I Obey God's Word Because I'm Saved by His Grace!

Hebrews 5:9 says, " And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him;" This verse is frequently taken out of context by works salvationists to say that you need to obey to stay saved. But taking a look at the tenses, obedience is in the present tense and became is in the past tense. In short, salvation has already been accomplished and obedience is the result of salvation. Salvation has never been earned or maintained by works. Instead, good works characterize the true convert. 

The idea that a person may obey God perfectly to attain salvation is foolish. Works salvation simply says you need to do more good than bad. The idea of earning salvation by doing more good than bad is a license to sin. It's like saying that I can go ahead and break the rules as long as I keep most of it. James 2:10-11 already warns ahead at even at one point the Law is offended, the whole standard is broken. All people are just guilty before God. Romans 3:10-19 declares God's Law finds us all guilty. The demand of God for people to earn salvation is by sinless perfection. Many people today are just like the rich young ruler who seek to justify themselves. Only when they're told they lack one more are they exposed that they haven't kept the whole Law. Many people today think they're right with God because they have all the wealth that they've earned by their own hands. They think they do enough good works but they're still short. How much good is enough to earn salvation? Isaiah 64:6 tells the truth that man's righteousness are just filthy rags. Romans 10:2 woefully declares how many people are trying to establish their own righteousness because they're really that ignorant of God's perfect righteousness. 

John 10:26-28 says that people don't believe because they're not Christ's sheep, that His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him because they're His sheep and that they don't perish because no one can take them away from Him. The passage can be so misquoted to say that a person lose their salvation or that obedience is necessary to gain salvation. But if you take a look at it in context, obedience happens because they are His sheep. They never perish and one inevitable characteristic of those who are secure in Christ is that they hear His voice and follow Him. Obedience to God's Law characterizes the true convert. Disobedience to God's Law characterizes the false convert. Nobody can be saved by God's grace and still continue to live a life in rebellion against God. Christians may momentarily backslide but God always finds a way to bring them back on track. That's the wonderful truth Christians have because they hate it whenever they sin. They know that there will be a time they fall so they're glad when God delivers them from their sin so they can live lives pleasing to Him. 

John 8:47 says, whoever is of God hears God's words and that the unsaved don't hear them because they're not of God. The truth of obedience in relation to the Christian life is that either you're saved or you're not saved. Fearing God and doing what He says is an inevitable characteristic and lifestyle of a true believer. Anybody who thinks you can be saved but never have any change in your character is woefully unsaved. To declare one is eternally secure in Christ but acts like a devil is not really saved to start with. It's stupid to say that because one is saved then they can do what they want. 

I don't find any Scripture or verse that suggests that salvation is a license to sin or that it may leave people perpetually barren for the rest of their lives. Reading through John 15:1-8 shows that the false branches are thrown out. This doesn't show that salvation was even lost. Instead, it showed that false converts are thrown into the fire. But the real converts are trimmed and pruned by God because they're genuine branches. A characteristic of a true convert means abiding in Christ in fellowship. A Christian may have momentarily lost fellowship but the relationship isn't lost. This fellowship is inevitably restored because a Christian is miserable when they backslide. Those who think they're Christians but never bear fruit need to realize they could be fake branches. If Christians could be forever barren then I don't see any reason why the Father would still prune them. It would be a waste of His precious time if ever that were true. Instead, God knows who are His and He preserves them by His grace. 

The idea of getting saved and doing sin all you want is a huge characteristic of a false convert. Jude 1:4 warns, about false teachers who pervert God's grace by presenting it as a license to sin. While eternal security is indeed the truth but many teach only part of it. While there's comfort in the believer that they can't be taken away from the hand of God but many have a false sense of security. If their idea of eternal security is all about getting saved and living like devils then they never encountered God's holiness at all. If they did then their lifestyles would have been different. I really find that whole idea repulsive and abhorrent because the Bible doesn't support it at all. Christians may not be perfect, they may still fall into sin but they don't live in revelry of sin nor live a lifestyle of sin. Saved by grace means also living a life of righteousness by God's grace. Ephesians 2:10 has every Christian equipped with good works. Christians are not only required to do good works but they love to do good works and they will do good works because they're already saved. 

I need to emphasize that true converts have a different mindset over false converts. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that salvation changes one's lifestyle. To be washed and sanctified means that there's a change in lifestyle. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, that no one should be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Before one is saved they have a wicked lifestyle. But after one is saved, to be safe and secure in Christ also means you don't want to live your old life anymore. An encounter with God's holiness and mercy towards sinners changes the lives of repentant sinners. It's impossible to behold God's holiness and never be horrified at one's sins and still stay the same. 

The whole idea that people claim that one can receive Jesus Christ as their Savior but not as their Lord. That whole idea is stupid because Jesus is Lord. If your Jesus isn't Lord then your Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. If you claim that you've met Jesus but your life hasn't bee changed from sin to serving the Savior, you're woefully deceived in several levels. What's more annoying and frustrating is that when such people are warned about their false conversion they protest and start calling the preacher names and give false accusations. The Jesus of the Bible isn't going to leave people to just remain the same. Whenever He saves someone He sanctifies someone. It's not manmade doctrine but it's biblical truth. Romans 3:31 says that the Law is never made void by faith but rather that faith establishes the Law. Galatians 3:24 shows that the Law was the schoolmaster that led people to Christ. If there was no change at all then that conversion is spurious. They may go ahead and call me a Pharisee but I'm just emphasizing the truth of true conversion. Sad to say but many people today just want to be freed from the consequence of sin than sin itself.

I want to do what God says because His grace makes me want to do more good. Titus 2:11-14 teaches that God's grace teaches holy and righteous living. 1 Corinthians 15:10 declares that God's grace made Paul what he is. It's really the grace of God that creates this reverential fear of the LORD. Anybody who doesn't have any reverential fear of the LORD is not really a true convert to start with. If you really belong to God then you would have reverential fear towards Him. If you have no such fear of the LORD then you're obviously not a true convert. I have no reason to accept such spurious converts as true converts.