Grace is the Gift Of God. Did Jesus lie here? (John 6:28-29)
Notice here that it is
God's work, not your or my work.
Conflating the Gospel beyond Faith being the work is to deny the choice men must make.
"For you did not choose Me, but I chose you." - John 15:16
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:12-13
"As it is written, 'There is no one who is righteous, no not one, there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God'." - Romans 3:10
It is impossible for man to choose righteousness, because "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), "The heart is wicked above all else and desperately sick, who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9), and indeed, the dead can do nothing and as we read,
"
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For 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." - Ephesians 2:1-9
We were dead, God made us alive. The dead cannot boast.
What Work will save a man?
None. At least no human work. But the works of God are efficacious, for there is a difference between the work of God and the work of men. For the works of men bring only death, but the works of God are life everlasting.
Jesus says this... (John 6:28-29 ; John 5:24)
The idea that we should fear expressing that Belief/Faith in its initial infancy is a work is the Devil’s way of hiding the one Requirement to OBEYING the Gospel.
Why does Satan do this? So he can make the Works about the flesh, again... when The TRUTH says this... (John 6:63)
The Gospel is not Law that it is to be obeyed, the Gospel is the word which is given, and works to create faith and, indeed, save us; this is why we read "For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17), and also "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to save all who have faith, the Jew first and also the Greek; for by it the justice of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" (Romans 1:16-17). When the Apostle says, "not all have obeyed the Gospel" (Romans 10:16) we should be wise to understand the word the Apostle uses, for he says "they have not all ὑπήκουσαν the Gospel", this word
hypakouo does not mean "obey" in the sense of being obedient to a commandment; but rather describes hearing, a passive receiving. Not all have received the Gospel, not by way of obedience to a law; but rather as Christ Himself says in the Parable of the Sower, that the seed of the word is sometimes choked out by thorns and thistles, or eaten by the birds of the air. Remember the Lord Himself when He says "let he who has ears listen". For many will hear the Gospel, and yet it will not penetrate.
The Gospel is not Law to be obeyed; the Gospel is grace to be received. But it is not received through our works, it is not received by works of the flesh; but rather is received passively as pure gift to sinful beggars. This is through faith, itself God's gracious work.
When you turn the Gospel into Law you confuse Law and Gospel and preach false gospel, which is precisely why the Apostle says to the Galatians, "You foolish Galatians, who has deceived you?!"
It is not by human effort, not by the will of sinful flesh, but by the will and working of God alone, by His immense love and grace which is for us--indeed, for the whole world, accomplished perfectly in what Christ has done--for you, for me, for everyone already. For Christ is Savior of all, having died for all, and in Him all having forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to God.
-CryptoLutheran
