Christians, what are your beliefs about good deeds having to do with salvation?

Question

Can you give me verses, because I don't want it just because it is your doctrine.
Don't let the following affect your answer: I am Southern Baptist, and I've heard that we are saved by faith only, but then we read a verse the other day, and it sounded like it contradicted that, so I'm just wondering where people got both ideas. I may have read it wrong or something, althought it seemed to speak pretty clearly.

Thanks, so I've gained from those verses that it is faith, salvation, then good works. It sounds as if they are a three-in-one package, though, do you agree?

Skull, good as in Christ-like, not helping others. Helping others just happens to be Christ-like.

Answer 1

Titus 3:5.
We don't do good works to get saved, we do good works because we are saved.

Answer 2

Romans 3:31 "Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law."

Romans 4:13 "For the promise that He would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but the righteousness of faith."

James (off the top of my head) Faith without works is dead.

You are supposed to be a living testimony of your faith. Your actions should naturally reflect your beliefs. The two go together. Works done to impress or brag about do not save you.

May God Bless you.

Answer 3

Works are an evidence, not a means to an end. If it were works that gained salvation, how would you ever know there were enough? Who would set the arbitrary line? Would you ever feel secure in your walk? Muslims pray, what, 5 times a day toward Mecca. Is that enough? Some believe that martyrdom in Jihad is instant "free pass", but based on what passage in the Qu'ran?
Salvation via works is an absolutely false concept. How will you EVER know that you have done enough good, or if it will balance out the bad?

The truth is, before you accept Jesus as Savior, none of your good deeds are taken in to account, only the sin you have committed in violation to the law. After you accept Jesus as your Savior, your sins are deleted from the record and only the good you do in the Spirit remains. (1 Cor. 3)


You cannot buy your way into heaven with tithes, keeping of traditions or rules, rituals, singing in the choir or good deeds. THAT is why Jesus had to come and die in our place.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.

2 Timothy 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
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There is only one way to heaven and that is through the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

John 10:9
Jesus said, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by [Jesus'] blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
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The good news is, the gift of salvation is just that--a gift--it is free. If you try to buy the gift, you will never be able to afford it, so all you need to do is accept it and say, "thank you."

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.
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http://www.calvarychapel.org/?show=TheGospel

Answer 4

I can't quote you scripture and verse off the top of my head,
but my thoughts are that good deeds have nothing to do with
salvation.Salvation is a gift that was paid for by Jesus on the
Cross. Now, AFTER a person becomes a Christian, they
automatically do good deeds because it is in their nature....
their inner person being like the loving Christ.

Answer 5

Some of those answers were so long as I read them I started to drift off. It is 11:00 my time.

This illustration may be helpful. (But maybe not, because I just made it up). We will use sa car as an example.

Think of faith as the Gas Tank full of Fuel Without it the car goes no where

Think of works as the steering wheel. Without it is really hard to steer your life.

Think of God as the engine. The engine that moves the whole car. It is God who takes us from where we are to where we want to be.

Hope this helps

Bryan

Answer 6

Read the books of James and I John.

We are saved by grace alone. Jesus said in the Gospels you will know them by their FRUITS, and the book of I John discusses that one of our fruits is our love for one another. James discusses how faith without works is dead.

What does it all mean? Simple. If you are saved, you will WANT to do things, you will have "fruit" in your life. But it is not the "doings" that get you to Heaven, it is the initial step of accepting Christ as your Savior and Lord that does that.
You want to know if you are a real Christian, or if someone else is a real Christian? Simple, look at the fruits in their life. Has their life visibly changed since getting saved, can you point to certain "acts" in their life that suggest a change of heart or true repentance?

There is a great Christian website i rely on heavily that discusses the weighter matters of scripture, I'd like to share it with you:
http://www.monergism.com/

God bless!

Answer 7

i'm no longer Christian ( or maybe close ) yet i think of the asserting that faith with out works is ineffective is a hundred% real. that is ridiculous to easily say, "properly I settle for Jesus so i do no longer would desire to certainly be a competent guy or woman." and anticipate you will no longer would desire to pay for it in the tip. Even with out faith, nevertheless, deeds would desire to be our good priority. the actuality that it's not our good priority is in all risk the muse of extremely some the worlds issues. Islam's no saint, the two, yet no faith quite is and that's through fact guy is via nature judgmental and corruptible. perception, faith, deeds, values - those issues would desire to be above faith. Why we're not all striving to be good and do good issues whilst that is one among those user-friendly theory technique? I do exactly no longer comprehend.

Answer 8

First of all, here are some primary verses on the matter, keep in mind that they do not contradict each other:
Ga 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.
Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Jas 2:17-18 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Many people do not understand what faith is, or what works are, so that is why there is trouble. Faith is the EXACT same word as fidelity, faithfulness in a relationship. It is a steadfastness, a loyalty, an assurance, it is founded on love. Works is simply things that you do. They can be good or evil, even if they are the exact same works because it depends upon your heart, upon your love, your intentions, your faith.

God wants you, He wants your love, He wants a relationship with you.
1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1Jo 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Think of a husband and wife relationship, and think of God as the husband and the Church as His wife. If a wife loves her husband, she will do certain things. She will take care of the house, she will honor him, she will make sure his breakfast is just the way he likes, and on and on that goes. More importantly, she loves him and is in love with him. She is not going to go out have have affairs on him behind his back, she will be faithful to him in their marriage.

And, in being faithful, you can expect certain things from her. Everyone knows when a wife really loves her husband, even though you cannot take that evidence and put it in a jar, there is evidence for it. In the same way, faith is evidence of our love. When a husband makes a promise to his wife, she can rest assured that he will do it, because she knows that he loves her. This is especially true with God.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

If you go back and read James, you can see that he is presenting a two pictures, one in which the wife does not love her husband, and one who does. One can prove that she has a wonderful relationship with her husband, everyone can see it. The other one, well her relationship with her husband might be so bad that she cannot even get people to believe that they are married. That is the difference between faith with works and faith without works.

Keep in mind that works is meaningless by themselves. If a wife hates her husband, yet keeps the house clean, where is the husband's joy? How does this benefit their marriage relationship? Same thing if a wife claims to love her husband, yet never shows it in anyway. Non-Christians may do the former, yet I am afraid that too many Christians do the latter.

When was the last time you told God you loved Him for instance? Are you still in love with Him?
Re 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

See Song of Songs that is Solomon's.
Added bonus, first verse with a rapture reference:
So 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Is this the kind of joy that you have in your relationship with God?

Answer 9

Eph 2:8

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

God gave you this gift by grace, b/c he loves us and you receive this gift through your faith. You accept your salvation through faith b/c it isn't something tangible you can receive like a healing or in worldly terms a present on Christmas.

Hope this helps

God Bless

Answer 10

When you are born of God, then you are born of His Spirit, cleansed by His blood, joint heirs with Jesus, part of the family of God.

This is everlasting life in the born again Christian. The person can't be an un child of God. Inherits Kingdoms blessings. God blesses us with all spiritual blessings.

But we need to work out our salvation with fear & trembling if need be. In life we get persecuted, and sometimes God will ask you to do something that someone hurt you badly in before. But you need to do it to obey God, shaking in your boots if necessary. Joyce Meyer said to do it afraid. Working out our salvation doesn't mean we will get aborted by God. It means that we work out our obedience to Christ. What we build on the Rock foundation are works of obedience to Christs Words & His Spirit. This is the soul/spirit decision. God gives eternal rewards. Those that build only perishable, their perishable perish, yet they still go to heaven.

So salvation is defined as getting saved from something. Being born of God, is the gift of eternal life. When we obey God and do works rooted in heart faith, hope & love is eternal rewards. When we follow after the Spirit throughout the day, we are saved from unnecessary accidents, or avoid the devils traps.

I have eternal life in me, but I get saved from something every day, when I follow after the spirit. If God told me to not get on a plane even if I had the ticket, etc... I would not get on the plane. I get eternal rewards & sometimes received right now when I do things rooted in faith, hope & love in obedience to God.


People say once saved always saved. Once born of God, born of His Spirit, always born of God, born of His Spirit. Some think one can lose salvation. They can only lose ever lasting life if they never quite was born of God, Gods Way, in the first place. But if they were born of God, then think they can continue abiding in sin, then they learn the hard way that God disciplines his own children.

Answer 11

the fruits of the spirit wil be in you if you are saved. so will works wont get you to Heaven, you will do Christian things if you are saved. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the Fruits of the Spirit.