There’s a big question in the religious world today as to which of these three things saves you. Are we saved by grace, faith or works? Which one and why? The answer to the first question is “yes” and the answer to the last question is “because it gives glory to God”. Rather than separating the three pillars of salvation and focusing on one, when all three of them are combined, there is a beautiful picture painted for mankind of an infinitely wise and wonderful God who carefully planned and prepared everything to be carried out according to his purpose from the foundation of the world.
If we were going to look at all three of these words and study how they fit together in a single post, no one would read it and I would get tired of typing before it was finished. Rather than write something that no one will ever read, I am planning on making several smaller posts throughout the next week or two that focuses on the idea that we are saved by grace, faith and works. As an introduction, I wanted to offer a glimpse of the picture mentioned earlier.
A Fallen State
We separate ourselves from God through our sins (Isaiah 59.1-2). There’s nothing that can be done to restore the relationship with God that we loose the very first time that we sin willingly against him. There is no great work that can be done, there no particular thing that may be believed in order to make everything better again. At this point, there is only one thing that can repair the relationship we used to have with God – mercy. This is the reason why the apostle Paul is able to say that salvation does not rest on man who works by on God who has mercy (Romans 9.16).
Receiving Mercy From God
God will choose to have mercy on some people and not on others. What is the difference between the people who will receive mercy and the people who will not receive mercy? This question asks about the conditions that are placed on salvation. What has God said is necessary for mankind to do to receive mercy? Will God randomly select who will be saved and who will be lost? Is there some other process that must take place?
There a couple of things that will not obtain mercy. The first is good works. There is no amount of good work that can be done in order for one to receive mercy. There is no set amount of money that may be given, there is no set number of prayers to offer, there is no set number of hours to work community service. If any of these things were a way that we could receive mercy then it would be something that we earned.
Paul tells us that when one receives something for the work that they do they are being paid a wage. Salvation, however, is not a wage that one can earn but it is a gift given to mankind by God. However, there still looms the fact that at the end of the time there will be two groups of people: the saved and the unsaved. If there is no great work that I can do to be saved, then what makes the distinction between the two groups? Why are some people given the gift and others not?
Mankind’s Choice
God wants all mankind to be saved (1 Timothy 2.4). There is nothing that would please God more than if every single person who ever lived was saved on the day of judgment. This is not going to be the case, though, as Jesus has told us that the way to salvation is difficult and the gate is narrow; few people find it (Matthew 7.14). The judgment will ultimately come down to the fact that some people, most people, will refuse to glorify God with their lives. Those people who search through the Scriptures because they hunger and thirst after righteousness, those people who hear the word of God and do it, those people who seek for God’s will and make it their will are the ones who will be saved. This means that there is an obligation on man’s part in order to receive the gift of salvation, but their obligation does not earn it. There is nothing done that can earn the wage of eternal life.
This is the foundation and picture of salvation that we are shown in the Scriptures. Mankind sinned and fell away from God. From the very beginning of time, God has been causing history to happen in such a way that eternal life can be offered to those people who want to have it. Mankind shows God that they want to have eternal life by loving his son, Jesus Christ. We are also told that those people who love Jesus are those people who obey his commandments. This means that in the salvation of mankind all three pillars are used. Grace, faith and works are all involved in salvation and salvation will not occur if any of the three parts are missing.
