t earn something that’s freely given (for Yet while we we’re still sinners, Christ died for us). Once you possess this Grace, it changes our perspective from earning or working for it, to responding with gratitude (knowing we did nothing to attain it) in reverence to the One Who freely gave it. We don’t live out of obligation to God, rather, we live with a thankful heart that He was willing to choose us for no other reason than His great love for us. This eliminates any need to compare, the notion we must earn, and most importantly, it eliminates the instinct to follow a prescribed set of rules in order to fulfill or attain our significance. Jesus freed us from all of this. Now we just have to share this amazing truth with the world. Seems like a heavy-weighted, lopsided deal to me, doesn’t it? God does the work, we reap the benefits. God is good, isn’t He?

1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did He discover about being made right with God? 2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, He would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. 3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. 6 David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: 7 “Oh, what joy for thosewhose disobedience is forgiven,whose sins are put out of sight.8 Yes, what joy for thosewhose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” 9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith. 10 But how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised!11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous–even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised.13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith. 14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless. 15 For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it. (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. 17 That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.18 Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping–believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100  years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead–and so was Sarah’s womb.20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. 21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:1-25