What does it mean to be saved by works.

What does it mean to be saved by works.

Saving by works means that man plays a part in the sovereign works of salvation.
Saving by works is a heresy. It robs alway the glory due Christ.

Example of saving by works are:
1.Insisting that baptism / repenting / believing or obeying as a prerequisite for salvation.
2.Man's effort of praying Jesus into your heart to attain salvation.
3.Man's effort of repentance to attain salvation.
4.Man's effort of believing to attain salvation.

While the bible clearly says that salvation has nothing to do with man but solely by the sovereign will of God. That all glory should ascribe to Christ alone.

Examples of verses that depicts:

1.God's Sovereignty

Ezekiel 11:19
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
19 And I will (A)give them one heart, and put a new spirit within [a]
them. And I will take the (B)heart of stone out of their flesh and give
them a (C)heart of flesh,

Jeremiah 32:40

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

⁴⁰ I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.

2.Man's inability

Romans 3:11

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;

3.Giving glory to God.

Psalm 29:1-2

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

29 Ascribe to the Lord, O ^[a]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^[b]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in ^[c]holy array.

Paul's warning against the heresy of teaching saving by works

Galatians 6:11-18
New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul’s Final Advice
11 Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting.
12 Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,[a] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.[b]17 From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.18 Dear brothers and sisters,[c] may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Day 6 Summary Notes for GALATIANS 6:11-­18
False teachers love themselves and make use of those whom they are supposed to serve
to achieve their own selfish agenda. This is seen so clearly in the case of the Judaizers.
Their emphasis was outward – a good showing in the flesh. Hence they called upon the
Galatian Christians to be circumcised. Frankly, they were not concerned about the
spiritual wellbeing of these people. Rather, they were making use of the Galatian
Christians, so that they could boast and so that they would avoid persecution. Paul went
a step further to expose their hypocrisy: Although they call the Galatian Christians to be
circumcised and keep the Law, they themselves can’t keep the Law!

In contrast to false teachers, true servants of God will always value the inward above
the outward, and point people to Christ instead of to themselves. So the gospel minister
will emphasize the crucial importance of being a new creature in Christ. To be a new
creature in Christ is an inward, spiritual condition. The gospel minister will not trim his
message to be popular with the masses. No, he will preach Christ crucified, and he
himself will live the cruciform life – a life shaped by the cross, putting his own sins to
death, following Christ in obedience to God. In short, he will seek to do what he calls
others to do! While the world deems it as folly and madness, the gospel minister glories
in the cross of Jesus. Hence, he will preach it till he dies!

The cross – the gospel of grace, that man is saved by Christ alone – is the message we
must preach and live by. In the context of GALATIAN, this is the rule by which
Christians and churches must be directed. God’s people are people who follow this rule.
God’s people are the true Israel of God. The common name is ‘the church’. The church
will enjoy peace and mercy from God only when the church sticks to this rule, to this
gospel.

http://shalomrb.org/RTBT/Galatians.pdf