#16 On the Nature of God: Eternal SALVATION

An important part of the nature of God is that He is loving and merciful. Accordingly, because of His love and mercy, He devised a way or a plan whereby mankind could have their sins remitted and thereby be saved eternally. His plan was to send His Son to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. But not all of mankind will be saved by Jesus dying on the cross because God requires belief in Him and His Son as a prerequisite to salvation, John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

This belief is often misunderstood because there are two kinds of belief. Consider Cain and Abel. Both sacrificed. Both were conscious of the existence of God. However, Abel exhibited an obedient faith while Cain did not, Hebrews 11:4:

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.”

We know that God had given them instructions about what to offer because Abel offered by faith, and faith comes from hearing God’s word, Romans 10:17:

“…faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

After Cain slew Abel, he acknowledged God’s existence and talked to God. Cain surely knew and believed that God existed. But he did not have a faith that caused him to be obedient. Just knowledge or belief in God’s existence was not enough.

Just as there are two kinds of faith, there are two kinds of works—works of merit and works of faith. I might imagine that once I’ve faithfully attended church for say, twenty years, and have taken care of my family, paid my taxes, and never been in jail that I have done enough to merit salvation. At that point I would be depending on works of merit for my salvation.

At the same time, I might view baptism, an immersion in water, as useless for salvation since in my view getting wet wouldn’t help me go to heaven. In that case, I would be refusing to do a work of faith, something commanded by Christ to the apostles, Matthew 28:19:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The Apostle Paul made it clear that salvation is a gift of God and not earned by our works, Ephesian 2:8-9:

“…by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

When the Apostle says ‘not of works,’ he is describing works of merit whereby, if we did them, we might think that we have obligated God to save us. However, it is impossible to obligate God to save us because we can never do works that will merit us salvation.

Sometimes works of faith and works of merit are confused. James makes it clear that some works (not works of merit) must accompany faith, and faith alone is insufficient, James 2:14-17:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

In another illustration, James uses Abraham as an example of a person with such a strong faith in God that he was willing to offer his son as a sacrifice if that was what God desired, James 2:21-24:

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”— and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Then James cites Rahab, the prostitute, as also being justified by her faith because her faith was strong enough to risk her life to shield and protect the spies, James 2:25-26:

“And in the same way was not also a Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

It would not have been enough for Rahab to just say, ‘I believe in the God of the Israelites.’ She needed to do something to accompany or show her faith—hide the spies.

The Apostle Peter explained obedient faith to the Jews who had murdered Jesus, Acts 2:37-39:

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Repentance, confession of faith in Christ, and baptism are works of faith, not works of merit.

The Apostle Paul calls salvation an ‘obedience of faith’: Romans 1:4-5

“…was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name.”

In summary, God requires an obedient faith to be pleasing to Him and receive an eternal home in heaven after death.

Surely understanding the love and mercy of God is important in learning about the nature of God.

#faithRequired #obedientFaithRequired #worksOfFaith #worksOfMerit #John3:16 #Hebrews11:4 #Matthew28:19 #Romans10:17 #james2:21-24 #Ephesians2:8-9 #Romans1:4-5 #Acts2:37-39