What I would like to look at today is something that most of us are familiar with. I would like to look at this again because this has been grossly misunderstood, especially during the church age. I believe that this is one of the reasons as to why the churches are under judgment.
Let us first look at Titus 3:8. Here God tells us:
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works…
We have to be very careful with this term “good works.” We know that according to the Bible, many people see this who are maintaining good works and they take this verse and run with it and believe that they have to do something in order to get themselves saved.
We know that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. God is the One who has to save us. He alone has done all the work of saving His people and we cannot enter into that work. That work is God’s and God’s alone.
However, if we are truly a child of God, the works that we do are going to be as a result of what God has already done in our hearts. We are going to want to do the good works of sharing the Gospel with others and spending our time and our money in order to get the Gospel out.
Good works will follow those who are truly saved, but they are never a cause for salvation. No matter what we do, it cannot save us. Nothing that anyone has done has ever saved anyone.
We see this same thing in 2 Peter 1:10-12, which says:
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure…
We have to put forth diligence to make sure that we are truly saved. God commands us to do this. We still have to make our calling and election sure:
…for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Although we may understand a lot of things about the Bible, God tells us to affirm this with confidence and to not be negligent to put this always in remembrance, especially in our day when the Lord Jesus has opened up the Word of God to the minds of His people.
Never before in the history of the world have true believers known so much about God’s Word the Bible, about His salvation, and about the end of the world. We are living in that day when the true believers, by God’s mercy, are beginning to understand a great deal of things that we have never understood before because the Book has been opened to us.
It is only by the mercy of God that He has let us know what He is about to do. It is a wonderful thing that God has done in letting us know from the Bible what He is about to do and it is because of the sheer mercy of God that He has done so. We should, therefore, glorify God for this.
But what I want to talk about today are some verses that have been grossly misunderstood throughout the church age. For many, many years, people have stumbled at these verses, just as Israel stumbled at the Word of God.
Please turn to John 1. We will pick up the context in verse 10, which is speaking of Christ. We read in John 1:10-12:
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him…
Let us stop right here with this phrase, “but as many as received him.” Many people throughout the church age have seen this verse and have totally misunderstood this.
Concerning this word “receive,” turn to the Gospel of John. Here God tells us in John 3:27:
John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
This is speaking about salvation. Salvation is from Heaven. It is from God Himself, and so God has to work in us to do all of this. This is not something that we do. Salvation is given to us by God. We cannot earn it and we do not deserve it.
It continues on in John 1:12-14:
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
As far as these verses, many read up to verse 12 and then they stop. They go no further in their understanding of salvation, and this is the trap that many people fall into. They fail to realize that the work of salvation was already accomplished in Christ from the foundation of the world. Christ has done all of the work of salvation and we cannot do anything to save ourselves; however, it is wonderful that God does allow us to plead for mercy.
According to the Bible, we know that God is merciful. He is full of compassion. He is patient. He is kind. He tells us all of these things about Himself. This is who God is and many people see these verses and they automatically think that they have to reach out and accept Christ. They hear the TV evangelists who are part of mega churches who instruct people to walk down the aisle to receive Christ. Then they act like they have some kind of insight to where they can tell a person that they are born again, but no one can do this. They look at people and say, “As of today and from this moment, you are a child of God.” No one ought to do this. Only God Himself has the right to do this.
So let us look closer at some of these verses. God tells us that we become sons of God when we have been saved by God and this is truly a wonderful thing. It is a wonderful thing to read that we are His sons, that we are His children.
Look now at what God tells us in 1 John 3:1-2:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us…
The word “us” here is referring to His people. It is not referring everyone because God does not love everyone in a redemptive way. He does have a general care over the universe. He lets the rain fall on the just and on the unjust. The sun shines on the evil and on the wicked as well as on the righteous, and all of this is because of God’s mercy.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us [His people], that we [God’s people] should be called the sons of God…
You see, we have come into a very intimate relationship with God who calls us “sons.”
…therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God…
If you are a child of God, right now you are a son of God.
It continues:
…and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear…
And He shall appear very shortly, and then:
…we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
We have come into a sonship relationship with Christ, if we are truly a child of God.
Also look at Galatians 4:4-6. It says:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them…
God always speaks of a specific people. He is not referring to everyone.
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
We are adopted into the Kingdom of God. If you are truly a child of God, you are an adopted son of God.
It continues:
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
God calls all of His people “sons.”
Turn back again to John 1:12 where it says:
…to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them [God’s elect] that believe on his name:
We know that, of ourselves, we cannot believe in Christ. God tells us that faith, or belief, is a gift of God. We cannot conjure up that which is true saving faith. We cannot do this. Faith is a gift of God.
God tells us this in a passage that we are all very familiar with in Ephesians 2. We read in Ephesians 2:8:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves…
It is not of ourselves because we cannot save ourselves.
It continues:
…not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Salvation is a gift of God as we read in the next verse. Ephesians 2:9 says that faith is:
Not of works…
We can see how this comes up again. There is no work that we can do that will ever merit salvation. The Bible tells us that our work is as “filthy rags.” Our works will never save us.
Ephesians 2:9-10:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
This word “boast” is also translated as “glory.” We cannot glory in anything. If we are going to glory, we are to glory in Christ, never in something that we do.
It continues:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
You see, we are going to do good works after salvation, but they are never a cause for our salvation.
Turn to Romans 4 where we read of the account of Abraham and his son Isaac. We read about this also in Genesis 22. This is a wonderful thing that Abraham did, but did this save him? No. We read in Romans 4:1-2:
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works…
If you remember, Abraham had Isaac on an altar and he was about to kill him. This was a work that he was doing.
For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Then the next verse, Romans 4:3 says:
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it…
This word “it” can be translated as “he,” and who is this “he”? It is Christ.
…and [he] was counted unto him for righteousness.
It was the righteousness of Christ that was imputed to Abraham as well as to all of God’s people. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us.
Then Romans 4:4-5 says:
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
It was a beautiful thing that Abraham did. He did not question God at all. He went to slaughter his son Isaac, and yet that is not what saved him. It was the work of Christ, the righteousness of Christ that saved him and us also. If we are truly a child of God, we are also going to do good works, but this does not result in our salvation. God has given us this desire to want to share the Gospel and to lay our lives down as Christ did to get the Gospel out into the world, but these good works can never save us.
Let us turn back to John 1:12 where we left off. It continues:
…even to them that believe on his name:
Then He goes on to say in John 1:13:
Which were born…
When we become a child of God, we become born again. We know that all of God’s elect were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. When we speak of election, many people in the world become very uneasy. They become very uncomfortable about this teaching of election from the Bible, and yet the Bible does teach this.
Turn again to the book of Ephesians where we read of how we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. It says in Ephesians 1:4:
According as he hath chosen us…
The “us” here are those who were elected of God. It continues:
…in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
We were chosen in Christ it says here “before the foundation of the world.” God had already chosen His people, the ones whom He chose to save. It is not up to us to do anything.
It goes on to say in Ephesians 1:5-6:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
God has already done this for us from the foundation of the world.
Let us look at some other verses that tell us how we have to become born again by God Himself. Turn now to 1 Peter. Those of us who have truly become a child of God have experienced this new birth. We read in 1 Peter 1:21-23:
Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again…
Is this referring to being born by our mother? No, God has to perform this spiritual birth in us.
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
God’s Word liveth and it is powerful. We are born again by the Word of God as He applies the Word of God to our hearts.
If you remember, there is a very familiar passage in Hebrews 4. God tells us about His Word in Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God’s Word is powerful. It is quick and it cuts right into the inner reaches of our hearts. It is living and it is powerful. How He applies this to our hearts, we do not know. We do know that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We have to hear the true Gospel of the Word of God to become saved. How He applies it to the heart of His elect is His business, but God’s Word is living.
If you remember in Acts 2 when Peter was preaching the Gospel, it pricked their hearts. In Acts 2, God is moving Peter to say these things. If you remember, this is when 3,000 became saved. We read in Acts 2:37:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Here Peter is preaching. God is moving him to say these things. The people were listening because we see here that they were “pricked in their heart” as they heard Peter preaching.
Then we read in Acts 2:38-41:
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
We can see election here also. It continues:
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
These people were truly saved because God tells us that as they heard the Word of God being preached to them, they were pricked in their hearts. God saved this great multitude as Peter was preaching the Gospel to these dear people, and this is how we become born again. God applies the Word of God to the heart of a particular person.
Let us go back to the Gospel of John. In John 3, we find a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to Jesus to ask Him some questions. In John 3:1-5, we read:
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water…
“Water” is referring to the Word of God. It continues:
…and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
In order for us to enter into the Kingdom of God, we have to be born again and this is only something that God can do. He has to make us born again. He has to give us a new spirit. He has to give us a new heart for us to be born again. We cannot do this. As we read in other parts of the Bible, we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” This is not something that we can do and we cannot make God do this. We are at His mercy.
If you know that you are not a child of God today, you can still plead for mercy. He allows us to plead for mercy, to come to Him and beseech Him. As we read in Psalm 103, God is “plenteous in mercy.” He is gracious in all of these things, but we also know that He is also the God of judgment and that He will not always be patient with man. We know that the day will come when He will pour out His wrath upon the unsaved and that they will be destroyed forever.
Then we read in John 3:7:
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
This is not an option. To enter into God’s Kingdom, “ye must be born again.” You can argue with the Bible and you can argue with yourself, but it does not matter because in Romans 8 God tells us, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”
Then we read in John 3:8:
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
God is the One who does this mighty miracle in our life. Remember that we read in John 1:13:
Which were born…
He is referring to that new birth, which is spiritual. We must become born again and this is something that only God Himself can do.
It goes on to tell us in John 1:13:
…not of blood…
This is not something that we can do.
If we turn now to 1 Corinthians 13:2, we will see that salvation does not even have anything to do with how much we understand about the Bible. It has nothing to do with how much truth we might know.
Is there any hope for a young child who cannot even read or write? How about a mother with child? Is there any hope for that baby in the womb? Can God save a baby who has not even been born yet? Of course He can. Can He save a one-year old child? Of course He can.
Salvation has nothing to do with our intellect. Salvation has nothing to do with whether or not we can read or write or what we know about the Bible. Many people have an intellectual knowledge about the Bible, but does this mean that they are saved? Not necessarily. If we are saved, we will know things about the Bible, but we cannot base our salvation on this.
So God says in 1 Corinthians 13:2:
And though I have the gift of prophecy…
A lot of people know all sorts of things, but does this mean that they are a child of God?
…and understand all mysteries…
Can an unsaved person understand a lot about the Bible? Of course he can. Yes, an unsaved person can understand a great deal about the Bible, but does this make that person a child of God? No.
It continues:
…and all knowledge; and though I have all faith…
But they do not have the faith of Christ. We, however, do not know the heart of another person and we cannot be a judge of the condition of their heart, only God can do this.
It continues:
…so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
Then we read in 1 Corinthians 13:3:
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor…
Look at all of these works that people are doing and all of these things that they know, but does it mean that they are a child of God? No.
…and though I give my body to be burned…
You can give the ultimate sacrifice, your very life. There are many people today who are doing this. They are blowing themselves up. They believe that if they give their very life for their cause or for what they believe about whatever kind of gospel they are following, this will cause God to give them favor and grace. But we know that this is a work that they are doing and it can never save anyone.
…and have not charity…
You can know all of these things and do all of these things, but if you do not have the love of God in you, then what? The Bible tells us:
…it profiteth me nothing.
We can only rest and trust in the finished work of Christ to bring salvation. Nothing that we could ever do will ever save us. However, many are deceived by this. They think that if they do this or that, it will save them.
In reference to this term “not of blood” from John 1:13, turn to Hebrews 9. The nation of Israel was in a works gospel. They thought that all of those blood sacrifices that were done with tens of thousands of animals being slaughtered would bring salvation, but that did not bring salvation at all. It was a shadow pointing to something.
This is the same with water baptism. Many people think that if they participate in water baptism, they are saved. Or they think that they are saved because they walked down the aisle and the pastor told them, “From this moment on, you are saved.” I was told this years ago. I was told to walk down the aisle to get saved and to repeat a prayer. Then the pastor looked at me and said, “From this moment on, you are saved.” At the time, I had one thought going through my mind, which was, “How does he know this? How does he know that from this moment on, after I walked down the aisle and so-called received Christ, that I am saved?” This bothered me for years, but I just did not understand.
We know from other parts of the Bible that Israel perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. They did not believe God at all. Although God did those mighty works amongst them, they did not believe God. Mount Sinai was on fire and it smoked and quaked before them and He had also parted the Red Sea in their sight. We figure that if someone saw these miracles, it would make a difference. They even heard the voice of God, and yet God tells us that they perished because of unbelief. They did not believe God.
But we read in Hebrews 9:8-11:
The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
All of these gifts and sacrifices, all of the animal sacrifices, did not save them at all.
Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. 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;
Then we read in Hebrews 9:12-13:
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. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
God goes on to indicate that all of the blood that was shed in the sacrifices that they were doing did not bring salvation to the people of Israel. There is no blood that man can shed that will bring about salvation.
Turn now to Hebrews 10:1 where He refers again to these sacrifices:
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Those sacrifices did not save them at all.
Then we read in Hebrews 10:4:
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
It did not save them. It was a shadow pointing to Christ.
Then we read in Hebrews 10:5-6:
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
God had no pleasure in what Israel was doing, none whatsoever, because it was a work.
We can also see this in Isaiah 1. Isaiah 1 also speaks of how God had no pleasure in all of these sacrifices that they were doing. As you read through the Old Testament, you will read about tens of thousands of animals that were slaughtered. In some of their sacrifices, they sacrificed a lamb without spot or blemish. They also had many washings that they had to do, yet none of this saved them. God had no delight in any of this.
We read in Isaiah 1:11 where God is speaking:
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith JEHOVAH: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
He had no delight in these sacrifices, none whatsoever, and yet Israel was caught up in these things.
So again God tells us in John 1:13:
Which were born, not of blood…
This is because it is Christ who washes away our sins and it is not something that we can do.
Then He goes on to say in John 1:13:
…nor of the will of the flesh…
We cannot do anything to save ourselves.
We know that there are many people involved in the churches who believe that they have a free will, but a free will to do what? We have a free will to decide between buying a red car or a blue car or the clothes that we want to wear; but as far as salvation is concerned, no.
God is the One who elects us. He chose us to salvation from the foundation of the world. Before there was anything in this world, God had already made a decision to save a people for Himself. It is not up to us. We cannot save ourselves. We have to understand this. We cannot save ourselves.
We hear people who call Mr. Camping on the “Open Forum” and one of the first things that come into their minds is, “What must I do to be saved?” We hear him always reminding people that they cannot do anything to save themselves.
Let us turn to Mark 10. We will pick up the context in verse 16 where Christ is speaking. We read in Mark 10:16-17:
And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
People ask this question all of the time. “What must I do?” Christ is going to answer the question in Mark 10:18-19:
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Then the rich young ruler answers Christ, and we read in Mark 10:20-21:
And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him…
At a certain point I believe that this man did become saved because we know that God only loves those whom He has elected to salvation from the foundation of the world. But we can see that his question is no different than the question that people ask today. What must I do to be saved?
God goes on to say in Mark 10:21-23:
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
God is not saying that because someone is rich they cannot be saved. Yes they can if it is God’s will.
Then we read in Mark 10:24:
And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
A rich person can be saved, but look at how Christ answered their question. These people are trusting in their riches or in something that they have done in this world to enter into the Kingdom of God.
And then we read in Mark 10:25-27:
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure…
The disciples were shocked at what Christ was saying to them. They were shocked and they were thinking this way:
…saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Salvation with man is an impossible thing. We cannot save ourselves. Salvation is not of works. It is not of works of righteousness that we have done. The Bible makes it clear that this does not save us. We are saved only by the grace of God.
The disciples were completely shocked when they heard Christ say this and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Then Christ speaks of the impossibility of salvation with man. Man thinks that he can do a lot of good works. Then somehow on Judgment Day, God is going to look at one’s good works. They believe that their good works will outweigh their bad works. But no, salvation is only based on the work of Christ. It is the finished work of Christ that saves us, and that work was done from the foundation of the world.
We will stop here.