Do you realize this is the only place in the scripture where we are told we are saved without works? The thing is: no doctrine should ever be established on one verse of scripture but the Church has based the salvation of the entire world of Christianity on one verse of scripture and to the exclusion of all the other scripture.
The problem is there are so many scriptures that explicitly say we are saved by works and some that allude to that fact and others that suggest works are necessary. Consider Hebrews 5:9 for example: “And being made perfect He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.” Here, the writer explicitly informs us eternal salvation is gained by obedience and obedience equals works. In a perfect world, salvation would be based on this verse.
In Jesus’ very first sermon, at the very beginning of His ministry, He said, “Except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.” Now, if you are a Christian, heaven is where you are trying to get, but Jesus said your righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees or you won’t get there.
The thing about it is, the scribes and Pharisees were the most fastidious keepers of the old covenant law. Except for Jesus, no one kept the law more rigidly. When Jesus died on the cross, His righteousness was gifted to all mankind because of God’s grace but this was righteousness according to the law. Righteousness is defined as being in right standing with God and God defines the behavior that determines righteousness by issuing commandments. In order for us to gain righteousness beyond the old covenant law, we must perform works beyond those prescribed by the law.
Look, Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments.” He said, “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love,” so the secret to abiding in the love of God is keeping commandments. That is otherwise stated as works.
Jesus makes a distinction between His commandments and His Father’s commandments in this verse. He said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments,” “now you will need to keep my commandments.” Every covenant God has ever established with mankind has had commandments and the commandments that defined righteousness has been different with each covenant. Moreover, the salvation of each covenant was obtained by keeping the commandments of the covenant. It has always been the case. We know Jesus enacted a new covenant with mankind after He fulfilled His Father’s and a new covenant means new commandments. Jesus said, “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me and he that loves me will be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.”
Eternal life in not even mentioned in the scripture until John 3:15, when Jesus said, “You will have to believe in me.” This stands in stark contrast to the old covenant, which required a belief in God. Isaiah 53:6 plainly states, “And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Since we know Jesus took our sins on the cross when He died for all mankind, 1John 2:2, the Lord who laid the iniquity onto Jesus has to be the Father. When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden light,” He was contrasting the old and the new covenant .
Both covenants had a yoke, both covenants have a burden. The fact that Jesus’ yoke is easy does not negate the fact that there is a yoke. Whether a pair of mules is pulling a heavy load or an easy load, it still requires work. The only reason to use a yoke is for work. What did Jesus mean when He said, “You must believe in me?” Was He saying you must believe that He fulfilled the old covenant, a covenant that no longer requires work? Or was He saying you must believe He established a new covenant, with new commandments? We live in the new covenant age, an age Jesus established. If you do not believe Jesus established a new covenant, you will not keep His commandments and if you don’t keep His commandments you cannot abide in His love or receive a manifestation of Him by His own words.
You see, if we believe Jesus died on the cross as a fulfillment of the Father’s covenant, we believe in the Father, we believe in the authority of the old covenant to condemn for disobedience of its commandments. We do not believe in a truth that Jesus enacted a new covenant. If we attempt to keep the commandments of the old covenant, we are wearing the yoke of the old covenant. The definition of a yoke is work.
The fact that Jesus invited us to take His yoke upon us proves that the new covenant requires works. If your righteousness is going to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you are going to have to perform works they didn’t perform. Righteousness is gained by keeping commandments because right standing with God, or the right behavior required by God, is defined by commandment. The old covenant commandments were kept by Jesus but the new covenant commandments must be kept by us.
In Matthew 7:22, Jesus said, “Many will come to me in that day saying Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name cast out devils? And in your name done many wonderful works? And I will profess to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you that work iniquity.” The word, iniquity, means to live in a lawless manner. It means to not perform works that are assigned to you. So even though prophesying and casting out devils are good works, they are not the works assigned by Jesus. Again, Jesus tells us eternal life is gained by keeping commandments. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Jesus never commanded anybody to perform good deeds and none of your goodness; none of the works you devise based on God’s goodness, will count toward keeping the works Jesus commanded.
So now we have arrived at the meaning of Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” It is God’s unmerited favor, His grace, which has given Jesus’ righteousness, the righteousness He earned by keeping God’s commandments, to the whole human race, making the whole human race sons of God. It is not through your faith that you are saved from the old covenant law and its ability to condemn for disobedience; it is through God’s faith in you.
John 3:16 could just as easily have been written, “For God so believed in mankind that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It is God’s faith in mankind that gifts redemption from the law to all mankind as a free gift; there are no works that you can do to earn this free gift and in fact, it is given to you at birth. There is a difference though between believing in God and His free gift and believing in Jesus and His new kingdom and covenant.
After Jesus had died on the cross and been resurrected, He presented Himself before the Father in heaven as a spotless lamb and the Father God pulled a knife across the neck of His son and caught His blood in a bowl. Jesus took this blood, after being resurrected by the Father and given the name above every other name, and ratified a new covenant between God and man and issued new commandments to keep. There are works prescribed by the new covenant. To not keep those works is to live in a lawless fashion. Every man, woman, and child, has been given Jesus’ righteousness as a free gift but in order to exceed that righteousness and inherit everlasting life, you will have to take Jesus’ yoke upon you. You can perform all sorts of good works, but if you do not perform the works prescribed by Jesus, those works you perform will not gain you entrance to heaven.
No man can boast about keeping those commandments prescribed to him; he can only boast of works done above and beyond that which is commanded but there is no room for boasting before Jesus and works done above that which is commanded do not count. Jesus is only moved by those who keep His commandments; He is only moved by those who take His yoke upon them. It is a matter of being in right standing with Jesus: it is a matter of keeping His commandments.
Now, here is where 1John 1:9 comes into play. The blood Jesus’ shed on the cross does not wash sins away. Jesus took our sins, bearing the penalty for them at the cross, and gives us His righteousness. This is the same righteousness the scribes and Pharisees earned by keeping the old covenant law and covering over transgressions with the blood of innocent animals. When Jesus went to heaven and presented Himself blameless before the Father, Hebrews 9:14, His Father drew a knife across His neck and Jesus’ blood poured out. Jesus then took that blood and sprinkled it over the new covenant tabernacle, thus ratifying the new covenant.
Jesus came back to earth and issued three commandments. To disobey those commandments is sin, but sin the blood Jesus poured out in heaven will wash away if repented of. Of course the word, repent, means to turn away from disobedience back to obedience, so obedience washes away disobedience.
If we fail to keep Jesus’ commandments, we are sinning against the new covenant and these sins can be forgiven if repented of and washed away by the blood sprinkled over the new covenant tabernacle. The blood Jesus shed in heaven will not wash away sins against God’s law of the old covenant because those laws are obsolete in the new covenant age. They are still good laws and still define the Father’s standard for righteousness, but we do not live in the kingdom of God. We live in the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom Jesus established with the new covenant. In order for Jesus to have been given authority to enact a new covenant the authority of the old covenant has to have been made obsolete.
Over and over and over again Jesus told us we are going to have to work for our salvation but there is one verse in the New Testament that tells us there are no works necessary to salvation and what do we believe? We believe the one verse and say the rest of the scriptures mean something different than what they say. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you,” and we say, “Yea but that has nothing to do with work,” even though a yoke is designed for work. That is its only purpose.
Jesus turns people away at the pearly gates who think they know Jesus and do genuine good works because they practice lawlessness but we say obedience is not required for salvation. If there are no laws that govern salvation in the new covenant how can anyone practice lawlessness? Just when did we become more knowledgeable about what is required for salvation than Jesus?
Jesus says our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees or we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The scribes and Pharisees were made righteous by keeping the old covenant and offering innocent animals to cover unrighteousness. We say that receiving the righteousness Jesus earned by keeping the law is sufficient for eternal life while Jesus said our righteousness must exceed that standard. In order to exceed that standard, we must keep another standard.
Jesus said, “Keep my commandments.” He did not say, “Keep our commandments.” We know from Isaiah 53:6, “The lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” that the Father was Lord of the old covenant, so to keep the commandments of the old covenant is to keep the Father’s commandments. Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, now you must keep my commandments,” yet we are told the new covenant does not have any commandments that are unique to it. We are told Jesus never issued any commandments but Jesus said, “Keep my commandments.”
Who is right? The people who tell us the scripture does not mean what it says or the God who inspired mankind to write it? When Hebrews 5:9 states, “And being made perfect He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him,” does it literally mean Jesus gives out eternal life because of obedience to commandments unique to Him, His commandments? Or does it mean salvation is by grace through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast?
By missing the fact that Jesus established a new covenant after fulfilling the old covenant, today’s Christians have failed to realize they live in a different kingdom with a different king and everything has changed. The salvation the old covenant provided is void, and obsolete; therefore, the commandments that defined righteousness under the old covenant are void and obsolete. We are not saved from the old covenant’s authority to condemn for unrighteousness by any works we can perform; we are saved by God’s great grace, His great loving kindnesses and because of His love for us and belief in us but we live under the authority of a new king.
“There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Even though the old covenant had authority to condemn for unrighteousness and it demanded perfect obedience and its prescribed punishment for disobedience was violent, rigid, swift, and sure, the new covenant has no such authority, no demand for perfect obedience, no judgment for disobedience and no violence. Therefore, there is no conviction for sinning against the new covenant and no driving force to repentance. The new covenant relies solely on the authority of Jesus to command.
Jesus holds a greater authority today under the new covenant than His Father did under the old covenant. Again, going back to Isaiah 53:6, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” the kingdom of God was the Father’s kingdom; the old covenant the Father’s covenant. When Jesus said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth,” He meant, “all authority.” There is no authority that was left outside Jesus’ authority. Under the old covenant, the Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus, shared authority, but Paul calls Jesus the blessed only Potentate and Jude calls Jesus the only wise God. The new covenant is founded on this authority and relies on this authority for obedience. It does not rely on condemnation and judgment.
Which means the Holy Spirit will not convict you of a need to keep Jesus’ commandments and your conscious will not condemn you for disobedience. You are completely free to disobey but the only way to inherit eternal life is through obedience. The only path to obedience is a recognizing of the authority of the new covenant.
This is the reason the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus. We are to remind ourselves of the death of the Lord on a regular basis and check to see that we are living our lives worthy of the Lord. It is very easy to allow the death of the Christ to overshadow the death of the Lord, the death of the Saviour being so much more horrendous and the grace of God in assigning Jesus’ death on the cross to the whole human race so overwhelmingly gracious.
Just what did Paul mean when he said, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” If salvation is a free gift, given by grace through faith, fear and trembling have nothing to do with it. Yet if we are saved by obedience, as Hebrews 5:9 explicitly states, then it can certainly be lost through disobedience and fear and trembling is certainly appropriate when we are talking about our eternal security.
Again, the reason to observe the Lord’s Supper is to daily check yourself to see that you are faithfully keeping the Lord’s commandments. To fail to do so is to dishonor the Lord and live in such a way that is unworthy of the sacrifice He made. Remember, the Father sent His Son into the world to redeem the world from the law, according to Galatians 4:4-5, but Jesus, for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), endured the cross, despising the shame of it.
If eternal life were gained by grace through faith, why are we told many of the Corinthians were sick and some had died for not discerning the Lord’s body? Why would the Father God judge His children unworthy of His grace after freely giving it? 1Corinthians 11:29-32 tells us we are judged of the Lord for not living our lives worthy of the Lord’s body but why would we be judged as guilty after Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice to free us from guilt? This only makes sense if there are two covenants; one we are saved from by a free gift and the other we are saved to by obedience. Verse 32 tells us this judgement is chastening of the Lord, “That we be not condemned with the world,” but it is not judgment with condemnation but judgment with instruction.
We know all mankind was gifted with Jesus’ death on the cross for that is the reason God sent His Son, according to Galatians 4:4, but since we receive eternal life through obedience, Jesus will chastise, discipline, and even scourge us to get us to obey. Otherwise, we will be condemned with the world for disobedience and Jesus does not want that. He suffered and died, twice, to save us. Even though the whole world has received the righteousness of the law, making the whole world sons of God, they will be condemned to a life without God because they did not keep the new covenant commandments.
Eternal life is only offered to mankind through covenant; the only way to receive it is through keeping covenant. The old covenant never offered eternal life, which is why Jesus’ death on the cross as the fulfillment of the law cannot deliver it and grace cannot provide it. The only path to eternal life is through obedience of Jesus’ commandments.
Now, what are Jesus’ commandments? There are only three commandments that can be reasonably assigned to the new covenant and uniquely to Jesus. These commandments also fall in the exact place one would expect to find new covenant commandments. Let us remind ourselves that commandments are issued in conjunction with the establishment of a covenant. Therefore, they could not be found prior to Jesus’ death on the cross because that was the fulfillment of the old covenant.
Furthermore, if the old and new covenant were mixed, it would make it difficult to discern where one ended and the other began. The path to eternal life would be obscured and it would be impossible to distinguish Jesus’ commandments from His Father’s. Therefore, there had to be a clear break between the two covenants with enough time to separate the two explicitly.
In Acts 1:4, some 44 days after Jesus had fulfilled His Father’s covenant, it is recorded that Jesus gathered His disciples, who were the founding members of the Church, together, and commanded them to wait for a baptism with the Spirit. Therefore, what happened to them in Acts 2:4 must be recognized as a baptism with the Spirit. It cannot be defined in any other way and be true to the scripture. In John 7:38, Jesus said, “He that believes in me will have rivers of the Holy Spirit pouring out of his belly.” In order to keep this commandment, obedience must be daily. The baptism with the Spirit cannot be viewed as a separate event from the gift of tongues pouring out of the mouth of believers in Jesus. Jesus goes on to issue two more commandments: to preach this gospel and disciple converts in this gospel.
Now the word, baptize, means, saturation. So in reality, Jesus commands His followers to wait for a saturation with the Holy Spirit daily. This saturation occurs as the Holy Spirit flows out of your innermost being, manifesting Himself as tongues, flooding your soul and your flesh as He goes. Those thus saturated are saturated with Jesus because the Holy Spirit is on the earth today to represent Jesus and since God is love and Jesus is God, those saturated are saturated with love. To command those thus saturated with love to love one another is unnecessary and insulting to the integrity of God. Therefore, the commandments of the old covenant are obsolete. Moreover, those saturated with Jesus are also saturated with the all authority bestowed on Jesus, which also means power, in heaven and in earth, though they cannot operate this power apart from Jesus.
Just as Jesus was able to do those things He saw His Father doing because He kept His Father’s commandments, those who keep Jesus’ commandments will perform those things they see Jesus’ doing because they are one with Him as they are continually saturated through obedience. A lack of obedience makes it impossible to do the works of Jesus.
You can see then why Paul instructs to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.” Only the individual can discern when the point of saturation is reached and obedience is determined by saturation. If at any time saturation is not reached; if at any time the believer judges they have failed to keep themselves saturated, forgiveness is as close as repentance. There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, no conviction of wrongdoing, no judgment of sin, only complete freedom. Obedience is completely optional but Jesus suffered a great deal to provide eternal salvation for mankind and will chastise, discipline, and scourge His brothers in an effort to move them toward obedience.
In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus tells a parable of two men who built houses. The first man believed he didn’t have to do any works. His house was built on sand and the forces of nature destroyed it. The second man was wiser. He realized Jesus had fulfilled the old covenant as He said He would. Somehow he knew that to be in covenant with God and receive the promise of the new covenant, he would have to keep the Lord’s commandments and his house stood.
Our Father God sent Jesus to fulfill the old covenant but Jesus came to enact a new covenant. Jesus accomplished His Father’s goal and His Father freely gave His Son’s death on the cross for sin to the whole human race. However, we no longer live under the kingdom of God. We live in the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven offers mankind a better salvation than the old covenant but keeping the commandments of the old covenant will not win you its salvation. Mankind can gain the salvation of the old covenant and lose the salvation of the new covenant.
The promise of the old covenant was that the Father would be your God and you would be His people. It was made with the Jews alone but Jesus broke down the partition between Jew and Gentile, making all mankind children of the Father. According to Hebrews, children do not receive from their Father’s estate until they reach maturity and obedience indicates maturity. When Jesus established a new covenant with the children of God, He gave them a path to maturity that provides them with eternal life. The new covenant requires obedience.
In Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus tells a parable of a man who had two sons. He came to the first and said, “Go work in the vineyard.” The boy said no, but then went to work anyway. The man then came to the second son and said the same thing. This boy said, “Yes sir, right away sir,” but he didn’t go. Jesus then asked the question, “Which boy did the will of His Father?” If we are saved by grace through faith, not of works lest anyone should boast, why does Jesus over and over again emphasize works?