One Is Not Saved By Grace Through Faith
Part 2 of 4
(November, 2004)

You Can’t Cast Aside Jesus’ Mission

The message of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God/Heaven.  The purpose of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God/Heaven was and still is  first of all to be preached to the poor – the poor in spirit that is.  The “poor in spirit” are (1) people who are meek, humble, and lowly in nature; and (2) people with a broken and contrite heart even though they have not received salvation.  It is these “poor in spirit” that are prime candidates to hear the Gospel because they will understand the Kingdom of God/Heaven concept for their lives in the here-and-now and receive it.      

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).

That was the mission of God’s only begotten Son, Jesus whose assignment was as follows:

1. Anointed to preach the Gospel to the poor, the “poor in spirit” who understand spiritual things – the meek-hearted.
2. "Heal the brokenhearted" is to minister God’s soothing Word to the devastated and mournful; to comfort them.
3. "Preach deliverance to the captives" – those who at one time walked with God but have become backslidden and are prisoners in Satan’s chains.
4. "Recovering of sight to the blind" is not restoring site to the physically blind, but the spiritually blind.  Isaiah 6:8-9 The Lord said, tell the people “Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.”  In Matthew 13:14-15 this definitely was spiritual blindness The Lord spoke of: “Perceive not” – they could not discern – they could not see that this was the hour of salvation with all that was happening around them.  They could not see that Jesus was God’s Son who had come with God’s plan of salvation.
5. "Set at liberty them that are bruised" – those who are crushed under Satan’s oppression. Setting free those who are bound and in spiritual chains of darkness and don’t know how to get out.
6. "Preach the acceptable year of The Lord" – “Acceptable” (Isaiah 61:1-2) as in the year of Jubilee that amounted to freedom – the day of salvation.  Jesus came telling all that God had (a) a different way for them to be reconciled to Him through forgiveness of their sins; and (b) a Helper/Holy Ghost who would help them to live holy.

This was Jesus the preacher, the evangelist sent to mankind with a direct message from God to them about salvation. The word salvation as in the “God of salvation” in Hebrew is “Yesha” meaning to free; deliver; rescue.  Salvation was the whole point in Jesus’ coming to earth.  Church, the above definition was the real reason Jesus as the Son of God came to earth to preach the message of God as to the way for deliverance from the evil one and endangerment of eternal damnation. The Gospel itself sets people free – it is a public statement of freedom for all who will receive it.  What Jesus then spoke concerning His mission to earth – to save mankind (Isaiah 49:6) was precisely what He did while here on earth and commissioned His followers to do as well:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus’ mission on earth was not to tell you that you are saved by grace through faith in Him, but that you are saved because God as creator and Father is under obligation to see to it that you have the option.  God is duty-bound to see to it that you are afforded the opportunity to be saved. Just as natural parents have in their hearts to supply their children’s needs, so does God have in His heart the very same obligatory sentiments toward all that He created.  This is natural. He is obligated to make provision for mankind’s eternal happiness by providing His plan of salvation and cannot leave them unaware of such a immeasurable benefit as salvation. Out of the goodness of God – His grace, salvation is made available through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every human being to either accept or reject. 

Jesus Taught This On Salvation And Eternal Life

For this people's heart [spirit] is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart [spirit], and should be converted [changed/saved], and I should heal [deliver; save] (Matthew 13:15).
             
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13:15-23).

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Matthew 19:16-20).

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9).

Jesus’ preaching about being saved and reconciled to The Father was a moral application carrying with it reward and punishment as consequences.  His preaching laid responsibility of morality squarely on human beings themselves because there are consequences for sinning.  Reward and consequences means that human beings have to make choices in life – works of righteousness that Apostle Paul says in Titus 3:5 are not to be done.  Works of righteousness are choices – human beings choosing to do what is morally right as they walk holy in obedience over what is morally wrong as they walk in disobedience.  Carnal works of the Law of Moses, no; but works of righteousness, yes.         

Church, we do have works to do once we come to salvation (not before) that weren’t done by Christ on the cross. Our works are obedience to the Word of The Lord – our choosing to live righteous and holy over living a life of sin. Our works are us putting forth the effort to not sin before God. Our rewards, in the end, will be based on our works – righteousness, that doesn’t just automatically happen.  The Hebrew word for works is maaseh and it means an action (good or bad). So that you, Church, will know the difference between the works Jesus did (which cannot be done again), and the works that Born Again Christians are required to do until facing Jesus, look at a few Scriptures below that make it unreservedly clear to you that God’s people have works of righteousness to do in accordance to His plan of salvation.

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works [your actions in regard to the decision to be righteous and holy – disobedient to God] (Matthew 16:27).

there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments [choose to obey them] (Matthew 19:17).

If ye love me, keep my commandments [choose to obey them] (John 14:15).

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them  [choose to obey them], he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:21).

If ye keep my commandments [choose to obey them], ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love (John 15:10).

Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works [choices he made in life] were evil, and his brother's righteous (I John 3:12).

Paul Taught This On Salvation….

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 (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5).

The above scriptures are saying that when one receives salvation it is a free, underserved, unmerited gift from God to good-for-nothing humans beings and they have nothing to do for it.  Paul is saying that your free gift is permanent which means eternal happiness is automatic.  That being the case, (1) humans are not free moral agents; and (2) once you’re saved, you’re always saved. Neither of those is so according to Jesus.  Remember the” reward-and-punishment-consequences” teachings of Jesus.  Church, which saving message is from God, Paul’s or Jesus’?

Paul said that the gospel he preached was by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:11-12).  If so, why is there such a contrast in their messages? Which Jesus was he referring to? Jesus’ teaching on salvation and that of Apostle Paul’s are surely not mates; they are in total opposition to one another, and that’s not God.  God does not change; He is not in the habit of flip-flopping on His Word and would never send two different messages on salvation.  God, the Author of eternal salvation to all that obey (Hebrews 5:9), never in His wildest would have sent Jesus teaching one message of salvation and upon His return to Heaven, sent a conflicting message through Apostle Paul.  No, God does not contradict Himself and nor does He change up-stream being that He knows the end from the beginning. Jesus said…

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment [Plan of Salvation] is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak (John 12:49-50).

God is Saviour and supporter of all human beings who are willing to obey Him by living life the way He has prescribed so that they do partake of life everlasting in His presence. All have to look to God for the way to salvation; the tree of life, because it is not just handed to one on a silver platter at no charge to them. Recipients of salvation have to do works of righteousness if in the end they are to be sent to the right hand side with the sheep (Matthew 25:32-33).  To look to Jesus is to learn how to do salvation, if you will; follow the plan that He has laid out for mankind, and not that of  Apostle Paul.      

For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

Salvation is almost always defined as the free gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take [grab/accept] the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD (Psalm 116:12-13).

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction [salvation]; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's (Psalm 103:1-5).

The above Scripture referred to the daily benefits from God: the benefits of (1) forgiveness of sins; (2) physical, mental, and spiritual healings; (3) salvation that is on-going; (4) God’s goodness – His loving kindness – His blessings - GRACE; (5) His mercy/pity; and (6) provisions.

There is a distinct difference between the word gift and that of the word benefit. (Gifts look for you; you look for benefits.) Gifts are offerings or contributions that have no strings attached.  There is absolutely nothing you have to do for gifts that are given to you. A benefit is not the same as a gift. Benefits work as an aid or assistance in one’s life that will be to their advantage or for their sake or for their well-being. A benefit is a service to you or a right in aiding your well-being. Benefits have to be desired and then sought after. In other words, you have something to do for benefits before they can begin to enhance your life. You have to want God’s benefits. Benefits initiate the performance of deeds as in how you behave with benefits given you to make life easier as a human being on earth.

Church, it is the God of Salvation from whom you reaped the benefit of His plan of salvation and not  the rubbish about your salvation being of grace and then your faith kicking in. Receiving God’s plan of salvation is receiving something that is good – that is one of the God-made benefits granted all human beings to take advantage of or drawback from it.  Salvation is a benefit offered to all human beings out of God’s obligation to them, and humans look for it usually when they are in a state of despondency, hear the saving message, and choose either to receive it or reject it. Praise God!

You did not become a Christian because of grace and your faith.  Before your salvation you had no faith to bring you to salvation. But when you heard the Kingdom of God/Heaven (the Gospel) preached, you either liked and received in your spirit what you heard or you did not.

But he that received seed [God’s Word] into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13:23).            

Jesus said, when any one hears the Gospel and understands and receives it, that person receives salvation (on-going process of redemption) because that person discerned the message to be true and from God.  That’s not faith, that’s understanding so as to accept or reject the message of the Gospel with respect to salvation.

Understanding has a voice – she has a message to publish. Understanding puts forth her voice (Proverb 8:1) and in hearing her voice mankind gets the knowledge of the holy things of God such as salvation and eternal life that brings them to depart from evil if they  first choose to receive the saving message. Spiritual understanding means to depart from evil (Job 28:28). From the knowledge of the holy God develops reverential fear for Him which is the beginning of godly wisdom (Proverb 9:10; Job 28:28).  “In the lips of him that hath understanding is wisdom found” (Proverb 10:13), and it takes this godly wisdom in one to make godly choices in life as a “free moral” or “free willed” agent – choices such as salvation and eternal happiness over rejecting it for eternal damnation.  When one gets understanding of the holy things and wants nothing else to do with evil/sin, an increase in their knowledge (Proverb 15:14) is sought after by hearing more of God’s Word; studying His Word insatiably for more guidance on living to please Him.  Humans need to bring nothing to God for salvation; just hear the Word with understanding and make the decision/choice (work/deed) to grab hold of it and let The Lord work in their life each day forward until the end.

Salvation is not God’s grace in action – God’s loving kindness/goodness, but is a godly benefit for all human beings on account of His obligation to them for having created them. Again, the faith of one has nothing to do with salvation because people have no faith when they first hear the Word of God being that they don’t have godly wisdom and knowledge of The Almighty. Therefore, it is not by grace that anyone is saved through faith, but it’s because they heard the Gospel of the Kingdom like Jesus said, and alone, chose to accept the remarkable benefit God offers to all. (It’s quite like your benefits package through your employer; they give it to you and you understand what is offered, and then you choose to take it or not.)

if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me (John 12:32).

God never makes anyone become a Christian.  He draws mankind with His Word – His plan of salvation with the hope of them receiving it and faith is not a prerequisite.  One is not drawn to salvation because of faith within them. As mankind is drawn to God by His Word, they in turn with understanding of His Word, make Him their salvation and go on to “draw water out of the well of salvation” (Isaiah 12:2-4); that is, they go after The Lord’s righteous and holy instructions for living with the hope of eternal life in His presence.

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth [all of mankind everywhere]: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).      

“All the ends of the earth” – every human being that God created He announces to them His plan of salvation, but He didn’t say look to Him with faith, but simply look to Him for salvation. The Lord is telling all that He alone is God; He alone can save them from the powers of darkness and hell.  Church, God would not command mankind to look to Him for salvation if faith was needed.  Where would the sinner find faith in order to go after salvation?  How could the sinner go to God for faith if he doesn’t already have a relationship with Him? (No, it’s not because certain human beings were preordained for salvation before the foundation of the world as Apostle Paul preached in Ephesians 1:4. More on this in Part III – Election and Predestination.)  One’s faith has nothing to do with coming into the benefit of salvation.

 And the Word [Jesus] was made flesh, and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth…. For the law[carnal ordinances] was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:14-17).

The truth that came by Jesus was the Word of God – the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Thy word is truth (John 17:17).

Jesus saith…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

There is no difference of opinion that truth is God’s Word and the Word made flesh, Jesus. Grace, however, is a different matter. Grace as in "kindness and favor" is not the association that should come to mind when reading John 1:14-17. Here, the word grace means pity – pity as in the word “mercy” and for this reason John 1:14 is seen as ‘mercy and truth’ in relation to sin being purged or forgiven.  John 1:14-17 were the only places that “grace and truth” walked together, but “mercy and truth” as the usual couple goes back to the Old Testament. Mercy in lieu of the word grace is wedded with the Old Testament pairing of “mercy and truth.” The book of Psalms is replete with the ringing truth about His, God’s mercy enduring forever.

 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85:10).

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious [kind and considerate], longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth (Psalm 86:15).

mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good (Proverb 14:22).

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil (Proverb 16:6).

It’s by the mercy of God that sin is purged or forgiven.       

Under the Old Covenant, in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle was placed the Mercy Seat from where God sat (Numbers 7:89) and out of pity, or mercifully wiped away or forgave the sins of the people when the blood of animals was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat.

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness (Leviticus 16:15-16).   

With the shedding of Jesus’ blood, that ordinance ended the sacrifice of animals for sin in Leviticus 16.

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself (Hebrews 7:26-27).

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:11-12).         

Jesus was made the “once and for many” sacrificial offering for the sins of those who believe (Isaiah 53:10; John 1:29).  That’s mercy; that’s pity.

In Part I of this message you read that the grace of God, His loving kindness, His goodness has always existed for as long as He has – even long before humans were created because that is God’s makeup.  When Jesus came with The Father’s message, He never preached that it was through Him that Believers were called into grace, or given grace as some special gift according to Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 1:4, Galatians 1:6, and II Timothy 1:9). If grace is the loving kindness – the goodness of God that has always existed since His existence, how is it that all of a sudden mankind is “called” into it?  That’s not God!  God’s grace, His loving kindness,  ‘always was’ and ‘always will be’ considering it’s His nature to be good to mankind.
       
Jesus brought mercy/pity to mankind through the preaching of God’s Word because of the mercilessness that was in Moses law/ordinances.  “He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses…” (Hebrews 10:28-29). The ordinances written by Moses had no mercy on the people.

And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him [Jesus] a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?...He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her….Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more (John 8:3-11).

That was an example of "no mercy" under Moses but is now mercy under Jesus. This was mercy out of change made to Moses' ordinances that were placed on the outside of the Ark instead of inside the Ark.

 (Read: “Are You Really Not Under The Law”.) Be mindful though that the change was not in the omitting or disregarding of sin and its punishment, but in granting mercy by giving one the opportunity to repent, be forgiven, and be reconciled to God in spite of whatever else happens after that.      

Incidentally, the Law is God’s Word.