There seems to be a basic misunderstanding in the Christian world regarding the work of Jesus Christ. People call him a savior and yet they do not seem to realize the extent of the salvation that he made possible. People make statements such as, “I hope I make it” or “I hope that God thinks that I’ve done enough” or “I hope I make it across that line” and so forth. Major churches teach in their doctrine that works are required in order for a person to be saved. It was teaching like this that fueled the work of Martin Luther and the reformation. A basic question that needs to be answered is “Can You Work For Your Salvation?”
Many videos on our website have taught how a person becomes saved so you can refer to those for greater detail. However, to review, let’s read Romans 10:9 again.
Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [KJV]
So the criteria is very, very simple: confess Jesus as lord and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead – the result: “thou shalt be saved”. I don’t think God could have made it any simpler. Note that there are no exceptions here, no additional work that God is asking anyone to do. That is the nature of a savior – he took your place, he saved you. If you could have done it yourself, God would not have needed to send Jesus Christ. So now that he has done the work for you, why would you ever think that you need to do work in order to earn salvation? That is not what the Scriptures say so anyone who calls themselves a minister or teacher of the Bible should never suggest to anyone that they need to earn their salvation.
Ephesians 2:8, 9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.[KJV]
The Scriptures tells us that we are saved by grace and what does it say – “NOT OF WORKS” – it is not by any work that you could possibly do. If it was by your works, then you could boast about it – “Oh I did more than so and so”, “You should see how much I do for the Lord” – but God makes it plain here that no man can boast because they did not do anything to earn it. Jesus Christ is the one who did the work. All a man or woman has to do it accept the work that has been done by Jesus Christ.
So – can you work for your salvation? Absolutely not – the Bible could not be any clearer on this point. Now, are there any works for you to do? Let’s read the next verse:
Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. [KJV]
Note what it says, “unto good works”. Just after God has told us that salvation is not by your works but by grace, he exhorts believers to do good works. The Bible exhorts Christians to walk in certain ways – to put God first, to honour their parents, to speak the truth, to love people – to walk the way that the Lord Jesus Chris walked. But that is NOT so that you can earn your salvation BUT that you already have it. The proper response for a Christian who has freely received salvation is to do good works. Once again, not to earn salvation but because he or she already has it because of what Jesus Christ has done. It is out of thankfulness to God for all that has been made available that any Christian does good works.
Ministers who teach that works are necessary for salvation have seriously failed to understand the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The teaching that you cannot be certain that you are saved does nothing but hold people in bondage to the edicts and organizations of men – it is ungodly because it denies the work done by Jesus Christ to make salvation freely available. God does not take it kindly when preachers lead his people astray by contradicting the Scriptures.
Can you work for your salvation? No “for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Please be sure to share the verses that we’ve covered with anyone who is trying to work for their salvation – make sure you tell them of the free salvation that Jesus Christ brought – free to us because he paid for it with his life.