Why does GOD want us to know he saves us by GRACE not WORKS?

Question

Isn't that so no one can Boast?  and what does GOD tell us about being humble-Ephesians 2:8-9 
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. 
John 3:16 
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
INTERESTING ARTICLE
Miraculous survivors: Why they live while others die
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/08/survive/index.html
author Laurence Gonzales has long tried to answer. Whenever a disaster hits -- a cyclone in Myanmar; an earthquake in China; a climbing accident in Alaska -- Gonzales scans the headlines for the stories of those survivors who made it out alive when all others perished.

"I know when something big happens, I know the kind of stories that are playing out and the people who emerge from them with similar stories," he says.

Gonzales explains what makes these survivors special in "Deep Survival," a book that dissects the psychological and spiritual transformation that takes place within people who survive against all odds.

Most of these survivors share the same traits, Gonzales says.

"These are people who tend to have a view of the world that does not paint them as a victim," he says. "They're not whiners who are always complaining about the bad things that are happening to them and expecting to get rescued."

Gonzales says at least 75 percent of people caught in a catastrophe either freeze or simply wander in a daze.

"The first thing people do when something bad happens is to be in denial," Gonzales says. "People who make good survivors tend to get through that phase quickly. They accept the evidence of their senses."

'The Rambo types are the first to go'

Gonzales says many of the disaster survivors he studied weren't the most skilled, the strongest or the most experienced in their group.

Those who seemed best suited for survival -- the strongest or most skilled -- were often the first to die off in life-or-death struggles, he says. Experience and physical strength can lead to carelessness. The Rambo types, a Navy SEAL tells Gonzales, are often the first to go.

Small children and inexperienced climbers, for example, often survive emergencies in the wilderness far better than their stronger or adult counterparts, he says.

They survive because they're humble, Gonzales says.

Virginia B (John 16:33) · Accepted Answer

Grace came first - God's free and undeserved love that never quits (Eph. 2:8).  The gift of God that comes as eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23).  Works will follow after we have been born again by His Spirit, and others will know in whom we believe by our witness to them.  If there had been anything we as humans could have done to inherit eternal life or keep it, then Christ would never have had to come.  We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:5)  It's ALL about Him, always has been, and always will be!  God bless!!!

B · Answer

Actually, I grew up in the Methodist Church where I learned of a great argument between two friends: John Wesley and George Whitefield.  Whitefield claimed there was nothing to be done except to take the gift of God's grace and mercy who is Jesus Christ.  Through Jesus Christ we are all saved.

However, Wesley believed as some of the other answerers that Redemption comes through Grace and Works.  It is the works that make the difference in the Christian.  This caused such a rift with Whitefield that he went on to establish his own religion and the Methodist Church lost one of the great Evangelicals of all time.

Anonymous · Answer

Salvation is the work of Jesus Christ (given through God) with His death on the cross. In the Bible, it states that Jesus' death was the final "sacrifice". He "gave His life as a ransom for many" - not everybody. We do not 'help' God save us. He has done the work already: An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins". [Mat 1:20] I wrote this verse because even before Jesus arrived on earth, His design for salvation was already determined by God. Only those who are of God and with God, will He give to Jesus those He chooses to save. Not everybody will be, even if they think they are doing everything the 'right' way. The gate of the road that leads to life is narrow - only a few find it. This means that even those who really believe they are "guaranteed" salvation, just might be wrong as well. Jesus clearly says in the Bible that not everyone who did all the things that they were told they should do, will enter the kingdom of heaven. The secret is to find out HOW to enter the kingdom of heaven..... I have found it in three places in the Bible so far. None of the verses relate to each other.

Michael · Answer

God does not want us wasting our time by doing things that we might think will win His favour. There is nothing that we can do that is pleasing to God, save this one thing, and that is yielding ourselves to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith.

Christ's finished work on the cross is all we need for salvation. In fact, it is all that God accepts for our salvation. No one can work their way to heaven.

LindaLou · Answer

The whole point of GRACE is not to make us think our works are of no importance, but rather without HIS GRACE our works would count for nothing because we can never DO enough good to be perfect enough to be in God's presence again.  It is by GRACE that our presence with God is possible on the merits of Christ alone.  So we are saved by Grace after all we can do!  Seems the perfect plan to me!  Grace bridges that great gap between all we can do and what we CAN BECOME through the perfection, grace and atonement of Jesus CHrist.  

Like the song says -" Amazing Grace how sweet the sound....til grace will lead me home"
I for one believe I am a beloved daughter of a loving heavenly Father and am of infinite and eternal worth because He is my literal Father in Heaven and by the merits & mercy and grace of my Savior - I can return to live with Him again eternally.

Gods child · Answer

Faith is dead without works.  Love demands a response

Faith Justifies Initially, but Works Perfect and Complete Justification
James 2:24 - the phrase "faith alone" (the Greek "pisteos monon") only occurs once in the Bible. "Man is justified by works and NOT faith alone." Unlike what many Protestant churches teach, no where in Scripture does it say that man is justified or saved by "faith alone." To the contrary, man is not justified by faith alone. In Catholic theology, a person is justified by faith and works acting together, which comes solely from God’s divine grace. Faith alone never obtains the grace of justification (Council of Trent, chapter 8, canon 9). Also, the word “justified” (dikaiow) is the same word Paul uses for justification in Rom. 4:3 in regard to Abraham (so Protestants cannot argue James is not referring to “justification” in James 2:24 unless they argue Paul wasn’t in Rom. 4:3 either).

Heb. 11:6 - faith is indeed the minimum requirement without which we cannot please God. But this is just the beginning of the process leading toward justification. Faith alone does not justify a person. Justification is only achieved by faith and works, as we see below. Also, this gratuitous gift of faith from God also includes the grace of hope and love the moment the person is justified. 

Eph. 2:8-9 – Paul teaches us that faith is the root of justification, and that faith excludes “works of law.” But Paul does not teach that faith excludes other kinds of works, as we will see below. The verse also does not say we are justified by “faith alone.” It only indicates that faith comes first. This, of course, must be true, because those who do works outside of faith are in a system of debt, not of grace (more on that later). But faith alone does not justify. A man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. James 2:24. 

Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30 - the faith we have must be a repentant faith, not just an intellectual faith that believes in God. Repentance is not just a thought process (faith), but an act (work) by which we ask God for His mercy and forgiveness. 

Psalm 51:17 – this means we need a “broken and contrite heart,” not just an intellectual assent of faith. Faith in God is only the beginning

The Doctor · Answer

If what you say is true, Jesus sure spent an awful lot of time standing around and talking for no reason.  He must have liked to hear his own voice.

Jeebus Chris! · Answer

if i said the same thing but qouted harry potter books would anyone believe me

Ƒuℜie§ ƑlaMe§§ ☭♨☠♨☭ ☭☠ღღ☠☭ · Answer

You are saved by both Faith and Works!.

Anonymous · Answer

he doesn't. that's a false notion. 
"faith without work is dead." you need to do good deeds and live a righteous life and live by God's commands.

Trending News

Why does GOD want us to know he saves us by GRACE not WORKS?

10 Answers