by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
Our works have
nothing at all to do with our salvation.”
but this is often
based on Paul’s statement (Titus 3:5) ...
“He saved us,
not on the basis of works which we have done in
to
His mercy, by the washing of
Notice that this is a “not ... but ...”
statement*. Thus, the “not” part is not necessarily
absolute. The scriptures clearly teach that we cannot earn our
salvation. But does this mean that our behavior has absolutely nothing to
do with our salvation? Some even go so far as to teach that if we do not
accept this absolute, we cannot be saved. Paradoxically, they have made
this “faith only” behavior a condition of salvation, thus contradicting their
own position. We need to let the bible resolve God’s conditions of
salvation.
Study the context — go back to Titus 3:1. Is not
our behavior the very subject of this chapter? Look at verse 3. Is
not a transformed life important? “We once were ... but now are ...” This salvation was not because of our righteousness,
but by the mercy of God. Verses 4-7 emphasize God’s part, which is by
far, far, far the most critical part. But verse 8 returns back to the
main subject: “... that those who believed in God may be careful to engage in
good works.” There is no contradiction here, and we should see clearly
that God’s part eclipses our own. But as free-will agents, we can either
yield ourselves to God’s part or not, allowing him to work through us or
not. It is a small part; but it is essential (Phil. 2:12). Be
careful.
*Note: See the article on the biblical “not … but …” construct under the Bible Study Methods topic:
http://d30034518.purehost.com/Articles/Authority_BibleStudy/NotBut01.htm