When it comes to salvation we want to be on the same page as God. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6, NASB). We want to follow the correct way. So, is man saved by his faith alone? Is there anything involved in our salvation? I want to answer these questions in this article.
The Bible teaches that work is involved. God gave a command in the garden. "Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15, NASB). We notice in the beginning of man's existence that action was involved in being pleasing to God. This action was not based on man trying to earn his way to God. It was by following what God had said to do. You may remember what happened to Adam and Eve in chapter three of the first book in our Bible. They disobeyed God's command. There was action expected of them. What about when Noah was told to build the Ark in Genesis six? Would Noah and the others be saved if they simply just had faith in God? The answer is an obvious No! Abraham was told "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3, NASB). Would Abraham be blessed if he had not left his home country as God said? Of course not! We can go on and on. There are actions that must take place to please God.
What actions are we to do in order to please God? Let us ask Jesus, “what must we do in order to receive salvation from our sin”? Jesus would say, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5, NASB). This begs the question, “how can one be born again?” First, it is important that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God (John 8:24). Next, we must be willing to repent from our sin. Repentance means “a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done” (Thayer E-Sword Module). God commands everyone to repent (Acts 17:30). We must then be willing to confess Christ just like the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:37. Having done that, we allow ourselves to be immersed in water just like they did in response to Peter’s sermon (Acts 2:38, 41).
We have noticed that man is saved by obedient faith. In other words, faith that acts on what God has said to do in order to be pleasing to Him. Are we willing to submit ourselves to His will? Will you do it His way? There is no other way, my friend. We must be concerned with pleasing God and not to take the easy way out. May God bless you as you seek to follow His will!
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