How Is One Saved?

Romans 6:23 explains that the wages of sin is death. Upon repentance, baptism and conversion, a Christian is forgiven by the blood of Christ and immediately saved from the penalty of past sins. So, in one sense, the person has been “saved,” at that moment, from death.

There are two more applications of when and how a person is saved. The word salvation is derived from the word saved. So, the second way is the most obvious—salvation at the resurrection upon Christ’s Return (I Cor. 15:50-55; I Thes. 4:13-18).

The third way one is saved is that he is “being saved.” No one receives salvation in this life without first undergoing much trial, testing, learning, growing and overcoming. Salvation is an ongoing process—throughout one’s lifetime.

Notice what Paul wrote in Romans 5:1-21 “Much more then being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Ro 5:9-10).

Salvation results from grace—unmerited pardon. The calling to and the gift of repentance are not earned by works. God’s grace is not earned by works. All that human beings have earned is death. However, to be under grace does not mean that we have already achieved salvation. It means we have been given unmerited pardon and are in the lifelong process of overcoming and enduring. Those who endure to the end of this physical existence are saved—from what?—from eternal death.

No one can boast that he has achieved salvation in this life. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13; 10:22). Having endured and overcome means that one has “qualified.” It also means that one can disqualify himself by failing to endure or overcome. Yet, the calling, the justification—this grace is a gift. Salvation results from God’s grace.

The false idea that “once under grace, we are already saved” is not founded upon Scripture. Grace is God’s willingness to forgive past sins, as summarized in Ephesians 1:7: “…in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

Now examine a key scripture: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The faith “not of yourselves,” instrumental to salvation, is not your own human faith. It is the gift of God—the faith of Christ in us (Gal. 2:20). Jesus Christ, our High Priest, looks down and observes our sincerity and effort, and imparts His faith to us through His grace—divine favour and mercy. Those who receive this faith have no grounds for boasting of their works.

Notice the following: “…for it is GOD which works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). God provides Christians with the willpower, faith of Christ and motivation to do His good pleasure. God the Father and Jesus Christ have gone to great lengths to provide the grace—favour and divine mercy—to help Christians succeed in their calling. But they expect results! That is the message of Ephesians 2:1-22 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).

How plain the Bible becomes when we let it interpret itself! It is ironic that most professing Christians stop at this point and miss the very core of Paul’s statement.

The real issue here is not grace or works. Neither is it grace opposed to works. Nor is it grace in the place of works. It is simply this: grace followed by works.

Here are some vital gifts and tools that God gives in our quest to succeed and overcome:

• Grace—justification and forgiveness. • Grace—God’s giving of mercy and favour. • The faith of Christ in us. • God’s Spirit, through which we receive the willpower and motivation to forge ahead.

God extends grace and help to His people, but He expects us to grow in good works, walking in them as a way of life. The law of God is the standard or benchmark that directs the paths of true Christians. Keeping them develops character. Doing these things shows God that the grace He has extended to us has not been in vain.

If we follow God’s grace with works, Christ’s description of those who will rise at the first resurrection could apply to us: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, AND THE FAITH OF JESUS” (Rev. 14:12).

(This subject is covered in additional detail in my booklet What Is Your Reward in the Next Life?)