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Why is salvation by works non Biblical? So here is some scripture on the matter. (all Bible quotes English standard version)
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"
Here is Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 3:28
"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law"
Titus 3:5
"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"
Why does this make sense? The first major point is that we as humankind are to corrupt to earn salvation, we simply can't do it, and those who try or think they can are foolishly asking God to dumb down his own standards so we can be righteous and do what we want or what we are able. It is foolish to think that we as mere mortals will please a perfect eternal and holy God by our own conceptions of goodness or holiness! Point 1 is that is is impossible.
So a merit based type system leads to self righteousness and pride and here below is Habakkuk 2:4
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith"
If people try to earn their salvation the effort itself although futile leads to pride and pride is always the next step all every other sin. People become filled with pride and think that the rules no longer apply to them. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees most famously because they had lost love of God for love of their own customs. The problem being not that their customs were bad because their customs were quite Biblical. It was they they loved their traditions first above God and their fellow man.
What about James 2:17
"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
So this is talking about the fact that faith leads to good works, just as good works of the the self lead to pride, sin and death. so too does true faith be the seed of the fruit of the works of the Holy spirit. We are not saying that biblical law or the Torah is bad, what country has murder and theft as legal. none right or who thinks adultery is good, no one right! The point being is that if we walk in the spirit good will come. Love of God should come first and for those say: If I live a good life and don't believe in God am I not a good person? It is true that it is greater to believe that God loves us than all the good works a man could do. Although it is true that faith produces good deeds the way good soil makes a good crop but if love of God is forgotten then what do we have but love of ourselves. For if every good deed we do is for our glory then there is no love in that is there?
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"
Here is Ephesians 2:8-9
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 3:28
"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law"
Titus 3:5
"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"
Why does this make sense? The first major point is that we as humankind are to corrupt to earn salvation, we simply can't do it, and those who try or think they can are foolishly asking God to dumb down his own standards so we can be righteous and do what we want or what we are able. It is foolish to think that we as mere mortals will please a perfect eternal and holy God by our own conceptions of goodness or holiness! Point 1 is that is is impossible.
So a merit based type system leads to self righteousness and pride and here below is Habakkuk 2:4
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith"
If people try to earn their salvation the effort itself although futile leads to pride and pride is always the next step all every other sin. People become filled with pride and think that the rules no longer apply to them. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees most famously because they had lost love of God for love of their own customs. The problem being not that their customs were bad because their customs were quite Biblical. It was they they loved their traditions first above God and their fellow man.
What about James 2:17
"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
So this is talking about the fact that faith leads to good works, just as good works of the the self lead to pride, sin and death. so too does true faith be the seed of the fruit of the works of the Holy spirit. We are not saying that biblical law or the Torah is bad, what country has murder and theft as legal. none right or who thinks adultery is good, no one right! The point being is that if we walk in the spirit good will come. Love of God should come first and for those say: If I live a good life and don't believe in God am I not a good person? It is true that it is greater to believe that God loves us than all the good works a man could do. Although it is true that faith produces good deeds the way good soil makes a good crop but if love of God is forgotten then what do we have but love of ourselves. For if every good deed we do is for our glory then there is no love in that is there?
