At Christmas or your birthday, someone gives you a present. You take it. It is a gift to you because the person wants to give you something.
Two months later, the same person that gave you this gift asks that you start showing more appreciation for the gift that they gave you.
They even go as far as telling you that “if you don’t start doing what I want you to do, then I’m going to take that gift back.”
In amazement, you stand there not knowing how to respond. You just smile and you both go about your way.
Ask yourself, was the present they gave you a free gift?
“No”, you reply! “Not if I have to do something to repay it. It wasn’t free. It was just an exchange. I get something but I do something in return. It is not a gift!”
Why do many Christians treat the free gift of God the same way?
The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).
When someone gifts you something, what do you do? You receive it.
The same thing with being saved.
Just receive the free gift. Stop adding works to the salvation of Jesus Christ.
People won’t get saved because they miss the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). They will insist that their works will “help” with God’s salvation.
There are teachers that don’t teach works-based salvation before salvation, but they will try to backload the gospel with works. Which is still works-based salvation.
The next few sections are experiences I have had during my life that kept me from growing in the Lord because I was following wrong teaching. It was a subtle version of works-based salvation but on the backend (meaning after I got saved). I hope it can help someone out there today. I realize what I preach can be a hard saying, but I believe it is the truth.
There is teaching in Christianity that teach when a person is saved, they WILL do good works.
The keyword here is Will and this teaching is subtle, but everywhere.
I am here to tell you that is a false teaching and it is dangerous to adhere to this teaching that someone that is saved WILL do good works.
Lots of teachers say that “if they are TRULY saved they WILL perform good works.”
If you hear people talk about being “truly” saved or “truly” this or that, watch out for these types.
What ever happened to let our word be yea or nay (Matthew 5:37). You are either saved or you are not saved. There is no need for an adjective to be placed in front of the word saved.
I am saved. Or I am not saved.
Most people that use “truly” in front of saved, are those that are “fruit inspectors” of someone else’s salvation.
They love to say, “well, if they are not doing (or sinning)[fill in the blank] then they were probably never saved to begin with.”
How arrogant.
I got news for those people, NO one knows but you and God if you are saved.
I can fake being a Christian and fake lots of things and look like a Christian. That doesn’t make me a Christian.
Why am I so adamant against people that demand spiritual evidence that prove you are “truly” saved?
It is because it is a works-based salvation. It is adding costs to a free gift.
And I have a MAJOR problem with it.
You may be saying, “how can it be a works-based salvation after being saved?”
It is because works are backloaded to salvation.
For example, these people say, “salvation is a free gift and it is not of works, but as soon as you are saved, the same people are the ones saying that you MUST show fruit or “evidence” of your salvation or you were never saved to begin with.” They backload the gospel with works.
What do you think this does to a new Christian that is slower maturing in the Lord. What will a newly saved person do if they don’t see “good works” since they were saved? And what constituents enough good works? At what point is it considered “evidence” you were saved? You didn’t say a curse word when in past you would have during a situation? You gave a word of encouragement when you would not in times past? What is the line? By the way, saying a curse word or not saying a curse word doesn’t make you saved or unsaved.
What happens to a new Christian that is struggling to “see” works in their life? It will cause them to be defeated and discouraged.
Why do I have a problem with this backloaded works-based salvation teaching?
It’s because when you focus on “showing” fruit or “evidence” of salvation, you are focusing on yourself.
You are always trying to figure out what you can do more or less of to show evidence of salvation.
Did you get that? You are focusing on yourself and not the object of salvation, which is Jesus Christ.
Why am I preaching this now?
It’s because this teaching kept me in bondage for years and years.
There are a multitude out there now that are always teaching, “Are you sure you are saved?”, “Are you a real believer?”, “Are you sure….”, “Hard to believe”, the list goes on and on.
When I used to hear these people, I would always start “examining” my life to be sure I was “in the faith.” I was always looking at myself.
I would often think –
“Well, I didn’t do this sin today, so I must be saved.”
“Then the next day, I did that sin, I’m not sure I’m even saved. How would a save person do that or say that?”
“I’m doing good in this area, I feel pretty confident about my salvation today.”
“I had a bad weekend, I am not sure I’m even saved.”
Always wavering. Always doubting. Always unstable.
I, I, I, I….always looking at myself. Always looking at MY performance.
I was always looking at my lack of spiritual fruit and I would doubt I was even saved.
It was always about looking at my performance, at what I was doing wrong, at me, me, me…….
That is until I shifted my focused and now I look at Jesus Christ and His finished work. Now, if there are works it is because I am focused on Him.
This backloaded works-based salvation teaching is subtle and it is EVERYWHERE these days and I believe it’s deadly.
Why is it deadly? Because it causes people to focus on themselves and not Jesus Christ.
Now lets jump back to the word Will.
If you read closely in Ephesians 2 verse 10, you can see how saved people are created in Christ Jesus unto good works,…….and notice the keyword later in the verse…..”that we should walk in them.”
Should. We should, not WILL, but should walk in in good works.
I realize this sounds minute to some, but there are lots to unpack with this.
Going from WILL to SHOULD transitions duties after salvation from Have Tos, to Want Tos.
We should do good works. Should.
But if there are no good works evident in your life after you are saved, then there are no good works. That does not mean you were not saved. Only you and God know that.
Eternal life is a gift from God. God does not give you a free gift and then demand you to do good works (or stop sinning). If He did, how is it a free gift if you are only exchanging a free gift for doing something?
No, we love Him, because we want to.
This is a hard saying for people, mostly Christians, because it hits them in their pride. They might say, “How dare someone preach what he is preaching. A person WILL show evidence.” No, that is not guaranteed and look out, it may never happen.
Perhaps, you will be freed of the bondage that comes from that line of thought.
To the hypocrite teachers/preachers/calvinist/Washer/Macarthur that are always making one doubt their salvation, when did a free gift start costing so much? Why not stop focusing on yourself and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.
To the readers, if this applies to you, stop trying to convince someone else or the Lord that you are saved. Everyone else doesn’t know, the Lord does know. Why would He need convincing? Use that energy and focus toward the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are not saved, believe the gospel to be saved today (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
To doubters of this preaching, we live in the age of the grace of God. The age of grace will soon end (once He comes back for us), but for this age, we have been redeemed solely and wholly by Jesus Christ sin payment for us. Stop adding old testament and after the age of grace teachings to what we are to be preaching in this age of grace. And that is salvation is free by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Trust Jesus Christ today and be saved.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing else.
To God be the glory.
Take care,
-Brent
