Are you trying to "earn" your salvation or have you been saved by God's grace?

Question

Romans 22:5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

Grace is God’s giving us something we cannot earn or deserve. According to Romans 11:6, “work” of any kind destroys grace—the idea is that a worker earns payment, while the recipient of grace simply receives it, unearned. Since salvation is all of grace, it cannot be earned. Faith, therefore, is a non-work. Faith cannot truly be considered a “work,” or else it would destroy grace.

Suzie:
Maybe they are still at confession.

Good point Edge.
Jesus said "It is finished". There is no way that any Christian should try to take any credit away from Christ and claim it for themselves because of their "good works".

Bainaashanti:
Thanks for correcting me on my typo. I meant to type Romans 11:5

Answer 1

Grace and grace only. Trying to earn your salvation is pointless. You can never do it. No matter how much you try. No matter how many works you do. You cannot earn grace. It is impossible. To believe you can earn your salvation denies what Jesus did. It denies the power of His sacrifice. It says Jesus you were not enough.

Answer 2

It is really a paradox that in Christianity there are two schools of thought on how a christian is saved. One is through faith (grace) alone and another, the Catholic Church point of view, is Faith and Good Works.
I agree that faith without good work is not something one earns but receives because of the goodness of God. Heaven and salvation is the ultimate compensation and for me all of us should strive to earn it by working as hard as we can to be deserving of such a reward.
Bless you for asking this highly controversial question.

Answer 3

Okay first off, I want to question your first scripture reference because the book of Romans has only 16 chapters. But I definitely appreciate God's grace, or undeserved kindness. At Ephesians 2:8,9 it says "by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of your works, lest any man should boast." The entire provision for salvation is an expression of God's undeserved kindness, or grace. Salvation is a gift from God given to those who put faith in the sin-atoning value of the sacrifice of his Son. However, the bible does teach that works to prove your faith are important. James was inspired to write @ James 2:26 where he said "as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" So this is one indication that you do need to have action to show your faith. The bible also mentions @ Matthew 24:13 that "he who endures to the end will be saved." So a person's final salvation is not determined the moment that he begins to put faith in God. To endure means to put up with something for a period of time, not to give up. And so it causes for a measure of action on our part to make it through to the end. So even though works alone cannot save us, they are necessary to show God that we put faith in saving acts. Because if you are not showing your faith through works, then that means that all (including those who don't believe in him) will be saved, and if thats the case it would void all the guidance and principals found in the bible.

Answer 4

Salvation is not something to be earned, God offers it freely (by His grace) and all we have to do is accept it. Grace is not earned, either, that's the point of grace, mercy, too. Good works (should) come from our grattitude for God's grace and mercy and our desire to help our fellow human beings. Faith comes from believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. Faith without works is dead (James 2:19-21, 25-26), so works are necessary.

As for your first passage, Romans only has 16 chapters, and Romans 2:5 is about God's wrath. Romans 11:5-6 is saying that the point of grace is that works aren't needed for it to occur, not that works destroy grace!

Answer 5

I am saved 100% by grace. Earning my salvation is impossible because I am human and no matter how hard I try to be perfect I will still sin. Only Christ has perfection and when we accept Him we receive His perfect righteousness. Grace is the fact that Christ forgives us our sins and gives us His self-righteousness as a gift so we can be saved.

This does not mean works are not important. We are not saved by them, but they prove that we have accepted Christ and been saved. If a person claims to have accepted Christ, but still continues doing the old works, then something is wrong. "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." (Matt. 7:20) Good works are a result of being saved by grace.

Answer 6

Wow, I am certain you are going to catch a lot of grief over this question. I think it is very thought provoking, though.

For me, earning salvation is not an option. I have been led from the earliest days of my childhood and from the very first days I remember by something much more powerful and greater than myself.
That is to say, I have always tried to do that which is good and right in the eyes of God. In a sense, my faith has kept me whole.

Good luck

Answer 7

I am saved by Grace. I could never earn enough brownie points for God to redeem me without belief in Jesus and repenting of sin. Good works are counted but only Jesus saves.

Answer 8

"Works" in the new testament many times refer to the law of moses, which of course, no one would be saved by following because Christ brought his gospel which replaced the law of moses.

The Bible is very clear that without grace, all would go to hell. However, the Bible is also very clear that with grace, WE MUST ALSO EARN our salvation. It is as if Christ has done 99% of the work to earn our salvation, but unless we put forth the effort and do 1%, we cannot be saved.

"What good is it, my brothers, if a wise man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, "but does nothing about his physcial needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not acommpanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17

God is merciful and through his atonement he made it possible for us to be saved, otherwise we would all be doomed to hell no matter how righteous we are because we are all sinners. Because Christ atoned for our sins, however, we are saved by grace, meaning we can repent of our sins and through his grace he will forgive us, BUT ONLY IF WE REPENT OF OUR SINS, we can't just believe in him and wait to be saved, we must keep the commandments and when we sin we must then repent and through Christ's grace, we can then be saved.

Answer 9

"We confess together that all persons depend completely on the saving grace of God for their salvation. The freedom they possess in relation to persons and the things of this world is no freedom in relation to salvation, for as sinners they stand under God's judgment and are incapable of turning by themselves to God to seek deliverance, of meriting their justification before God, or of attaining salvation by their own abilities. Justification takes place solely by God's grace."



(Confessions are usually on Saturdays, Kait. Today's Sunday. If you don't see a whole bunch of Catholics jumping on this one right away, likely some are at evening Mass. Either that, or they're among the many Catholics you've blocked. Have a nice day.)

Answer 10

Truth is, noone can "earn" salvation! Jesus, redeemed (bought back) All, through His shed blood! He paid the price to make the way! I like this description: GRACE.... God's....Riches....At.....Christ's.....Expense. God gave the PERFECT plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Now, it is up to each person to accept such love and an eternity with the Creator.