Most people get the cart before the horse, and you just can’t get to heaven in a cart like that!ĭoes the gospel story seem a little more believable to you now? If so, you should know that while you can only be saved by believing, it is important to believe in the right thing! It is not enough just to believe in God, for “the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). So you see, just because God does not ask you to do good works in order to be saved doesn’t mean He doesn’t want you to do good works! He just wants you to understand that good works come after salvation, not before. Here again we see that after we are saved by grace through faith, God then reminds us to do the good works that we were created to do. We see the same thing in that other gospel verse we quoted, where right after saying that salvation is “not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5), Paul adds “that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works” (v. And just as God’s first creature was created to do the good work of dressing and keeping the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15), believers in Christ are likewise “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” That is, while you cannot be saved from your sins by doing good works, once you are saved by grace, you’ll want to do good works because you are saved (not in order to get saved) to express your gratitude to God for saving you. Today, when someone believes the gospel, God makes him “a new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17). If you are wondering what it means to be “created in Christ,” remember that God created a creature named Adam in the beginning. That’s why right after that verse we quoted that says salvation is “not of works,” the next verse goes on to say that believers are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:9,10). If that’s the case, it might comfort you to know that God knew in advance that people would wonder about this. Perhaps you’ve heard these verses before, and wondered, “Does that mean God does not want us to do good works?” Since this didn’t seem to make any sense to you, maybe you chose not to believe what you considered to be such an unbelievable gospel. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Titus 3:5). “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). The Bible clearly teaches that you cannot work your way to heaven by doing good works: Let’s begin by reviewing the part you may have already heard, the part that maybe left you feeling skeptical about the Bible’s plan of salvation. THE REST OF THE STORY HOW TOThere may be more to the story than what you have heard in the past, and the part you may not have heard just might be the very thing that is keeping you from believing what the Bible says about how to be saved from your sins. This is sometimes true of the greatest story ever told, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Listeners were often fascinated to learn that even when it came to stories with which they were familiar, there was always more to the story than what they had previously heard. Listen Lesson 8: Romans 3:21-25 Dave Stewartĭuring the Second World War, radio personality Paul Harvey began ending his daily newscast with a feature he called, “The Rest of the Story.” These factual narratives always concluded with an interesting twist that made for a surprise ending. Series: Rightly Dividing the New Testament Recent Sermons Lesson 1: Rightly Dividing the New Testament – II Timothy 2:15 – Part 1 Pastor Ricky Kurth “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. "And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. More Minutes with the Bible A Birthday Celebration? Pastor Cornelius R. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom. “Can you explain Matthew 11:12, especially ‘the violent take it by force’?” Recent Articles Two Minutes with the Bible The Violent Take It By Force Pastor Ricky Kurth Speakers: Pastor Kevin Sadler, Pastor Ricky Kurth Upcoming Conferences July 23-24, 2022 Grace Family Bible Church Conference Duncansville, Pennsylvaniaĭetails AugTransformed by Grace-Regional Conference Streamwood, IL This may be the most important message you ever read. Have Questions?ĭo you have questions about the Bible? We'd like to help. Help support the ministry of the Berean Bible Society.
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