Why are we saved by faith?

anon77777 said:

What is "salvation"?

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Salvation means that we are free from (saved from) the legal and natural consequences of the choice to be sinful in HIS sight, that is, our free will is restored, our sanctification assured and our place in HIS marriage as HIS bride is set. Salvation starts with and fulfills the promise of election.

Salvation means we are saved from the consequences of our sinful nature.
God's plan to save the lost is through the work of His Son on the cross where He died and shed His blood for the remission of our sins.
Ephesians 2:8-9 " 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."
It is God's plan; not our plan. We don't have to understand it to accept it. If you will allow God, through His Word & through His Holy Spirit, to work in you He can & will give you the spiritual light or understanding you need so that you can trust Him, trust His Word, and trust His Son, with your eternity.
Jeremiah 29:13, "And you shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart."
Your part is to earnestly seek after God. Then He can do His part which is to open your spiritually blind eyes and give you spiritual light so that you can find Him.
That is what he did for me; He brought me out of spiritual darkness into the light of His Word & gave me the faith that I thought was impossible for me to possess, and convinced me that I could trust Him with my eternity.

Regards,
John

renniks said:

No, because it's not about striving.
We develop virtue because of God's work in us, not by trying really hard.

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It's very much to do with striving.

Luke 13:23,24 " And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Luke 13:23,24 Now a man said to him: “Lord, are those being saved few?” He said to them: “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not be able

Stay safe and well,
LB

LightBearer said:

It's very much to do with striving.

Luke 13:23,24 " And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Luke 13:23,24 Now a man said to him: “Lord, are those being saved few?” He said to them: “Exert yourselves vigorously to get in through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will seek to get in but will not be able

Stay safe and well,
LB

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That's about initial salvation. And Jesus is the narrow door. The reason it's hard for people to enter is because they try to come in another way, like through their own works.

renniks said:

That's about initial salvation. And Jesus is the narrow door. The reason it's hard for people to enter is because they try to come in another way, like through their own works.

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Exactly right! For one to "strive" to enter through the narrow door/gate signifies a great struggle against conflict. Christ was not suggesting that anyone could merit heaven by striving or working hard enough to earn it. No matter how rigorously people labor, sinners could never save themselves by works. (Romans 4:5-6; Ephesians 2:8,9) Entering through the narrow door/gate is nonetheless difficult because of it's cost in terms of human pride and trusting in works for salvation.

renniks said:

That's about initial salvation. And Jesus is the narrow door. The reason it's hard for people to enter is because they try to come in another way, like through their own works.

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It is easy to think that way, but is it really wise? For example, did the apostles think that way? Did they think they only had to exert themselves to be initially saved? Definitely not. They gave their Christian life, living and ministry their all—right down till their death. Paul, for instance, could say: “[Christ] is the one we are publicizing . . . To this end I am indeed working hard, exerting myself in accordance with the operation of him and which is at work in me with power.” Later he wrote: “To this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.”—Colossians 1:28, 29; 1 Timothy 4:10.

Col 1:28,29 "Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."

1 Tim 4:10 "For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe.

Stay safe and well,
LB

LightBearer said:

To this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.”—Colossians 1:28, 29; 1 Timothy 4:10.

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Exactly what I was talking about. He's not striving for his salvation, he's striving to reach the world and establish the church. He's rested his hope in God, there's no doubt about his salvation. He's a servant of the gospel, because that's his calling. That's about the works God is doing through Paul it's not Paul working to be saved.

renniks said:

Exactly what I was talking about. He's not striving for his salvation, he's striving to reach the world and establish the church. He's rested his hope in God, there's no doubt about his salvation. He's a servant of the gospel, because that's his calling. That's about the works God is doing through Paul it's not Paul working to be saved.

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Indeed, I agree, he was striving to accomplish those things. But why.

To continue Pauls advice, council and admonition to young Timothy.

In verses 7 and 8 Pauls encourages the young Timothy to:

1 Tim 4:7 "On the other hand, train yourself with godly devotion as your aim." (Godly devotion = Reverence, worship, and service to God)

For, as Paul acknowledges, although physical training maybe good for a healthy life now, godly devotion holds out a much better prospect altogether, not only a better life now namely, spiritual health, satisfaction, happiness, and a purpose in living. It also holds promise of the life that “is to come."

1 Tim 4:8 "For physical training is beneficial for a little, but godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and the life that is to come."

Just as physical training (for example: to run in the games) requires a striving and strenuous exertion, also, strenuous training is necessary on the part of the Christian in order to achieve full godly devotion.

That is why Paul stated: 1 Tim 4:10 "For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe."

Paul was striving and exerting himself, training himself in godly devotion because of the wonderful hope and promise he was given.

Paul went on to say in verse 16: "Persevere in these things, for by doing this (striving to achieve godly devotion) you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Persevere: Verb.
1) to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.

Godly devotion is something Christians have to strive for. Constantly training ourselves and exerting ourselves to attain and maintain it. It is a requirement for the hope of salvation and the promise to come.

2 Pet 1:1-6 "Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have acquired a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and the Savior Jesus Christ: . . For this very reason, put forth all earnest effort (Strive) to supply to your faith virtue, to your virtue knowledge, to your knowledge self-control, to your self-control endurance, to your endurance godly devotion,

2 Pet 2:9 "So, then, Jehovah knows how to rescue people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people to be destroyed on the day of judgment,"

Clearly, as Peter exhorts above, striving and exerting oneself in developing, improving upon and maintaining godly qualities, including godly devotion is an ongoing building and training process that necessarily calls for exertion and a striving throughout the Christian life.

Stay safe and well,
LB

anon77777 said:

I don't understand why we are saved by faith rather than by our works?

What is "salvation"? To me, salvation could mean a couple of things:
1. Being "free" from sin (no one is sinless, so I guess "free" here means that we are approaching sinlessnes)
2. Eternally striving for the Good, for self-improvement (less sin). A sort of eternal striving in the godward direction.

Is that correct? And if so, why is belief in Jesus the only way that we can be "saved"

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You are right in that it is salvation from sin although we usually say the power of sin. The first step is seeing your sin and repenting and asking for forgiveness and experience it being granted.

Most of us feel that we cannot earn it by works as we are not good enough. You see a record is kept 24/7 of the deeds done in the body. So the question remains for you to answer if you see yourself as perfect 24/7 all the days of your life. God does not grade on a scale, that is, you are not compared to others. The measure is, actually, if you live up to the standard you pronounce on others. By your words you will be judged, that is, the times you said what is right and wrong and if you measure up. NO one here can answer that.

anon77777 said:

Is that correct? And if so, why is belief in Jesus the only way that we can be "saved"

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There are many religions and they all teach various things. As an example in the Muslim faith, the Quran states that a husband may beat his wife as a form of correction, other religions are harsh on the body, requiring abstaining from earthly pleasure.

God does not want false harmful teaching to be incorporated into salvation. He wants people to have His love, joy, and peace. That comes with knowing we are forgiven our sins.

anon77777 said:

It appears to me that Christian theology is really about sin-accounting and not about developing virtue. What does it matter that we will never achieve sinlessness provided that we are still striving for it? Don't you think God would see someone who is striving to be perfect and say "this man has earned entrance into heaven"?

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The bible says this:

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him.

Paul was an example of this in the bible, he tried to keep the law, to do right, but he was a persecutor of the church. God came to him in a vision and he became a believer.

A person who is genuinely striving to live a right good life is loved by God, and God will show himself to them. So they will be saved according to the Christian way of doing things.