The issue about how a person is made accepted by God’s perfection has been debated throughout the ages. The issue has been if salvation is by God’s Grace alone or has to do with any human effort. Since it cannot be done by both it must be either purely by God’s  Grace entirely or by some means of man’s work of righteousness.

Protestants have traditionally been on the side of “salvation by faith” ever since the break-off from the Catholic tradition. However, today we see a steady draw toward a change of mind among the traditional protestants to change back to a message of God’s salvation by good works.

The Bible requires “repentance” to have God’s salvation. The question is, however if that term “repentance” mean a “turning from sins” or just a “change of mind” about sins?” The Greek word for the English word “repentance” is “change of mind” and nothing more. Because of this the opponents to salvation by God’s Grace alone point out that the requirement for salvation must be “repentance for sins.” In other words, the idea has now changes toward the idea that man has to “turn from sin” to be saved.

1.       First of all, no good works can give us eternal life forever with God in Heaven. We know that from bible verses like Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9. The clear teaching of the Bible is that humans can only be “saved by “God’s Grace”

2.       Secondly, the Scripture is also clear about gaining God’s salvation is by God’s Grace “through faith” in Jesus Christ. There are more than 100 bible verses that clearly say that faith is the only requirement for salvation. Just think of John 3: 16!

Those two points should be enough to settle the score. However many people cannot accept that simple message of faith alone and therefore try to do anything to add good works for salvation.

Let’s be clear. Salvation has to do with God’s Grace alone since no person can produce a human righteousness that is accepted by entrance to Heaven. Our ‘human righteousness” can just do so much, but since “God’s righteousness” never can be reached by any of us, God decided to put all of us humans on the same level. None of us can ever reach God’s perfection. We are all sinners according to Romans 3: 23.

In other words,” repentance of sin”, meaning “ a “turning from sin” would never cut it.

So, then where do the “good works” fit in the equation of salvation? It is added after salvation by God’s Grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Good human works are a result of having received Jesus Christ as Savor. Too many people put the wagon before the horse here. Good works will never save us, but it is rather a result of salvation. This is the clear message of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

This is why God tells us that we can know that we have eternal life with God here and in Heaven according to 1 John 5: 13. That is why a person who trusts in Jesus as Savior can have confidence in his/her Christian life according to the entire first letter of John in the New Testament.

The Book of Hebrews points this out, too! It’s message to the Christians is to go forward in the Christian walk! Never to go backwards! Don’t try to lay the foundation of salvation again. It is already laid there, since Jesus Christ has already died and been raised from the death. It’s message is simply; The power of sin is broken and because of that live out your Christian life in a new Christian lifestyle! Jesus died once and for all and that is it! If a person  are able to “lose his/her salvation” that means that Jesus death was not enough. There is only one salvation done! If there was a chance to lose that salvation Hebrews chapter 6 tells us that we can never, again be saved. In other words; “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe”

Paul, the logical theologian explained this message in the Book of Romans. He lays the groundwork for the reason of why God Himself had to provide a salvation for humans. After his clear explanation he asks the question( Romans 6: 1-); “if God has done all this for us in and through Jesus Christ does that mean that we should live as we want”(my own words). And his answer is “No way!  That is, how can any person who really understand God’s Grace in giving us eternal life through simple faith, turn away from Him in disobedience?” Paul says it is illogical to think that way! If God died for me, how can I turn away from him? I owe my life to Him. Going backwards is not the answer! But going forward is the only spiritual healthy response!

So, if Jesus’ death and resurrection is not enough for our salvation then we have a problem. Calvary and the open grave are the only events that can save us. It was so terrible hard for Jesus to provides salvation for us, but, praise the Lord that our responsibility is a simple faith and trust in Him as Savior.

When we once have become children of God, by faith and having trusted in Jesus Christ, as our satisfying payment for sins we can indeed start living as Christians. And it is essential that we start expressing that Christian life through our words and actions.

How important it is to be simple in our explaining this Gospel in simple terms, so that unbelievers understand to trust in God’s grace rather than to confuse them with a message of God’s grace muddled with good works that can never and will never save anyone. Too many unbelievers think that they have to turn from sin to be saved, because they hear it more and more in our Christian churches. It is a false Gospel that never saves any one!

www.simplefaith.us

Been brought up in a caring humanistic/socialistic Swedish family, I knew well, that life is more than just breathing air and drinking water and eating bread. I intuitively understood that God created humans and had a plan for people even like me. From boyhood I have always had a desire to let God work in my life and soon He opened up a warm church in my hometown of Anderstorp. At 14 I fell on my knees asking God for forgiveness invited Him into my life as Savior the best I knew how. This experience did not change my lifestyle too much since I already was quite a “good behaved” young man. However, after that experience, I knew for sure, that I was to be a pastor and plans were drawn up to start studying to become a pastor after graduating from college. At age 20, just 2 weeks before starting study in Stockholm when, out of the sky, I was struck with a serious eye accident. After five weeks in hospital, my dreams were scattered, but God, in His wisdom, introduced me to a family from Florida, visiting Swedish relatives, and this family offered me one free year of Bible College in Florida. Just a half a year later, I found myself in a new family setting in a new country, being deeply involved in studies of the Bible. After four more years of studies, I also knew clearly what the Christian Message is mainly about - God provided Jesus Christ to die for my sin, took my personal guilt on Himself, forgave me my sin, and gave me freedom to fully live for Him. Since then, I know for sure that I am going to Heaven when I die. Not because I am a "good boy" or "bad boy", but because I trusted in Him personally as my Savior.Now, I am on an adventure to live out my life in the community where I live, so that others will see Jesus Christ in and through my life. Now, Jesus is not just my Savior who died and paid my sin burden, but also my Lord whom I want to obey. All this, of course, has changed my way of thinking and turned into a new life-style. After studies at Bible College I went back to Sweden with then, my new wife Diana and we lived there 13 years, serving God as supported missionaries and served churches. Since then God has let me pastor different church traditions here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

A Warning Cry! For Christians and especially for those who preach God's Word!

One of the foremost reasons why I published my two books “Simple Faith” and “Authentic Faith” is that I wanted them to become a warning cry for Christians and non-Christians alike. Not just for ordinary men and women like you and me, but more so for those of us who speak on behalf of God from the church pulpits. Too may time, if not continually, I hear pastors, preachers and priests confusing the issue of what the requirement of God’s Salvation is. I hear words like “repentance”, as a requirement, meaning willingness to turn from sins before coming to Christ. Other times, you hear real good Biblical messages; how we are to live in accordance to God’s Word. But then at the end of the sermons you still wonder what the first requirement for this Christian life is. Preachers will use words like “turn from your sins” and “change your life-style” to become Christians. There is so much confusion.

First, repentance from sin is something that follows trusting Jesus as Savior. Secondly, the word “repentance” has the the meaning of changing one’s mind. (Instead of believing that good works saves us, we change our minds to believe that salvation is a completely free gift of God.) We never turn from sin in order to become followers of Jesus. Rather, we can only turn from our sin after we have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior! In order for any changes to happen we have to start trusting Jesus as Savior and then we can talk about life changes!

If you are a Pastor and read this, please use my books to challenge you . And please, please however Biblical minded you sermons are, be sure to end your service by making the Gospel clear and give the listener a chance to come to Jesus, by trusting him. After that message, Gods Holy Spirit will keep on challenging believers to change their life-styles! Just like He did with you and me By the way, how many of us turned from our sins when we came to Jesus? And how many did we have to turn from?

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” 

Romans 1: 16, 17

www.simplefaith.us

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Simple-Faith/154539767995746

The more mature (I think that is the right word) I become in my Christian walk, the more obstacles seems to enter my way of thinking. Starting out walking with God was exciting and nothing was hard. Just simple faith in Jesus Christ as Savior which resulted in exciting visions and dreams! Life became a cake walk! A new life that produced wisdom and more understanding about God and His ways. I grew in maturity and soon realized that every issue is not just black and white any longer. Life got confusing and soon my smart thinking even was on its way to become shallow. 

I have accepted this dilemma by now. I have learnt that my heart is very deceitful. God pointed out to me that I have to lay aside my human way of thinking and learn to think and live according to God’s wisdom. One of the many verses from the Bible became clearer to me.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”                                                                                        (Jeremiah chapter 17 verse: 9)

The more I tried to know God, the more I begun to see my own feeble understanding. My understanding of myself and the world around me was wurped and soon I realized that I don't even know what's going on in my own most inner thought world. It came to a point that I even needed professional help to try to figure who I am and why I act the way I do. I grasped that my heart is deceitful and I individually cannot understand it.

Here is a Bible verse that helped me, even further in my quest.

"...the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

                                                            (Paul’s letter to the Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12)

The solution to my dilemma is to continually read and feed my soul with God's Word, the Bible. There God provides tools for me to know myself. God created me individually and therefore he knows the very hair on my white scalp and he can explain who I am and why I am acting the way I do.!) Jesus explains it  this way in the Gospel of Luke chapter 21 verse 18

“..but not a hair of your head will perish.”                                                                                               

By reading and studying the Bible is to get to know myself and know God personally. That’s what life is all about! This helps us to become transparent to others and to God and to experience intimate relationships with God and others. God's Spirit cuts, divides and lays our very intimate attitudes and motives about life bare before Him and we start accepting our unsatisfaction and our desperate need for Him. Listen to this verse!

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?"                                            (Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 7 verse 24)

It is OK for me to grow more confused and “wretched” since that brings me to a healthier spiritual life in following Jesus. My “muddleness” brings me to God's clean heart! Not only does God clarifies the real meo myself  (with all my sins), but He gives me a strong desire to draw closer to oness with Him.