Are We Saved By Works or By Faith?
There is often confusion about whether we are saved by our works or our faith. This debate is pointless, because the true answer is that we are saved by the grace of God (although faith plays a critical role at our end of things). God's grace can be thought of as an invitation extended freely to everyone to know him through belief in Jesus. Yes, that's right – an invitation to all of us sinners. Faith is the means by which we accept this invitation . It is true that without faith, we cannot be saved. So faith is critical, but make no mistake – if God hadn't issued this invitation by His grace, all the faith in the world wouldn't save us. Let's move on to works. Works are a way God knows us (provided we are doing the works for His glory). In contrast, if we are doing good works without a thought of God, this alone certainly won't save us. If we truly have faith, truly believe, then our actions will be in line with the Bible and this will be evident in an ou...