Why is salvation by works the predominantly held viewpoint? | GotQuestions.org

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February 3, 2021

Most agreed the Bible teaches that we are not saved by good works, but by grace through faith. However, a works based salvation, which is essentially an attempt to earn our salvation, is believed by many. Why is that? In this video, Pastor Nelson with Bible Munch answers the question, “Why is salvation by works the predominantly held viewpoint”. *** Source Article: https://www.gotquestions.org/salvation-by-works.html *** Check out, Bible Munch! @BibleMunch https://www.youtube.com/BibleMunch *** Recent Bible Munch Videos: Philippians 4:13 - What this misused verse really means. https://youtu.be/6DlZAWOvSDU Philippians 4:6 - Learn How to be Anxious for Nothing. https://youtu.be/jFDJatpmnds Psalm 1:1-6 - The Actual Prosperity Gospel https://youtu.be/5NSUio3INOI *** Recommended Resource: Faith Alone, The Doctrine of Justification: What the Reformers Taught...and Why It Still Matters By: Thomas R. Schreiner https://bit.ly/2NqEvLe *** Related Questions: What does it mean that good works are the result of salvation? https://www.gotquestions.org/good-works-salvation.html What does it mean that salvation is by grace through faith? https://www.gotquestions.org/by-grace-through-faith.html Is salvation by grace plus works a false gospel? https://www.gotquestions.org/false-gospel.html Intro/Outro Music: https://www.purple-planet.com Note: Some links may be affiliate links which cost you nothing, but help us share the word of God.

00:00: Today's question is, why is salvation by works the predominantly held viewpoint? In this video
00:05: I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.
00:21: The simple answer is that salvation by works seems right in the eyes of man.
00:27: One of man's basic desires is to be in control of his own destiny, and that includes his eternal destiny.
00:34: Salvation by works appeals to man's pride and his desire to be in control. Being saved by works appeals to that desire far more than the idea of being saved by faith alone.
00:46: Also, man has an inherent sense of justice. Even the most ardent atheist believes in some type of justice and has a sense of right and wrong, even if he has no moral basis for making such judgments.
01:00: Our inherent sense of right and wrong demands that if we are to be saved, our good works must outweigh our bad works.
01:08: Therefore, it is natural that when man creates a religion, it would involve some type of salvation by works.
01:15: Because salvation by works appeals to man's sinful nature, it forms the basis of almost every religion except for biblical
01:22: Christianity. Proverbs 14, verse 12 tells us that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
01:32: Salvation by works seems right to men, which is why it is the predominantly held viewpoint.
01:38: That is exactly why biblical Christianity is so different from all other religions. It is the only religion that teaches salvation is a gift of God and not of works.
01:49: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves.
01:54: It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9.
02:01: Another reason why salvation by works is the predominantly held viewpoint is that natural or unregenerate man does not fully understand the extent of his own sinfulness or of God's holiness.
02:14: Man's heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, Jeremiah 17, verse 9.
02:20: And God is infinitely holy, Isaiah 6, verse 3. The deceit of our hearts is the very thing that colors our perception of the extent of that deceit, and it is what prevents us from seeing our true state before a
02:35: God whose holiness we are also unable to fully comprehend. But the truth remains that our sinfulness and God's holiness combine to make our best efforts as filthy rags before a holy
02:47: God, Isaiah 64, verse 6. The thought that man's good works could ever balance out his bad works is a totally unbiblical concept.
02:57: Not only that, but the Bible also teaches that God's standard is nothing less than 100 % perfection.
03:04: If we stumble in keeping just one part of God's righteous law, we are as guilty as if we had broken all of it,
03:11: James 2, verse 10. Therefore, there is no way we could ever be saved if salvation truly were dependent on works.
03:20: Another reason that salvation by works can creep into denominations that claim to be Christian or say they believe in the
03:26: Bible is that they misunderstand passages like James 2, verse 24. You see, then, that a man is justified by works and not by faith only.
03:37: Taken in the context of the entire passage, James 2, verses 14–26, it becomes evident that James is not saying our works make us righteous before God.
03:48: Instead, he's making it clear that real saving faith is demonstrated by good works.
03:53: The person who claims to be a Christian but lives in willful disobedience to Christ has a false or dead faith and is not saved.
04:02: James is making a contrast between two different types of faith—true faith that saves and false faith that is dead.
04:10: There are simply too many verses that teach that one is not saved by works for any
04:15: Christian to believe otherwise. Titus 3, verses 4–5 is one of many such passages.
04:21: But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy
04:30: He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Good works do not contribute to salvation, but they will always be characteristic of one who has been born again.
04:43: Good works are not the cause of salvation, but they are always evidence of it. While salvation by works might be the predominantly held viewpoint, it is not an accurate one biblically.
04:53: The Bible contains abundant evidence of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
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